The years after the heavens fell were quiet in a way I had never known before. The world no longer trembled under divine will or demonic shadow. Cities flourished, rivers ran clear again, and laughter, once drowned by war, returned to the wind.
But even peace has weight.
Watching over the world had become both my blessing and my burden. The mark of divinity still glowed faintly on my chest, a silent reminder that I was more than mortal yet never truly a god.
They called me the World Sovereign, the guardian of the new age. Farmers prayed in my name, warriors swore by it, and scholars built temples under it. But every sunrise felt lonelier than the last.
Arina often spoke to me, though even she sounded gentler these days—less like a system, more like an old friend.
"The balance holds, Mukul," she said one morning as I stood overlooking the shining capital. "The Divine Gates have closed fully. The world breathes freely again."
I nodded. "And what of me?"
There was a pause—warm but bittersweet. "You were made to wander between worlds, not to rule one."
Her words settled quietly. Ever since my ascension, part of me had felt the same pull—a faint echo calling from far beyond this world. Earth. My first life. The forgotten beginning.
Lian Xueyin and Yue Xiang still remained by my side. Together we guided the continents, shaping harmony among nations. But even they could sense the distance in me.
"You've been staring at the horizon more lately," Yue said one evening, her voice like a drifting tide. "Are you searching for what you left behind?"
I smiled faintly. "Maybe I'm remembering instead."
Lian's frost aura shimmered as she leaned against the balcony rail. "The world no longer needs saving. That frightens you more than the war ever did, doesn't it?"
I didn't answer—but they both knew.
Then, on the night when the twin moons aligned, Arina's voice returned, clearer than it had been in years.
"Host… Your final destiny node has awakened."
I froze. "Final?"
"Yes. The system's purpose is nearly complete. You have ruled and protected. Now your path must return to where it began—Earth."
A strange silence followed before she added, "But before you leave, a new resonance has emerged. A soul lost between worlds. Your third summon."
The air shimmered, golden lines forming a circle before me.
Arina's tone softened. "Summoning sequence—active."
The world glowed white for a heartbeat, and when it cleared, a girl stood before me. She looked around with wide, cautious eyes, long violet hair falling in waves down her back. Though she seemed young—perhaps eighteen—her aura carried centuries of sorrow.
Arina's voice began her formal introduction:
Name: Lei Mira
Age: 18 years
Cultivation: Celestial Emperor Realm (Peak)
Spiritual Root: Thunder-Light Dual Root
Innate Talent: Heavenly Storm Heart
Physique: True Thunder Body
Technique: Crescent Tempest Dance
Speciality: Lightning control, spiritual defense, long-range combat
Favorability: 70%
She blinked at me, as if trying to remember something. "So it's you again," she said quietly.
Something in my chest tightened. "You know me?"
She smiled faintly, though her eyes glistened. "You once pulled me from the ruins of the Thundering Valley years ago. I was dying beneath lightning that had forgotten mercy. You said, "No storm lasts forever."
The memory hit me then—an image of a girl in tattered silver robes, lightning devouring her world, and me carrying her through rain. I hadn't realised back then that I'd saved a fragment of fate itself.
Her voice broke the silence. "I waited for you," she confessed softly. "Every time thunder called, I thought maybe you'd return."
I stepped forward, but before I could speak, Arina did.
"She waited because your paths were bound long before you became a god. The lightning that nearly ended her life carried remnants of your own energy. She is both your creation and your companion—a reflection of what you could've been if born in storm instead of flame."
Lian and Yue appeared then, sensing the disturbance. Lian's eyes softened with understanding, but Yue's calm flickered with quiet concern.
"So another joins the circle," Yue whispered with her usual grace.
Lei Mira bowed her head deeply to both of them. "I owe him my life. If walking beside him means war or peace, then I accept both."
Lian smiled faintly but didn't answer. The air between the three women seemed alive with unspoken emotion—rivalry, affection, and respect.
Arina's voice echoed gently again. "The world now rests in balance. The Goddess System no longer requires guardianship. Its cycle ends with your departure. All that remains is your farewell."
I turned to Lian and Yue, both watching silently. Their eyes said what words couldn't—don't forget us, and don't forget yourself.
Then I looked at Lei Mira, the storm still flickering faintly behind her eyes. "Will you come with me?"
She smiled, small but brave. "Until thunder finds its peace."
The sky darkened as I raised my hand, the Eclipsera Blade stirring one last time.
Light folded around us, a bridge connecting all realms. Arina's whisper lingered over the rushing wind.
"Mukul, the system has fulfilled its purpose. The Goddess smiles once more. You stand as the man who unified worlds—not by conquest, but by heart."
The wind broke into calm. I looked once more upon the world—the mountains glistening with dawn, the rivers singing under silver light, the people free.
"Goodbye," I whispered, though part of me already knew I'd never really leave them.
Arina's final words followed softly, like a lullaby across eternity.
"The cycle closes... and begins again. Balance doesn't end—it changes form."
As the bridge of light swallowed us, I saw flashes of every moment that had shaped me: the boy found in a dustbin, the mark that burned, the master who taught me hope, and the world that finally stopped bleeding.
And beyond the veil, Earth waited—a quiet, fragile home—for the guardian who had once been a god.