The Grand Elder snapped his gaze towards the peak of the mountain. His golden eyes flashed before dimming down, revealing a strange symbol that continually developed as time passed.

"Interesting. It seems like everything is ready." His profound words caused the two leaders to glance at where he was staring. Although they did not like his attitude, they would always respect his words.

The masters of Divine Eye Tower were all mysterious, having the ability to foresee a fragment of the future. No one knew the origin of their power, but everyone feared their wraths. Usually, they would never intervene with the ordinary conflict, but now, the emergence of a strange treasure had caught their attention.

As his words resounded, the world trembled, accompanied by a sudden flash that enveloped the Fleeting Emotions Ruin and extended beyond its surrounding. The colourless spark intensified as they gathered together to form a completed dome that encompassed the mountain.

Space above the mountain twisted, breaking apart and forming the all-devouring darkness. From the inside, strands of light leaked into the outer world, creating various sparkles that appeared and disappeared randomly.

As if accepting the invitation of the dancing light, an object slowly floated out of the darkness, revealing the reflective surface. The bright glitter originated from it attracted all gazes towards its appearance— the silhouette of a supreme crown.

The crown stationed above everything, waiting for the worthy to bear it upon their head and became the ruler of the Fleeting Emotions Ruin.

"... Crown of the Faithless King. So, the legend is true. Anyone want to try to seize it?" With his gaze landed upon the majestic crown, Intor smiled and spoke to himself, making sure that his voice was loud enough for every second-ranked masters to hear.

Although unconfirmed, there was a rumour about a being at the age of legend, who stood above everyone and ruled one region of the Sorcerer World as its sole king. The title conferred from the mountain of corpses beneath his throne: the Faithless King.

Hearing the name of the treasure, the First Elder of Flying Green Garden started to regret his decision. Although the mythical treasure from the legendary period was tempting, its connection with the Faithless King instilled fear into his mind.

As one of the Taboo Existences, any mention of his title would bring calamities and tragedies to everyone. Even the great powerhouses of the region would dare to talk about him, let alone his puny Flying Green Garden.

"As the representative of the Mountain Emperor, this Envoy declares that the matter regarding the crown will no longer concern us." Without any hesitation, the Mountain Envoy quickly announced his intention to retreat and disengage from the deadlock. Carelessly meddling with the forbidden subject could cause the downfall of Mountain Union.

Intor looked around with his cold gaze, not giving any attention to the Elders from Flying Green Garden. Before long, his gaze travelled back onto the Crown, and he smiled.

"I'm afraid that it's already too late." Although his smile revealed no ill intention, the aloofness it carried was enough to shake everyone's mind.

Just as his voice dissipated, the strange runes warped and twisted, moving closer to each other. In an instant, they connected and scattered, rapidly forming sentences and words before shuffling and rearranging.

'When the World ends, the Faithless King shall return. With his army of the Forgotten, he shall slaughter into the Origin. May the Fated Ones fall.'

Even though the symbols were high up in the sky, everyone could see the sentence and its meaning with the clearest ease. The runes broke off from the limitation of distance and manifested in front of every sorcerer, including Forus who lost his ability to see.

As soon as the runes formed the last sentence, they shone brightly before exploding into a powerful firework. The impact and sound of such magnitude rocked the mountain and made a dent on the transparent dome.

Strangely, not a single person within the radius of the impact suffered any injury. If not for the collateral damage in the landscape and the mountain, one might assume that the explosion was merely an illusion.

There was no heat, no fluctuation of Elements, no pressure. The magical wind went through every living being without interacting with them. Except for the bright colour and loud noise, the impact felt harmless.

Despite the nonexistence damage dealt towards the sorcerers, the landscape did not have the same fate. The mountain containing the Fleeting Emotions Ruin split in half as a giant rift emerged from the depth of the rocks.

From the blackness inside the rift, various bubbles floated outwards, revealing the strange scene on their transparent surface.

Different bubbles exhibited different landscape. Some showed the wilderness while others revealed the dark underground. However, among them, only the unique ones would reveal the strange worlds unseen within the Sorcerer World.

Although most of the sorcerers did not recognise the scenery, some that expressed various emotions. Anger, fear, excitement, and anxiety occupied the face of the sorcerers who survived the trial of the Fleeting Emotions Ruin.

"Soon, the invasion from the otherworld beasts will begin. Everyone, only when blood covers the mountain will the seal weaken." Intor smiled as he gestured his hands, signalling the sorcerers of Divine Eye Tower to get ready for the battle.

As the bubbles broke apart, low groans echoed into the surrounding and filled the world with a depressing aura. With the burst, space shattered into rifts, revealing the passage into the strange worlds seen from their surfaces.

Little by little, unique organic lifeforms emerged from the rifts, stepping into the Sorcerer World with a violent cry. Although chaotic and mostly mindless, their bloodthirst permeated the atmosphere as soon as they set their sight onto the sorcerers.

Different rifts produced different monsters. The cold world created ice-based creatures while the underground world gave birth to the spider-like monstrosities.

"Listen, everyone! The opportunity to ascend is here. Kill them and absorb their Fate!" Intor spread his hands out and shouted, using his sorcery to send his voice towards the floating fortresses.

Shortly after the confusion, the sorcerers from Divine Eye Tower quickly resumed their formation and began casting their spells. They were the first to rush into the battlement and fought with the otherworld invaders.

Inside their floating fortresses, they could safely attack the monsters while keeping themselves protected. However, the vagabond sorcerers did not have the chance to enjoy it. They could only keep retreating while dealing with any creatures that set their sight on them.

The second-ranked sorcerers also had their hand full. Although the first-ranked ones were holding back the mindless monsters, the flying and commanding lords of creatures also eyed the treasures and knowledge of the strong. Once they descended into the Sorcerer World, they ignored the weak and headed towards the floating sorcerers.

Fights erupted everywhere, and the already tensed situation exploded into a chaotic mess. A multitude of monsters attacked the sorcerers, forcing everyone to try their best. Colourful light flashed throughout the battlefield, revealing their short-lived brilliance before fading into nothingness.

"Let's go. The night is still young. I hope that you won't fall so easily." After taunting the others, Intor and his Elders moved towards the incoming creatures and began to slaughter them.

As the bloody battle commenced, no one had enough time to notice that the monsters ignored two sorcerers and went past them. Not knowing the situation, Ocelia and Forus could only stay in place and remain on high alert.

Ocelia was standing in front of Forus, intertwining her hand with his as she peaked at his pained expression. Although her chest was burning in pain, and blood was dripping from her mouth, she did her best to safeguard him.

With his body, the physical pain could never distort his face. However, once the Faithless Crown manifested, his mind trembled due to its calling. With each passing moment, a chaotic power surged through his realm of consciousness, forming an intricate symbol that branded itself onto his singularity soul.

Sensing the anomaly, the grey soul released the tendrils and tried to absorb the chaotic energy. Once they clashed, the two forces could not overpower each other, causing Forus to feel more and more pain due to the increasing intensity of their fight.

"Forus, hold on tight, I'll bring you out!" In his muddled mind, Forus nodded his head and let Ocelia carry him. Because of the strange phenomenon, she was able to quickly get away from the centre of the battle.

Aside from the occasional straying spells, Ocelia was able to safely avoid the monsters. As if sensing something within her body, the mindless ones cowered in her surrounding and the smart ones retreated away from her presence.

"Wait, Ocelia! Let me help him." Just as Ocelia placed Forus onto the ground, a feminine voice caught her attention. Abicel was rushing towards her location with a worried face.

Since she intentionally let Ocelia go, Abicel felt slightly guilty and tried to follow the two to help them. After all, she broke her promise with Forus.

"You helped me once, so let me repay you this time." Abicel just smiled and picked out some solutions. Professionally, she applied them onto Forus' wounds.

As soon as the solutions touched his skin, the wounds showed signs of closing. However, the shortage of sorcery energy and mental pain was the source of his suffering; the physical pain was negligible.

Unbeknownst to Ocelia and Abicel, the abyss-like eye sockets of Forus shone in bluish light. Little by little, the intricate design similar to the pattern on his soul emerged from the darkness, constructing itself into a mystic sequence.

The process of breaking down and reconstructing occurred in both his physical body and mental mind. Every time the two energies collided, they would chip away the other's momentum, fusing and merging into a more stable power.

Although their collision caused his body to break and tear, with the help of Abicel's healing potions, Forus would not exhaust himself too much from the blood loss.

Just as Abicel and Ocelia were monitoring his condition, a sudden fluctuation of Elements exploded from the centre of the battlefield and engulfed the Fleeting Emotions Ruin. At the epicentre, green thorned vines twisted as a sharp claw slashed them apart.

"Don't blame me, little friend. Blame yourself for being so weak." A distorted voice echoed from a winged humanoid insect. Its iron-crushing claw, grabbing onto the beating heart of a sorcerer, tightened after its speech ended.

The beating heart tried to resist the force done onto it. However, no matter how strong it was, the insect felt no resistance as the heart crumbled into a bloody mess.

"... The First Elder will avenge me..." The figure standing in front of the insect gradually withered into a dried corpse. The roses floating around him bloomed into a wonderful scenery, accompanying his passing with their bloody fragrance.

"Pectoris!" The First Elder screamed as his blade went into the core of a bird-like monster. The creature painfully shrieked as the vibrating noise crashed onto his body, shaking his organs and trying to damage them.

Just as the First Elder shouted, the members of Flying Green Garden noticed the situation and quickly distanced themselves from the dying Pectoris. Some even risked receiving a strike to increase the distance between them.

After crushing the heart, the insect only had a moment to absorb the blood before it froze in terror. The overwhelming sense of fear emerged from its instinct, causing its body to tremble as it attempted to move away from the roses.

"No! I refuse to die here!" The distorted scream of the insect paled in comparison to the shattering noise of the roses. Its body melted into a sea of rose petals, drifting across the mountain and disintegrated into a blood-like mist.

Not only the insect monster but everyone who failed to leave the area also sustained various degree of injury. If not for the unfortunate insect taking most of the damage, the sorcerers from Divine Eye Tower and Mountain Union would have suffered more than this.

The self-destruction of Pectoris disrupted the flow of the fight. With his last spell, the tension arisen from the war magnified towards the point of insanity.

In that instant, two beings with the god-like ability fell into the grip of death. The first victim of the ritual had fallen.