Cold.
Dark.
Silent.
Riven's body continued sinking deeper into the river.
The current carried him through the black water like a lifeless corpse.
His eyes were half-open.
His vision blurred.
His body no longer listened to him.
For the first time since becoming an Ascendant—
He felt truly defeated.
The battle above seemed so distant now.
The screams.
The explosions.
The clash of weapons.
Everything was fading.
Perhaps this was death.
Strangely—
He wasn't afraid.
Only regret remained.
His mother's face appeared first.
The warm smile she always wore whenever he returned home.
The way she scolded him whenever he skipped meals.
The way she worried.
Then his father.
Strict.
Serious.
Yet always standing behind him.
Then Kiara.
The little sister who never stopped talking.
A weak smile appeared on Riven's face.
Then another face appeared.
Ivan.
The idiot.
The arrogant genius.
The friend who always acted like he knew everything.
The friend who somehow always appeared whenever things became difficult.
Then came Mira.
Darius.
The Team Leader.
The Association members.
People he had known for only a short time.
Yet people who had willingly thrown away their lives for strangers.
Their aging faces appeared before him.
Their smiles.
Their determination.
The Team Leader's words echoed through his mind.
"If we don't stand here... then who will?"
Riven slowly clenched his fists.
"I'm sorry..."
His voice never left his lips.
"I couldn't save you."
The darkness deepened.
Then another face appeared.
Aarion.
The mysterious man who always seemed capable of achieving the impossible.
The man who appeared whenever hope vanished.
For the first time in his life—
Riven prayed.
"Please..."
His consciousness flickered.
"Please appear one more time."
The darkness continued swallowing him.
"I'll do anything."
His voice trembled.
"I'll become your servant."
"Please save them."
His vision blurred completely.
"If there is anyone..."
"Anyone at all..."
"Please save them."
Darkness swallowed everything.
On the battlefield.
Lyra slowly forced herself to stand.
Every movement felt like torture.
Blood covered her face.
Her uniform had been torn apart.
Her spear was barely holding together.
The entire battlefield had become a graveyard.
The Association members lay unconscious.
The Team Leader.
Mira.
Darius.
Everyone.
The cultists lay scattered throughout the village.
Some dead.
Some crippled.
And standing amidst the destruction—
The Cult Leader.
Untouched.
Victorious.
For the first time in her life—
Lyra felt despair.
She looked around.
No help was coming.
Riven was gone.
The Association members had fallen.
Everyone had lost.
Then suddenly—
A memory surfaced.
A story told to her as a child.
A secret passed down within the bloodline.
"Those who inherit the Heavenly Qilin Sovereign Bloodline carry a fragment of the Sovereign's will."
"A sleeping spirit."
"A final miracle."
Lyra looked toward the dark sky.
Then slowly dropped to one knee.
Her spear embedded itself into the shattered earth.
"Oh Great Sovereign..."
Her voice trembled.
"Please."
The wind blew gently across the battlefield.
No answer came.
"Please save them."
Silence.
Then—
A voice echoed within her soul.
Ancient.
Majestic.
Older than kingdoms.
Older than nations.
Older than history itself.
"Child."
Lyra froze.
The voice continued.
"Do you understand what you are asking?"
Her heart shook.
The pressure contained within those words alone was greater than anything she had ever experienced.
"If I descend into this vessel..."
"Your body may survive."
"But your Origin may fracture."
"Your bloodline may burn itself away."
"The path to greatness awaiting you may disappear forever."
Silence followed.
A normal person would hesitate.
A genius would hesitate.
Anyone with a future would hesitate.
Lyra didn't.
She lowered her head.
"I don't care."
Her voice remained firm.
"Please save them."
Silence.
Then—
The ancient voice laughed.
Not mockingly.
Not arrogantly.
Almost approvingly.
"Interesting."
"Very well."
BOOOOOOOOOOM!
Crimson light erupted from Lyra's body.
The heavens shook.
The earth trembled.
A pillar of scarlet flames pierced the sky itself.
The Cult Leader's eyes narrowed.
For the first time since the battle began—
His expression changed.
Lyra slowly rose into the air.
Her dark hair transformed into blazing crimson.
Her eyes turned completely black.
Ancient pressure swept across the battlefield.
Pressure that did not belong to this era.
Pressure that did not belong to this world.
Then—
Her eyes opened.
No.
Something else's eyes opened.
The figure looked at its hands.
Then sighed.
"Pathetic."
The voice no longer belonged to Lyra.
It carried authority that could make kings kneel.
"This girl possesses the blood of a Sovereign..."
"Yet she can barely contain a fragment of my will."
The Cult Leader stared.
His smile slowly widened.
"You are..."
The figure looked toward him.
"Not worthy of knowing."
The Cult Leader laughed softly.
"A spirit?"
"An ancestor?"
The figure stared at him.
Then laughed.
The heavens trembled.
"Ancestor?"
"Even her ancestors would kneel before this Venerable."
The spear appeared within its grasp.
The sky darkened.
Scarlet lightning covered the heavens.
The Cult Leader's smile widened further.
"Wonderful."
"I was beginning to think this era had become boring."
The Qilin Spirit looked toward the battlefield.
Toward the remaining cultists.
Then slowly raised the spear.
The heavens began shaking violently.
Ancient runes appeared across the sky.
Mountains in the distance started crumbling.
The cultists finally felt fear.
True fear.
The spear descended.
Heavenly Qilin Sovereign Art: Imperial Beastfall.
The world exploded.
A colossal crimson Qilin manifested behind the spear.
Its roar shattered the clouds.
Its presence crushed the battlefield.
Then—
The attack descended.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
Scarlet light swallowed everything.
The earth cracked apart.
Buildings vanished.
Entire sections of the village disappeared beneath the attack.
The cultists didn't even have time to scream.
Some died instantly.
Some were reduced to blood mist.
Others crashed into the earth with shattered bodies.
When the light finally faded—
The battlefield had changed completely.
Silence remained.
Only the Cult Leader still stood.
For the first time—
A cut appeared across his cheek.
A single drop of blood fell.
The Cult Leader touched it.
Looked at it.
Then laughed.
A genuine laugh.
"After all these years..."
His eyes burned with excitement.
"I finally found something interesting."
The Qilin Spirit looked down at Lyra's body.
"This vessel is weak."
"Otherwise crushing you would require little effort."
The Cult Leader smiled.
"Perhaps."
The wind howled.
The heavens darkened.
And for the first time since entering the Rift—
The battle had truly begun.
End