"Enough, let us set out. Stop the playing around, it is almost night," Lyra said, breaking the relaxed atmosphere in the flower field.
Lyra opened the map, her finger tracing the lines of energy on the paper. "Look, we are near the border of the Eastern and Western Continents. This is the territory of the Xianghua Country," she explained while pointing at a spot.
Azril did not answer; he only reached out his hand to Lyra. Lyra smiled, welcoming the grasp, and in an instant, they shot through the clouds. Time passed quickly until the sun set and night arrived.
"We have entered the Western Continent," Lyra murmured. Suddenly Azril stopped, his eyes staring sharply downward. "What is that?"
Below them, fire blazed. A war had broken out between empires of ordinary humans. Lyra let out a long sigh.
"In your opinion, what is the difference between ordinary humans and those who tread the path of a Star Ascendant? Ah, forget it. No need to answer. Let us go; we should not be involved in the wheel of life of ordinary humans."
They flew again, crossing the continent toward the intended coordinates.
"Do you not want to buy something for your parents?" Lyra asked, breaking the silence.
"Want," Azril answered shortly.
"Alright, let us stop by the Glass Pavilion for a moment."
Not long after, a large city with a pavilion radiating a holy white aura came into view. As they landed and walked through the busy city center, Azril's eyes widened slightly. He had never seen luxury like this before.
"Hey, what do you want to buy? Let me choose it for you. What do your parents like?" Lyra asked, amused seeing Azril's confusion.
Azril went silent for a moment. His memory spun to the figures of his father and mother working themselves to the bone, collecting coin after coin just to buy a piece of meat during the New Year—a simple wish that had never even been fulfilled.
"Meat," Azril said softly.
"Huh? Did I hear that right?" Lyra furrowed her brows. "Try saying that once more."
"Meat," Azril repeated with a serious gaze.
Lyra was puzzled. In the world of Star Ascendants, gifts were usually rare pills or heirloom weapons. Who gives meat as a gift? However, seeing Azril's persistence, Lyra finally bought five bundles of the highest quality meat and stored them in a spatial storage pouch.
"Do you want to go into the pavilion first?" Lyra asked. Azril shook his head.
"Goodness, you! Wait here a moment, I want to find a proper gift for them," Lyra said as she ran inside. Before long, Lyra came out with a different appearance. Lyra was wearing an elegant white gown with gold patterns, with beautiful accessories adorning her hair.
"Do you think I look good?" Lyra asked shyly. Azril nodded slowly. "I have to look elegant, right? I am going to meet your parents," Lyra whispered happily.
"Come on, only two more empires to pass."
While crossing the Yeredith Empire, the sight below was very chaotic. Remnants of war and debris were scattered everywhere. "It's so messy here," Lyra murmured. They continued to speed along until they finally entered the territory of the Aethoria Empire.
IN REMNANT VILLAGE
The atmosphere of the slum village was chilling. A commander and a wealthy merchant entered with an escort of thirteen fully armed soldiers.
"Order all these commoners to get out!" the Commander ordered coldly. The soldiers began to stomp their spears, forcibly displacing residents from their rickety shacks.
The wealthy merchant looked around with a fan in his hand, then his eyes landed on Huo Lan, who was staying at Arlo's house. "Ho... ho... so the scholar who upholds his pride turns out to be freeloading in a nest of commoners? Hahaha!"
Arlo came out, followed by Lana, Aerith, and Lizra. The merchant pointed at Arlo while laughing insultingly. "I remember you! Please, when my son grows up, let him work as a slave at my place! Hahaha!"
Arlo's emotions reached their peak. He stepped forward and landed a hard punch on the merchant's face. Bugh!
"Bastard! You dare hit me?!" the merchant roared. When Arlo wanted to strike again, Huo Lan and Lizra held him back. However, the Commander stepped forward.
"What is all this noise about?" His eyes fell on Arlo and Lizra. "You... you loser traitors who fled from the war! Capture them! Execute them!"
The soldiers released the villagers and immediately approached them to seize Arlo and Lizra. Aerith and Lana prostrated themselves, crying and begging for mercy so that their husbands would not be killed. Huo Lan tried to negotiate, but the Commander kicked him. "Shut up! Capture him too!"
"Take that! You might as well just die! The Emperor ordered me to take this land. Just so you know, I am an insider of the palace!" the merchant mocked arrogantly.
BACK TO AZRIL & LYRA
"We have entered the Aethoria territory. Behind that hill is the barren region near the slum village Yelan mentioned," Lyra said.
They accelerated their speed. As they passed the last hill, a village gate with a large rock covered in cloth came into view. "That's it! We've arrived, Azril!" Lyra exclaimed happily.
Azril was frozen. His childhood memories exploded. He remembered often being taken by his father to walk here. As they landed, the villagers were in an uproar.
"A God... An Immortal has descended!" the villagers shouted while prostrating in fear and awe.
Lyra only gave a thin smile. "Is this truly your place of origin?" Lyra asked Azril.
In front of Arlo's house, everyone was transfixed. The Commander and the merchant were in awe and amazement. "Immortal... a god?" they murmured, trembling. "Mother, are they the gods you often told me about when I was going to sleep?" a child said in the crowd of commoners.
Aerith, seeing hope before her eyes, broke free from the soldiers and ran to prostrate herself in front of Azril and Lyra. "Immortal, help us! I beg you!" her crying broke out.
Azril stood stiffly. This woman in front of him did not recognize him. He lifted Aerith to stand, his gaze shifting toward his house. There, his parents were being held roughly.
Instantly, a cold aura enveloped the entire village.
Sreeekkk!
Without anyone seeing his movement, the heads of all the soldiers holding Arlo and Lizra were severed simultaneously from their bodies. Blood splattered, wetting the ground.
"Respects, Immortal... Did my soldiers make a mistak—" The Commander's words stopped as Azril grabbed his body and threw him into the sky until he disappeared from sight.
Azril then turned to the merchant. He remembered how his father once had to prostrate before this man for a morsel of food. "Mercy, Immortal! I do not know where I went wrong!"
Azril did not speak. He pressed the merchant's body to the ground, punching him repeatedly with thuds that shook the earth, then threw him upward. Azril clenched his fist, releasing a giant energy in the shape of a fist that pulverized the merchant's body until nothing remained in the air.
Arlo and Lana trembled, they were about to prostrate, but Azril quickly held their hands. Azril smiled gently.
"Thank you, Immortal... thank you..." Arlo said with a voice trembling in fear.
Azril's smile vanished. His eyes were empty. He wanted to shout that he was their son, but they only looked at him with fear as an "Immortal." His world felt as if it were collapsing.
Lyra approached, bringing Aerith. "Respects to the Immortal..." murmured Huo Lan, who was also trembling.
Lyra asked Aerith about this oppression. After hearing Aerith's answer about how they were used as war bait and their land was seized, Lyra's face also turned cold. "Do you all hate the Aethoria Empire?"
"YES!" they answered in unison.
Azril could not hold back his emotions anymore. He clenched his fist toward the air, ripping the dimension until a terrifying spatial rift was created. He pulled Arlo and Lana inside. "Bring them too, Lyra!" Azril ordered with a heavy voice.
"Where are we going?" Lizra asked in a panic as Lyra brought them into the rift.
In an instant, they all appeared in the sky, hovering exactly above the capital city of the Aethoria Empire.
"COME OUT, YOU BASTARD EMPEROR!!!" Azril's voice thundered, shattering the glass of the buildings below. The citizens of the capital looked up, their faces pale with terror seeing the figures hovering in the sky.
"Quickly call the Lord Protector of the Empire!" the Emperor said to the State Teacher in a panic.
"Respects, Lord Protector. Enough, I have already heard," said the Protector of the Empire; a Step 3 monster is calling for the Emperor, what is this? he thought.
The mysterious Protector of the Empire had been the protector for 200 years.
The Protector of the Empire began to speed out from the palace. "Senior, forgive me, what is your business? I am the protector of this empire, a Step 2 Star Ascendant!" said the protector, trying to negotiate.
"Bug!"
Before he could finish speaking, Azril's fist had already pierced through his chest, leaving a hole. The protector's corpse fell like trash.
"Quickly call the archers! Shoot them!" the Emperor shouted from below in a panic.
Azril disappeared for a split second, then reappeared carrying a massive mountain in his hands. The mountain hovered, blocking the sunlight, making the entire capital pitch black. The Emperor instantly fell to his knees, weak.
Lyra tried to stop him, but Azril was already blind with rage. He released the mountain.
BOOMMM!!!
The mountain fell crashing down, flattening the entire empire in a single strike. The screams of thousands of people vanished instantly, replaced by a chilling silence. The Aethoria Empire was wiped from the map of the world.
Without a word, Azril brought Arlo and Lana back into the spatial rift toward Remnant Village, followed by Lyra and the others, leaving the ruins of destruction behind them.