Shifting Mist clashed against the blizzard and rocked back and forth. The sparks of golden flares exploded from it, blowing the ice and fog apart. The air rushed to fill the empty point of impact, creating in an inward tempest.

The storm dragged countless ice shards to Shifting Mist. They assaulted the tower peaks until one shattered and plunged into the sea of clouds. The pale fog quickly enveloped Shifting Mist and fought against the blizzard.

The Goddess of Nature and the Goddess of Winter struck Shifting Mist from all direction and at all time. With their nigh-infinite Fons, they could indefinitely hold Shifting Mist here until more of them came.

"If only the God of Light could come."

"The plan needs him. If it failed now, the loss would be unimaginable."

"Fate isn't here anymore. We won't fail."

The golden fog flooded from the gaps in Shifting Mist. It encompassed the blizzard and rainstorm, forcing stillness into the flow of Fons. Its touch drained everything of energy. Like a reaper's scythe, it ended all.

"We should finish up. The Authorities might catch wind of our disappearance."

"We would love to have her alive, but it seems unlikely. Unfortunate."

The Goddesses pulled a thread of Divinity out from their chest. The golden gleam around them dimmed, but the blinding light radiated from it compensated for the brightness.

They waved the thread. A stream of golden light erupted and spread across space, bending everything to its momentum. The fabric of reality twisted, opening a dimensional rift to boundless darkness which existed outside of all.

The crack in space tore toward Shifting Mist, devouring the fog, the blizzard, and the rainstorm. It grazed the gigantic revolving formation and crushed it under its gravitational pull. The Fons dissipated into the surrounding as countless raindrops.

Shifting Mist generated golden radiance and filled its surface with a faint glow. The dusky silhouette of Princess manifested above it, her body overlooking the peaks.

She gazed at the Goddesses, her eyes glimmering azure. She flicked her hand. The fog thickened and blocked all perceptions from passing through. Silently the void crack slithered in.

Everything went silent, but the fog never dissipated. Space around the crack stabilized and collapsed on it, sealing the void away from reality.

In the moment of calmness, a storm of Fons erupted from Shifting Mist. It flowed outward and flooded the sky, extending onward and beyond the horizon. A cloud of magic gathered and rained a downpour of colourful liquified Fons.

The tidal force pushed the Goddesses backwards and blew the fog away. The force shattered a part of Shifting Mist, vaporizing its upper half.

The Goddess of Nature frowned. She analyzed the Fons and traced its beginning.

"This is impossible. She broke through."

The Goddess of Winter looked up, her eyes staring at the whirlpool of Fons which manifested above Shifting Mist. It spanned its diameter infinitely, extending in all directions with Fons concentration impossible to comprehend.

Like a surreal dream, Fons solidified in the air and moved with life. The creatures took countless shapes, from a bug to a tree. They fell from the sky onto a virtual ground and built their ecosystem with nothing but illusions.

Through the blackness inside the whirlpool, a cosmic sphere descended, its shape resembling an all-seeing eye. It hovered above the world and stared at Princess with its flawless surface, peering into her soul.

Without doing anything, all Fons summitted to the sphere, freezing in its presence and waiting for its decree.

The Goddesses gasped before retrieving their thread of Divinity. In front of the beginning of all, their pale insignificant Divinity was akin to a speck of dust comparing itself to the wholeness of the creation.

"What a formidable enemy we've made."

"The Originator is here. Everything is over."

The Goddesses grabbed the main vessel and retreated, their eyes watching the Originator in awe. No matter how far they flew, the Originator never reduced in size, and they never left its range.

All around the world, everyone witnessed the same scene regardless of the distance. The eyeless pupil above the sky viewed the creation in utter indifference.

"Here I stand before the true facet of the world." Princess opened her eyes and stared at the ever-expanding Originator.

Through its reflective surface, she witnessed countless events, from the unknown past to the present and the future beyond, though most of them were blurry, riddled with incomprehensible knowledge.

The solidified Fons approached Princess and seeped into her, cleansing and permeating her with the qualitative change. In a gradual process, Princess found herself in absolute clarity of everything surrounding her.

By imagining, she controlled Fons with perfect accuracy and precision. Her body felt weightless. Her mind transcended the mortal limit.

Because of her new-found power, she understood the sheer magnitude of the Originator. Despite her nigh-infinite power and perspective, she remained insignificant, irrelevant, and powerless. It could extinguish her, who could crush the world beneath her feet with merely a passing gesture, intentional or not.

Princess touched the place where the gem used to be. In its place, an orb rested in slumber, its surface reflecting the complex world it contained. In it, a cycle of life and death reigned from the brutal winter to the lively spring.

"Shifting Mist, you did well. It's time for me to help you."

Princess stood up from her half-torn throne and descended, her every step sparking a wisp of golden Fons that permeated the air. It flowed outward and covered the ground. Its touched shook Shifting Mist.

Princess danced her fingers, weaving the golden Fons into countless ever-changing shapes. They blossomed and spread their spells across Shifting Mist. Their range quickly covered the entire castle, brimming with unending Fons.

As Shifting Mist gradually rewound its destruction, Princess stared at the Originator, the reconstructing ceiling gradually obstructing her field of view. Nonetheless, the Originator transcended space-time and stood in front of her.

Through her mystical pupils, she saw myriad Threads of Fate separating from her body. They bound everything to the laws of the world. Only when one surpassed their limit could break free.

Apart from her, the other Threads of Fate extended in all directions, connecting with all beings. Princess reached out for a group of strands heading to the guest rooms and snapped them. Though her action seemed nonchalant, the Fons she expended was enough to drain any Arbiter to death.

The Originator trembled and forced all Fons to stagnate. It cast its shadow over Princess as if it was judging her. She stared at it without blinking.

"Why are there no Threads of Fate around Angelica?"

Princess glanced at the chamber, her eyes penetrating the walls and landing on the lifeless body in the cylindrical tank. The Threads of Fate that connected all living beings weren't with her.

The Originator stood in silence, its thought incomprehensible if it had any. The Fons around it danced and sang, speaking with utter meaninglessness yet evoking strange emotions to every ear listening.

An eternity later, Princess reached out to the Originator, her eyes fixating on its silvery yet blurry appearance. When she transcended and defied the world, the Originator never interfered. Once she succeeded, it came only to relinquish its control over her Fate.

In the corner of her eyes, Princess peeked at the boundary of the Originator. She found countless chains hanging from above and beyond, supporting the Originator's weight as well as preventing it from fully descending onto the world.

"We will meet again," a soft voice rang inside Princess's soul, its origin undetectable.

Princess blinked and found herself staring at the ceiling. Everything around her had reverted to its original flawless condition. The Originator had departed, though the mystery surrounding it continued to linger.

"Your highness, how may I address you?" Shifting Mist manifested its cubic appearance.

"Address me like before. Nothing has changed, but everything will."

"With your divine grace, the vessel sustains zero damage."

Princess strolled to the guest room and found Consimia sleeping soundly with Ancil dozing off. They were no longer under the influence of Fate. Princess intended to observe the side-effect in the long term.

"Your highness, I'm sorry for my appearance." Ancil jointed awake and performed a bow.

"The situation is resolved. If you want anything, the Arachna will get them for you. Feel free to ask."

"Is there anything else?"

"Do not enter the Hall of Rose under any circumstance, and you might not want to visit the Laboratory."

Princess went to bath. Though using her unlimited Fons to wipe herself was faster, the time she spent in the milk water relaxed her. She found herself pondering about her new-found knowledge about the world.

She took thirty minutes to contemplate about her next move before donning herself in a light black dress and visiting Angelica.

"I believed you're in there. Just wait a little longer."

Princess watched the air bubbles burst and giggled to herself. She sat beside Angelica and retold her encounter. She described her experience and questioned her knowledge as if Angelica was asking about everything.

Because of her accumulative training, Princess was able to digest her new-found perspective and refined her art of Fons, though she had a long way to go before she could compete with the Authorities of old and the Gods.

"I have to go, but I'll be back soon. Sleep well."

Princess bid farewell and exited the room, her eyes peering through the walls and landing on a figure flying to Shifting Mist. Behind him was an army of vessels trying to catch up to his ridiculous speed.

"A guest is coming," Princess said.

"Your highness, he is of no threat to you. If you wish so, we can depart right this moment."

"Let's go. More and more Authorities will move. We don't have time to play with them."

A map of the world manifested in front of Princess. She selected the southern part of the world where the Elementals lived. Though they were a part of the Great Races, they were secluded and stubborn, believing in only the might of the strong.

"I haven't visited the Elemental Labyrinth in a long time. We'll go in and see if my guess is correct."

Shifting Mist swayed as it flooded the sky with the all-concealing fog. The presence of Fons faded under its influence and became lost in time, stagnant as if nothing had ever happened here.

Before she left, Princess tossed a wisp of Fons into the sky. It expanded into a permanent monument with a mark embedded on the fabric of reality itself.

From a distance, the composition revealed an appearance of a holy maiden, cladded in silvery armour. She held her hand at the sky, her presence denoting purity and determination.

Once the Authority arrived at the scene, he fanned his hand and generated a storm to scatter the fog. He looked up in amazement as the holy maiden towered over him, her eyes gleaming in golden light.

The imagery caused him to stagger a few steps back, his memory prompting him to remember where he had seen it before.

"Fallen Princess, the prophecy is right, or is this the self-fulfilling prophecy?"

In silent, he stood motionless, paying his respect to another Authority. Despite knowing she was an enemy, all Authorities deserved respect for their achievement.

It took almost an hour for the fleet to arrive. Its arrangement was messy as they struggled to maintain their formation under such speed.

The Authority descended into the commanding vessel. All the generals and commanders greeted him.

"Your excellency, please don't do anything reckless."

The Authority stared at the Elves around him, his face expressing disdain. "You don't understand. If I were a little faster, I would have seen the Originator the second time."

He sighed before taking a step forward, vanishing from all sight. Soon, the Authorities around the world received the news of the ascension and the confirmed identity of the new Authority.

That day, the new force that could capture the attention of the Great Races and the Arachna was born.

GDLiZy

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