The chamber of the West Alliance was thick with tension. Alexander Vane sat at the long table, surrounded by the council members. Olivia Alexanderia stood just behind his chair.
"You keep talking about unity," one of the senior councilors said, leaning forward. "But every shipment from the East still goes through your guild first. We want our share. Properly. Officially."
Another man added, "The East is a goldmine now that the monsters are pushed back. Why should East Horizon decide who gets what?"
Alexander's jaw tightened. "Because my people are the ones dying for that land. Not you."
"Your people?" a woman across the table scoffed. "Easterners. The ones half the West still calls cursed. You think the public cares if a few more of them die?"
Olivia leaned down and spoke quietly near Alexander's ear. "You have to stop negotiating with them. Take strict action. The only real path left is the elections. Even with half the planet gone, what's left of Vaelion still runs on democracy. Win that, and you control the rest."
Alexander straightened. His voice dropped.
"Listen carefully. If any of you try to cut into the East's recovery funds again, I will cut you out of every supply line my guild controls. No food. No flux weapons. No medical support. Try me."
One of the older men chuckled. "Threats from a guild master? We're not afraid of you, Vane. The people already see Easterners as less than human. Some still keep them as cheap labor. Your guild is the only reason those refugees are even allowed to breathe here. Without public support, your threats mean nothing."
Alexander stared at them for a long moment. Then he suddenly laughed — sharp and loud.
"Do you really think I have no face left to win the faith of the people? Or that I have no one who can control their fear?"
The door opened.
Alexander's voice carried over the room. "What if I summon a literal god in front of the people? I believe then they will worship and elect only me."
Tianya stepped inside. Her golden hair fell neatly over a golden-white royal dress. The air in the room shifted the moment she entered.
She looked at the table without hurry. "I am Tianya, the Goddess of Light."
Several guards moved at once. "Remove her—"
A flash of pure white light exploded across the chamber. It was not ordinary flux. It was denser, heavier, older. God flux. Everyone except Tianya was blinded. Even Alexander and Olivia had to shield their eyes.
When the light faded, a pair of pure white wings made of light energy had unfolded behind Tianya's back.
She glanced at the stunned council. "This is the time to show my power to the world."
She turned and flew straight through the window, glass shattering outward. Outside, the level-50 guards stationed around the building could not even stand properly under the pressure of her presence.
High above the city, Tianya's form expanded. A giant dharma body of pure god flux took shape in the sky — an enormous luminous version of herself that could be seen from every corner of the town.
Her voice rolled across the streets like thunder.
"I am the Goddess of Light. I will protect those who stand under my blessing. Alexander Vane, Guild Master of East Horizon, carries that blessing. Support him, and you will be under my light."
The giant form lingered for several heartbeats, then dissolved into countless particles of light.
Silence lasted only a short while. Then every media channel exploded with the same footage. People across the West stared at their screens, shocked and uncertain. A woman claiming to be a goddess had appeared in broad daylight, and the pressure of her god flux was something even SSS-class calamity monsters could not match.
---
Some time later, Alexander sat on a sofa in a private room. Luna Ren lounged across from him, a faint smile on her lips. Tianya sat beside them, calm as ever.
Luna looked at Alexander. "So you were hiding a trump card this whole time. A real goddess. How long were you planning to keep that quiet?"
Alexander exhaled. "Long enough."
Luna turned her attention to Tianya. "So you also know my father. You are even a person… or a goddess banished from the mystical world?"
Tianya regarded her for a moment. Luna only smiled.
"I am just the age of your father," Luna said lightly. "Now I can say that there are people on this planet even older than you."
Tianya's eyes narrowed slightly. "Hmmm."
The three of them sat in the quiet room while, outside, the entire West continued to talk about the goddess who had appeared in the sky.