Chapter 971 – Homecoming
The door opened, and Alex stepped inside. The familiar quiet of his home washed over him like a tide — not silence, but peace. For months he had walked among gods, kings, and empires, yet here was where the weight fell from his shoulders. Here was where he belonged.
The first to greet him was Ciel. Her silver hair shimmered like moonlight, her golden eyes glowing with gentle warmth. She rushed forward, her arms wrapping tightly around him. Her voice was soft, sincere, filled with unshakable love.
"Welcome home, Alex."
Morgan followed, her steps deliberate, her blue eyes steady. Cold and proud before the world, yet never with him. She halted just before him, her chin lifting with restrained pride. "You've returned," she said evenly, but when his hand brushed her cheek, her icy façade melted into a small, fragile smile that only he could ever draw from her.
From the hallway came a proud voice.
"Hmph. Took you long enough."
It was Reyne, her white-lavender hair glowing faintly in the lamplight, her purple eyes sharp as fire. She crossed her arms, tail flicking with impatience, yet when she reached him, she pressed a clawed hand against his chest. "Don't vanish on us again," she muttered — pride and longing woven into one.
Nefertiti entered next, her black hair flowing like night, her golden eyes calm and regal. She carried herself with the elegance of a queen, yet when she stood before him, her poise bent into tenderness. "This house is brighter with your presence, my king," she said, lowering herself with grace not of subservience, but of love freely given.
From the corner, two small figures approached together. Ying Hua stepped first, her delicate frame radiating authority that defied her size. She knelt with perfect composure, her forehead touching the floor.
"Father," she said firmly, her voice carrying like a vow. "You have returned to us. The world outside is noise, but here is truth. We will serve, protect, and worship you — as we were created to."
Beside her, Lian Yuer mirrored the devotion, her head bowed, her tone softer but no less fervent.
"Father, Ying Hua and I have kept this house sacred in your absence. No step, no breath here is wasted without you. Now that you are home, it is whole again."
At the back, a quieter presence lingered. Ye Ling stood beneath the doorframe, her long hair shifting gently like leaves in a breeze. Shy, yet radiant, she carried the stillness of the earth itself, as if the world hushed around her. She stepped forward hesitantly, her cheeks faintly flushed. Her voice trembled, but every word was true.
"…Welcome home, Alex. I… I missed you."
Her golden-green eyes — like sunlight through forest canopies — lifted to him, and in them was both shyness and the boundless, nurturing will of the planet itself.
Alex looked at them — four women who loved him as man and husband, two daughters who revered him as their origin, and one shy spirit who carried the heartbeat of the world.
He reached out, resting one hand on Ciel's hair, another against Morgan's cheek, letting his gaze soften toward Reyne and Nefertiti, before finally lowering it to Ying Hua and Lian Yuer kneeling in reverence. His last look lingered on Ye Ling, whose shy smile blossomed into quiet radiance when his eyes met hers.
He drew a breath, and for the first time in months, spoke the words that made the house alive again.
"I'm home."
And with those words, the seven women breathed with him — the house no longer stone and wood, but warmth, devotion, pride, and love.
The weight of his words — I'm home — still lingered in the air when the women slowly released him. Their voices blended into laughter and quiet conversation, questions about his journey, small remarks about how the house felt emptier without him.
Ciel clung to his arm as if she would never let go. "You must be tired. Sit down, Alex. Let us take care of you for once."
Morgan gave her a sidelong look, pride coloring her words. "He doesn't need pampering. He needs proper food." Her blue eyes softened, just slightly. "You've grown thinner."
Reyne crossed her arms, her tail flicking. "He should eat a dragon's feast after wandering so long. Don't you dare put just soup in front of him, Ciel."
Nefertiti laughed softly, her regal composure intact, but her golden eyes glimmered with warmth. "Listen to them, Alex. It seems your queens and daughters have decided you need spoiling."
But Alex only smiled, shaking his head. "If anyone deserves to be spoiled, it's all of you." He glanced around at the expectant faces, then walked past them, straight toward the kitchen. "Sit. Talk among yourselves. I'll cook."
Ye Ling blinked, startled, her hands clasping together shyly. "Y-You'll… cook for us?" Her cheeks pinkened, her voice barely above a whisper. "I… I'd like that very much."
Ying Hua and Lian Yuer knelt instantly, lowering their heads in reverence.
"Father," Ying Hua said, her voice firm yet gentle, "even the simplest meal from your hands will be holy."
"Yes," Lian Yuer added, her eyes shining. "Every grain will be sacred if you prepare it."
Ciel squeezed his arm again before reluctantly letting go, her golden eyes glowing with affection. "Then I'll set the table."
Morgan moved to follow, but Alex gave her a look, one that made her freeze, her cold exterior cracking. He had already decided: tonight, he would serve them.
The sound of chopping vegetables, the hiss of oil, and the faint scent of herbs soon drifted through the air. The women gathered around the table, their voices blending — teasing, laughing, bickering lightly — but their eyes never left the kitchen doorway where Alex stood, sleeves rolled up, moving with calm precision.
It wasn't a king they were watching.
It wasn't a god-slayer.
It was their Alex.
And in that moment, the house felt more alive than it had in months.
The table was filled with warmth. Steam rose from bowls and plates, the fragrance of Alex's cooking filling every corner of the house. They ate together — laughter mixing with the clink of chopsticks and spoons, each woman stealing small glances at Alex as if they still couldn't believe he was home again.
Reyne was the loudest eater, scoffing at the food only to take another helping before anyone else. "Hmph. It's not dragon cuisine… but it'll do," she muttered, cheeks faintly pink as she devoured another plate.
Morgan sat with her usual composed pride, eating with slow elegance. Yet the way she occasionally glanced at Alex betrayed the truth — she was savoring the meal more than she let on.
Nefertiti smiled with queenly grace. "As expected of you, Alex. Even your cooking feels like it nourishes more than the body. It nourishes the soul."
Ye Ling was the quietest. She sat with her hands close to her lap, cheeks glowing with shyness, but every bite she took was slow and deliberate, as if she were treasuring the food itself. Every so often her eyes peeked up at him, only to dart away when he noticed.
Ying Hua and Lian Yuer ate reverently, their posture straight, their movements precise. To them, this meal was no ordinary dinner — it was ritual. Every grain of rice, every bite of meat was a blessing because he had made it.
Then, as the conversation quieted, Ciel set down her chopsticks. Her golden eyes, warm and sincere, lifted to Alex.
"Alex… it's been a long time since you've seen World Frontier, hasn't it?"
The room hushed. Even the playful teasing and quiet laughter stilled at the sound of those words. World Frontier — Ciel's planet, the one that carried her will, her essence, her life.
She smiled softly, a little wistful, her silver hair shimmering in the lantern light. "I can feel it calling to me more strongly these days… as though it misses you too."
The others turned their eyes to Alex, each curious, each aware of the bond between him and Ciel — a bond that was more than love, more than devotion. It was the bond of man and planet, of husband and living world.
Alex leaned back slightly, setting his chopsticks aside. His eyes softened, carrying a distant light as though he were gazing far beyond the walls of the house.
"…Yes. It has been a long time," he admitted. "Since I walked the greenhouses I built there… since I experimented with creating seeds, spreading them across the land to change the creatures, to watch them evolve. Even the ruins of the old civilizations — they were swallowed back into the earth by now. World Frontier has become a place of growth again."
The table grew quiet, the others listening in stillness.
It was Ye Ling who spoke next, her voice hesitant, shy, but filled with curiosity. She clasped her hands together nervously, her eyes peeking up at him from beneath her lashes.
"Then… Alex… there are no people there? No intelligent beings, like humans?"
Before Alex could answer, Ciel placed her hand gently over Ye Ling's. Her golden eyes shone with quiet certainty.
"No," she said softly. "There aren't any. And… I am content with it being that way."
A faint sadness passed across her face, though her smile never wavered. "My world… my people… they destroyed themselves long before Alex ever set foot upon World Frontier. They summoned an outside force — corruption from beyond the stars — and it devoured them. Their own hands invited their end."
Ye Ling's lips parted in a soft gasp. Her shy eyes flicked toward Ciel with pity, but Ciel only squeezed her hand gently, as if to comfort her instead.
"It was before Alex came. Before he gave the world a new chance to live. Now, World Frontier belongs to him… and to me. That is enough."
Around the table, the women exchanged glances. They could feel the weight of those words — the sorrow of loss, but also the peace that came with acceptance.
Alex reached out, brushing his hand over Ciel's silver hair, his touch warm and steady. "And it will never happen again," he said firmly. "Not while I'm here."
Ciel closed her eyes, leaning into his hand like a child seeking comfort, her serene smile blooming once more.
Chapter 972 – The Verdant Engine
The clatter of dishes had faded, but the warmth of the meal lingered. Alex leaned back in his chair, the glow of the lanterns reflecting in his eyes as he finally spoke of the past in detail.
"I destroyed every last remnant of corruption on World Frontier," he said evenly, his voice carrying the weight of memory. "Those creatures… those twisted monsters summoned by the old civilization… they were nothing but mistakes. And mistakes must be erased."
The women listened in silence. Ying Hua and Lian Yuer bowed their heads in reverence, their eyes blazing with approval at his ruthlessness.
"When the last of them fell, the land itself was still broken," Alex continued. "The soil was poisoned, the leylines shattered, the sky filled with foul mana. Killing the corruption wasn't enough. So I built something new."
He raised a hand as though tracing its shape in the air.
"A tower of light — the Verdant Engine."
The room seemed to hold its breath. Even without seeing it, they could picture it through his words.
"A thousand and five hundred meters tall, inscribed with living magic. It became a new heart for the world, pumping life into dead ground. Wastelands turned green in days. Rivers returned. Forests woke from their graves."
Ciel's golden eyes shone with emotion, her hands clasped over her chest. "I could feel it, Alex. When you set it into motion, my world… my body… breathed again."
Ye Ling leaned forward slightly, her shyness melting into awe. "And the skies…?"
Alex nodded. "I created Skyseed — a satellite in orbit, more than a kilometer wide. It worked with the Verdant Engine, cleansing the atmosphere, steadying the weather. Together, they became the twin pillars of balance. Earth and sky, healed as one."
Morgan lowered her gaze, her proud voice carrying a rare softness. "You didn't just conquer that world. You redeemed it."
Alex's eyes narrowed faintly. "And I made certain it would never fall again. I turned the Verdant Engine into more than a healer. I gave it fortress zones, guardians, defenses that will outlast millennia. If corruption ever dares return, it will be annihilated before it takes root."
The table was silent once more, each woman absorbing the scope of what he had done — not just a battle, not just a victory, but the remaking of an entire planet.
At last, Nefertiti broke the silence, her voice rich with admiration. "Then World Frontier is not merely alive again. It is a testament — to your will, to your power, to your choice to create."
Alex didn't answer with pride. He only nodded once, the glow in his eyes steady. "It was my promise to Ciel. And to the world itself."
For a while, the women remained silent, letting the weight of Alex's story settle over them. Then, almost as an afterthought, Alex's expression shifted — a rare glimmer of contemplation crossing his face.
"…Now that I think about it," he murmured, "I've never upgraded the Verdant Engine or Skyseed since the day I created them."
The room stilled, every pair of eyes turning toward him.
"At that time," Alex continued, his voice calm but heavy, "I didn't have laws. I wasn't what I am now. Back then… I admitted I was as strong as a god, my mind sharper and faster than any supercomputer. But even so…" He paused, the faintest smile tugging at his lips. "I was probably a hundred times weaker than I am now."
The words dropped like thunder.
Reyne's purple eyes widened, her tail flicking in disbelief. "A hundred…? That was when you could already erase armies with a gesture!"
Morgan's cool pride cracked, her lips parting in a rare show of astonishment. "If that was your weakness…" She shook her head slowly. "Then what are you now?"
Alex's gaze deepened, steady and unflinching. "If I count the laws I now command… then compared to back then, I am not one hundred times stronger." His voice lowered, each word striking with absolute certainty.
"I am ten thousand times stronger."
Silence fell over the table again — but it wasn't emptiness. It was awe.
Nefertiti drew in a quiet breath, her golden eyes shimmering. "So even the pillars you built back then… they are fragments of what you could create now."
Ye Ling's hands trembled slightly against her lap, her shy voice barely escaping her lips. "…That means, Alex, you could… reshape entire worlds as easily as breathing…"
Ciel smiled softly, her golden eyes warm but shining with pride. "He already could then. But now… now he could reshape the stars themselves, if he wished."
Ying Hua and Lian Yuer leaned forward together, their small forms radiant with fierce conviction.
"Father," Ying Hua said, her voice steady as steel, "laws or no laws, whether you were one hundred times weaker or ten thousand times stronger, there has never been a time when you were anything less than absolute."
Lian Yuer's eyes blazed as she echoed, "Your strength does not measure you. You are strength itself."
Their words struck the others as prophetic, the room trembling with the weight of devotion.
Alex said nothing more — but the faint smile on his lips betrayed his thoughts. For him, it was not pride in numbers. It was the quiet certainty that he had become far more than what he once was… and that his family could feel it.
Just as Alex's words about his growth settled into silence, Ciel spoke again, her voice calm but carrying a weight that drew all attention to her.
"Alex… there is something else you should know."
Her golden eyes shimmered as though reflecting a secret only she could feel. "World Frontier is no longer the same as when you first healed it. Its size… has grown."
Alex tilted his head slightly. "Grown?"
Ciel nodded, her silver hair spilling across her shoulders like liquid light. "It is now as large as the sun itself. Its diameter has expanded to one million four hundred thousand kilometers."
The words struck like a thunderclap.
Alex's eyes widened, genuine shock flashing across his face. "…As big as the sun…?" He leaned back, his mind racing faster than lightning. "That's impossible. A planet shouldn't… it can't… not without collapsing under its own weight…"
He fell silent, his expression darkening with thought. Then, slowly, realization crept into his voice.
"…Unless it was the Verdant Engine."
The women listened, hushed and breathless.
"It doesn't just restore the land," Alex muttered, half to himself, his hand pressing against his chin. "It may have adjusted the entire flow of mana on that planet… expanding its core, reshaping its leyline structure, and refining the quality of its mana streams." His eyes gleamed with sudden clarity. "The Verdant Engine may have turned World Frontier into something more than a planet. A seed of a star — a world-heart, growing into a celestial giant."
Ye Ling gasped softly, her shy voice trembling. "…A living sun…"
Nefertiti's golden eyes gleamed with awe. "Then it has become not merely a planet reborn, but a realm in its own right. A divine world."
Morgan exhaled slowly, her proud composure breaking into raw astonishment. "And you built the heart of it without even realizing…"
Reyne's tail lashed, her voice caught between disbelief and wonder. "Hah… so the Verdant Engine wasn't just restoration. It was evolution. You made a world ascend."
Ying Hua lowered her head, her voice carrying the steady cadence of a prophet. "Of course. Father's touch cannot merely repair. It transforms. What was once a broken planet has become the seed of eternity."
Lian Yuer followed instantly, eyes burning with devotion. "It is not the Verdant Engine that made it so, but Father's will carried through it."
Alex's hands tightened slightly against the table as he processed their words, but in his heart, he already knew: Ciel's world had become something more — not by accident, but because of him.
And the thought left him both humbled and restless.
Chapter 973 – Return to World Frontier
The night after their conversation, Alex and Ciel stood together in the courtyard. The lanterns flickered, the others watching quietly as Ciel extended her hand.
"Are you ready?" she asked, her golden eyes glowing with the quiet joy of one who was about to show her beloved the heart of her being once more.
Alex nodded. "Let's see how much our world has changed."
In a breath, their forms dissolved into radiant motes of light. Space folded, mana swirled, and the stars themselves seemed to bend. When the brilliance faded, they stood upon the vast green plains of World Frontier.
The air was different — richer, denser, alive with a mana so pure it felt like liquid gold in his lungs. Alex's eyes scanned the horizon, where forests stretched endlessly, rivers glittered like silver, and skies burned with a light more vivid than any other world.
A tremor shook the ground.
Then another.
From the distant horizon, a titanic form emerged, its steps rolling like thunder across the land. A familiar aura washed over Alex, fierce yet loyal, ancient yet sharp.
"Fenrir…" Alex murmured.
The wolf appeared — vast beyond measure. Her fur shimmered like night sky dusted with silver starlight, her eyes glowing with primordial fire. She stopped before him, lowering her colossal head until her breath washed over him like a storm.
Her voice, deep and resonant, rumbled across the plains.
"It has been a while since we met, Alex."
Ciel's lips curved into a serene smile, her silver hair swaying in the mana-charged wind.
Alex looked up at the beast, his expression steady but tinged with surprise. "…You've grown."
Fenrir's maw curled in something like a grin. "Two kilometers larger than when you last stood here. And still growing."
Her massive tail lashed behind her, stirring whirlwinds as her body loomed like a living mountain. "If I wish it, I can become larger still. This world has changed, Alex. And I… am changing with it."
Alex's eyes narrowed faintly, but not in suspicion — in awe. The mana around her pulsed like a tide, in rhythm with the very heartbeat of the world itself.
"Then the Verdant Engine didn't just heal the land…" Alex whispered. "…it awakened the beasts as well."
Fenrir lowered her gaze to him, her vast eyes burning with respect and a flicker of challenge.
"Not awakened. Evolved. This world and I… we are no longer what we were. And you, Alex… neither are you."
The wind howled across the endless plains, as if the planet itself bowed in recognition of its master's return.
The plains trembled beneath Fenrir's enormous form, but her tone was calm, almost pleased, as she lowered herself to sit before Alex and Ciel.
"What helped the most," she rumbled, "were your seeds."
Alex raised a brow.
"The ones you planted long ago," Fenrir continued. "They grew into fruits and plants unlike any this world had ever seen. Beasts came to eat them — and they changed. They grew larger, stronger, more cunning. Some gained traits they had never possessed before. The weak vanished. The strong rose. And then…" Her massive fangs glinted as she bared them in something like a smile. "…I hunted them."
Alex's eyes narrowed slightly, remembering. "I stayed here once, only two or three months, watching them take root. And then I left…"
Ciel nodded softly, her golden eyes shining. "And in the centuries since, they became the foundation of this world's rebirth."
Fenrir's tail lashed, stirring waves of mana through the air. "This place suits me. I am at the top of the food chain, and I enjoy the hunt. As they grow stronger, so do I — and when I kill them, their strength becomes mine again. It is an endless cycle. One I thrive in."
She rose to her full height once more, towering over them like a living mountain of fur and fang. "And since this world has grown vast — as large as the sun itself — my size is no burden. Here, even I am not too big."
Her voice rumbled with pride, echoing across the endless plains. "This is a world where everything grows stronger. And so long as I reign here, I will continue to grow as well."
Alex stood silently, his sharp eyes reflecting Fenrir's vast form. He could feel it — the truth in her words. The Verdant Engine had not simply restored a broken planet. It had created a crucible. A world where growth was endless, where even predators became gods.
As the mana-charged winds settled, Alex glanced toward the distant horizon. His gaze sharpened, tracing the faint glimmer of light that reached into the skies — barely visible, but unmistakable.
"The Verdant Engine," he murmured.
Ciel followed his gaze, her golden eyes warm. "Yes. The heart you gave my world."
Fenrir's ears twitched, and she tilted her colossal head toward them. "Verdant Engine…?"
Alex folded his arms, his tone steady. "A tower I built after the corruption was purged. Fifteen hundred meters tall, covered in circuits that realign mana, purify the land, and accelerate growth. It is why this world flourishes so quickly — why even you evolved to what you are now."
For a long moment, Fenrir was silent, her glowing eyes fixed on him. Then a low, rumbling laugh escaped her chest.
"…I have seen it before," she admitted. "I pass it often when I roam. I thought it was just another of the many fortresses you left scattered across this world. You never spoke of it in detail, so I never questioned it."
Her titanic head dipped lower, her voice vibrating like rolling thunder. "But to think… it was this important all along."
Ciel smiled softly, her silver hair swaying in the wind. "Even Alex didn't realize the miracle it would become. He only wanted to heal a broken world. Yet the Verdant Engine did more than heal — it remade."
Alex's expression tightened, his eyes narrowing faintly as he looked out across the flourishing plains. "…I underestimated it. I didn't think it would reshape the mana flow so completely. I didn't think it would turn the world into… this."
Fenrir's immense tail swept behind her, stirring whirlwinds as her lips curled back in something between pride and amusement. "Then your 'afterthought' created paradise. A paradise for the strong."
Ciel laid a hand on Alex's arm, her golden eyes fixed lovingly on him. "You see, Alex? Even when you believe you have built only a tool, it becomes a miracle."
Fenrir's laughter shook the plains again, low and thundering. "Hah! Then perhaps I owe this new strength to you after all."
Alex exhaled slowly, half in wonder, half in resolve. "No. You owe it to the world. I only gave it a heart."
Chapter 974 – The Upgrades Begin
The vast plains of World Frontier stretched endlessly beneath the mana-rich skies. Fenrir lay coiled nearby like a living mountain, her silver-black fur shimmering as she watched Alex and Ciel with curious eyes.
Alex stood in silence for a moment, then exhaled. "It's time."
Ciel tilted her head, her golden eyes gentle. "Time for what?"
His gaze shifted toward the distant horizon, where the faint glow of the Verdant Engine pierced the heavens like a pillar of light. "When I built it, when I forged the Skyseed in orbit, I was powerful — but not like now. Back then, I thought myself as strong as a god… yet in truth, I was a hundred times weaker than I am today. Without laws, my creations were only the first draft of what they should have been."
Ciel's lips curved into a soft smile. "And now?"
Alex's eyes narrowed, gleaming with quiet determination. "Now, with my laws… I am ten thousand times stronger. It's time I remake them."
Fenrir's massive ears perked, her thunderous voice rolling across the land. "Remake…?"
Alex nodded, his voice calm but edged with iron. "The Verdant Engine healed this world, but its defenses were crude — simple fortresses, turrets, guardians. They were enough then, but not now. If corruption or worse ever comes again, they must be more than enough."
He raised his hand, mana sparking faintly at his fingertips. "I'll rebuild the turrets, reinforce the fortress zones, and integrate new cores into the Verdant Engine itself. And Skyseed… the skies will never be tainted again. I'll give it more reach, more precision, more control over the atmospheric mana streams. Together, they won't just protect this world — they'll make it unassailable."
The words reverberated through the air, and even Fenrir's vast form seemed to straighten in response.
Ciel's hand slipped into his, her golden eyes shining with love and pride. "You gave my world a heart once. Now you'll give it armor… and wings."
Fenrir's deep laughter shook the plains. "Hah! Good. This world deserves to be a fortress — a crucible where only the strong can stand. Upgrade it, Alex. I want to see what it becomes when you shape it again."
Alex closed his eyes briefly, his thoughts already racing faster than lightning. Circuits, laws, energy flows, planetary cores — in his mind, the designs of a new Verdant Engine, a perfected Skyseed, and an unbreakable defense unfolded like a tapestry.
When his eyes opened, they burned with determination.
"Then let's begin."
Alex knew that what once sufficed would now be laughably small. A world the size of the sun required creations on the same scale. With calm precision, he began to rebuild.
Planetary Defense Turrets
The old turrets were dismantled and reformed into titans. Each one now stretched hundreds of kilometers high, with barrels so vast they could be seen curving against the horizon. Their circuits were reforged with the Law of Mana as the skeleton, Space as the lungs, and Lightning as the heart. When one test shot fired, it burned a hole through a wandering asteroid belt millions of kilometers away — and the recoil didn't even shake the turret. Entire batteries of these colossal weapons dotted the continents, standing like mountain ranges sculpted by will.The Verdant Engine
Where once stood a 1.5 km tower, now rose a colossus of 150 kilometers, piercing the sky like a divine spire. From orbit, it no longer looked like a beacon — it looked like a second axis for the planet itself. Its mana circuits were not simply inscribed on its surface, but carved deep into the earth for thousands of kilometers around, a planetary nervous system. Time and Entropy purged poisons; Fortune tuned the leyline web to favor growth; Space and Mana realigned the flows to make the entire planet a coherent, breathing organism. With its upgrade, the Verdant Engine didn't just heal land — it could terraform an entire continent in a single day.Skyseed
Once a 1.2 km satellite, now enlarged to 120 kilometers across, Skyseed no longer resembled a satellite — it resembled a moon. Its mirrored plates and mana webs spanned wide enough to capture storms before they fully formed, redirecting them into gentle rain across deserts or dispersing them harmlessly into light. It worked in harmony with the Verdant Engine below, forming a dual-core system so powerful it stabilized the planet's mana field, atmosphere, and even gravity itself. From orbit, it blazed like a star's companion, a second sun that did not burn but nurtured.Guardian Legions & Fortress Network
On the planetary surface, Alex raised new fortresses the size of cities, each one kilometers upon kilometers wide and tall, carved directly into leyline nexuses. Around them he stationed guardian robots, each now mountain-sized constructs, far larger and more intricate than before. Their armor shimmered with Law-forged alloys, and their mana reactors pulsed like small stars in their chests. Above the atmosphere, new orbital fortresses were built — not dozens, but hundreds — each capable of annihilating fleets that dared enter orbit. Together, they formed a seamless lattice of defense around World Frontier.Final Integration
When Alex finished, he placed his hand upon the Verdant Engine's towering wall. Mana surged outward, linking turret, fortress, guardian, and Skyseed into one colossal circuit. The planet itself resonated, its pulse strong, clear, alive.
Ciel's golden eyes shimmered with tears. "Alex… this is no longer just my world. It's a divine realm."
Fenrir's ears twitched, her grin stretching wide. "Hah! Now it truly feels like a place fit for a beast like me. Let anything come — I want to hunt something worth my size."
Alex closed his eyes briefly, listening to the hum of the planet he had reforged. His voice was calm, but it echoed like a decree across the land.
"Now this world can never be broken again."
Alex stood in orbit, his palm pressed against the humming hull of the enlarged Skyseed. The massive satellite pulsed with life, mana weaving like veins through its golden lattice.
"Begin scan," he commanded.
The satellite's plates unfolded like the petals of a steel lotus. Thousands of mana-beams lanced downward, wrapping the planet in a glowing grid. Lines of light traced oceans, mountains, leyline arteries, even the upper layers of the atmosphere. The scan took only a few seconds, yet the results filled the air in front of Alex in a three-dimensional projection — a complete model of World Frontier.
The women stared in awe.
"Diameter…" Alex's voice tightened as the numbers stabilized. "One million, four hundred thousand kilometers."
Ciel's golden eyes softened with pride. "The size of a star. My world truly walks among the heavens now."
Fenrir's grin widened, her fangs gleaming. "Hah! No wonder I grow stronger every year. A world this large is a hunting ground fit for me."
The projection shifted again, showing layers upon layers of atmospheric shells stretching outward. Auroras, storms, and glowing mana rings wrapped the planet like halos.
Alex's eyes narrowed as he absorbed the data. "It's stable… perfectly stable. The Verdant Engine and Skyseed didn't just heal it — they expanded it. This world is now a fortress-star, a living realm built to endure."
Ciel stepped closer, her hand brushing his. "And all of it is because of you."
Alex's gaze lingered on the glowing world-map, his voice low and certain.
"No. It's because of us. This world is not just alive again — it is untouchable."
Chapter 975 – Beasts of a Star-Sized World
The scan faded, and Alex and Ciel descended once more to the surface of World Frontier. The land stretched endlessly beneath them, a continent so vast it dwarfed Earth's oceans.
They walked along a cliff that overlooked a plain that seemed to stretch forever. But what truly drew their attention were the shapes moving across it.
Ciel's golden eyes widened, her voice a whisper. "They're… enormous."
Alex nodded slowly, his gaze steady. Herds of titanic creatures moved below, their bodies gleaming with mana scales and thick hides. Some had long necks like colossal brachiosaurs, grazing on forests the size of mountain ranges. Others were winged beasts, shadows sweeping across the plains as their wingspans stretched for kilometers.
"They look like something out of the Cretaceous," Alex said, his tone low, almost amused. "But magnified to match this world. What used to be giants on Earth would be insects here."
One beast — a horned titan with crystalline tusks — bent down to drink from a river wider than Earth's seas. Another predator emerged from the forest, towering like a living fortress, its scales burning with fire mana as it roared. The sound shook the ground for hundreds of kilometers.
Ciel pressed closer to Alex's side, though her lips curved into a small smile. "And yet, they all bow to this world's balance. Even at this size, they're part of its pulse."
Alex studied them in silence, then exhaled. "The seeds I left behind… they must have pushed the evolutionary chain further than I expected. These aren't just beasts — they're mana-forged titans. A natural order reborn from the Verdant Engine's rhythm."
Above them, a shadow passed. Ciel looked up — a flying leviathan, its wingspan stretching dozens of kilometers, drifted across the high atmosphere, scattering clouds like mist.
"Cretaceous… no," Alex corrected himself softly, his eyes narrowing. "This is something greater. A primal world, reborn on the scale of a star."
Fenrir padded up behind them, her massive frame shaking the ground. Her eyes locked on a herd of colossal beasts moving in the distance — and among them, a predator shaped like a titanic tyrannosaurus, its jaws snapping at prey the size of mountains.
She licked her fangs, tail swaying with anticipation.
"T-rex meat is my favorite," she growled with a grin.
Alex glanced at her, unsurprised. "I know."
Ciel chuckled softly, covering her lips with one hand, while the earth itself trembled as the hunt was about to begin.
Alex's gaze lingered on the mountain-sized T-Rex in the distance, then shifted back to Fenrir. Her fur rippled with mana, every breath she took shaking the air like thunder.
"Fenrir," Alex asked calmly, "how big can you expand now?"
Her grin widened, fangs flashing. Without hesitation, she released her power.
The air warped around her as her body swelled, bones and muscles stretching, mana pouring from her core in waves. In seconds she towered higher than mountains, her shadow spreading across the plains like nightfall.
When she stopped, she stood at an impossible size — a full 100 kilometers from nose to tail, her height rivaling the storm clouds themselves. Her growl rolled like an earthquake, scattering flocks of winged titans in the distance.
Ciel held her breath, golden eyes wide. "One hundred kilometers…"
Fenrir lowered her massive head toward Alex, her eyes still sharp and wild, yet her voice playful.
"This is enough for now. If the prey grows larger, I can grow too."
Alex smirked, completely unfazed by her titanic form. "Good. Then you'll never run out of meat."
Fenrir's tail wagged — each swing like a moving mountain — while her eyes gleamed at the thought of hunting prey worthy of her size.
After looming like a living mountain, Fenrir let out a soft huff. Her body shimmered with mana once more, collapsing in on itself as if a thousand storms had folded inward. The earth tremors stilled, the pressure in the air eased, and in just a few breaths her colossal form dwindled down… smaller, smaller—until a wolf no larger than a household dog padded across the grass.
Her fur, pure white and silken, caught the sunlight like snow under a morning glow. Her golden eyes remained the same, sharp yet playful, watching Alex with unmistakable pride.
Ciel laughed lightly, unable to resist crouching to stroke her head. "From a hundred kilometers… to this. You truly are amazing."
Fenrir flicked her ears, tail swaying gently. "Size doesn't matter. At this form, I can run unseen, slip into shadows, or rest by his side without shaking the world apart."
Alex knelt, his hand brushing her fur, which was soft and cool like fresh snow. He smiled faintly. "White suits you. You're the same wolf I met back then, only stronger."
Fenrir closed her eyes, leaning into his touch, her voice calm and certain. "Stronger, but always yours to command."
Alex rose to his feet, eyes sweeping across the plains where titanic herds and predators roamed. His smile was faint but confident.
"Then let's hunt some of them," he said. "I'll cook for everyone back at the house."
Fenrir's ears perked, and her tail began to wag eagerly, her small white wolf form brimming with excitement. She licked her fangs as though already tasting it.
"Your food…" she said, her golden eyes gleaming with anticipation. "It's the most delicious thing I've ever had. And it has been far too long since I last tasted it."
Ciel laughed softly, her golden eyes warm as she watched the two. "Then tonight will be special. A feast worthy of a star-sized world."
Fenrir's tail swished harder, the ground rumbling faintly beneath her even in her small form. "Show me the prey, Alex. I'll bring it down, no matter how large."
Alex smirked, his gaze fixed on the distant T-Rex titans moving across the plains. "Good. Let's give the others something unforgettable."