The sky shimmered in Aurora lights, and the six crescents bloomed in their magical beauty, shedding their silvery moonlight on one-half of the land of this beautiful Star, Aestra, one of the most prominent Realms and a Capital World of the Southern Heaven. 

On the Star, its biggest and most bustling city, the Aezeri, was devoid of its usual zeal and zest. 

The streets were empty, and a melancholic atmosphere gripped the air. 

However, there was one place that was very busy right now, and it was the Central Tower of Aezeri, the one where the Inter-Realm Transportation Portals were situated. 

The Potals constantly blinked as more and more people arrived in the Tower, mostly children and their mothers, and some men who survived had survived the war. Most were doused in blood, and without exception, all of their eyes were horror-stricken. 

A middle-aged man with a light beard, Ashaya by race, who was one of the Guardians of this Tower, an Eternal Saint, a False Immortal, only a step away from entering the next Desolation Realm, pensively looked at the main Gateway to the Allied Realms. 

He was one of the most powerful people on Aestra, a man who had lived for thousands of years, and seen blood and death, but right now, his eyes were a little misty as troublesome thoughts gripped his heart. 

Suddenly, the main Portal shined, and for a moment, his mind blanked when he saw only one person emerge out of the light, someone who was just as old as him, and he too was doused in blood just like the other people who were coming here. 

And this man needed immediate medical attention.

"Cira!" The Guardian of the Central Tower rushed forward, helping his dear friend, and his heart sank when he watched the injured man apologetically lower his eyes. 

"Denzi?" His voice wavered a little as he voiced a name, and the man in his arms shed a tear. 

"I am sorry, Yexuan." Cira apologised. "Denzi did not make it... No one did..." The tears pooled out of his eyes uncontrollably, and Yexuan staggered as his already broken heart broke some more. 

Denzi was his son, if not my blood, then by a Vow, and he had raised him since he was a little boy. Now, his son was gone too, joining a long list of people whom he had lost in his life. 

"Who?" He asked, rage gripping his heart, but Cira's answer immediately deflated his resolve for vengeance.

"The Evil God..." Cira fearfully whispered the name. "He was there, all by himself... And we don't know what crime the people of Hirae committed, but he eradicated the entire Realm, not even sparing the Immortals that came to pacify the situation..." 

The more he listened, the more Yexuan felt like the sky was crashing down on him. 

"He killed them all, Yexuan... All of them..." 

It was the same man again, the Master of that despicable Medusa, who killed his Alana right in front of him.

The Lord of Darkness and all Evils... That's what they called him. 

"The Southern Heaven will fall. The Army of Darkness is marching towards us." 

"The Line..." 

"There is no Line!" Cira suddenly shouted, coughing up some blood as he aggravated his condition, breaking Yexuan and everyone around them out of their fear and hopeful thoughts. 

He was right. 

There was no Line. 

The Evil God did not care about the Line, and they had never succeeded against him. Even when Central Heaven fell, they all stayed silent, citing the excuse that they were still recovering from their losses against the Lord of Darkness and his Family.

Silence reigned in the great hall, and Yexuan felt a little dizzy. 

They feared that Darkness would march on them. His ambitions knew no bounds. 

And now, their worst nightmares were about to become reality. 

"We should surrender..." Someone in the Hall whispered, which soon had more people voicing their agreement, and Yexuan felt his heart ache at those words just like the others who had lost their loved ones at the hands of the Army of Darkness. 

He, however, could not deny that it was probably the best decision. Cowardly? Yes. But indeed a wise decision that would save tens of billions of lives. 

However, the decision was not in his hands, but in the hands of those who Ruled Aestra, and in the hands of the Immortals and Gods, under whose jurisdiction the Southern Heaven fell. 

Submitting to the Evil God meant that they would make enemies out of the Immortals and Gods, who currently controlled and owned the Southern Heaven, and they might have to suffer again in the future. 

If the rumours were true, the Evil God was not yet a True God, so, was it really the wisest of decisions to make enemies out of some True Gods by submitting to him? 

But then another question rose in his mind. 

Why were the Gods silent?

His mind went into chaos as he thought of all possibilities, but in the end, there was only one thing that truly saddened him. 

Yexuan felt sad at his own weakness. 

There was nothing a weak man like him could do when the Immortals and the Gods decided their fate. 

And did the Immortals really care for the Heavens? 

They had their own abode, a more blessed abode. 

To them, the Heaven Realm was a lower plain of existence, nothing more than a playground. 

And to them, the Mortals were replaceable, dispensable, and just Servants who would do their bidding.

Wallowing in his loss and thoughts, Yexuan dropped Cira under the care of a Doctor, and then arrived at the very top of the Central Tower, looking listlessly at the beautiful sky. 

He remembered all the good times he had spent with his adopted son, and how promising the child was.

Yexuan was even sure that Denzi would earn Immortality even before him, despite being a thousand years younger, but it seemed like it was not meant to be. 

Now, he just hoped and prayed that his child would be granted another life, and he wished that it would be a peaceful and long one.

Hours passed, and the sky still remained dark and full of beautiful lights. 

Nights were long on Aezeri, very long, and tonight was the longest night of the year. 

Suddenly, the dark sky started brightening up in a golden light, and Yexuan narrowed his eyes as he watched a Portal appear in the sky, fearing the worst. 

However, his fears proved unfounded.

His heart thumped hard against his chest when three beautiful maidens emerged out of the Portal, all wearing veils and beautiful gowns, but from the Aura that they were exuding, it was clear that they were Immortals and very powerful ones at that. 

And then a Divine Constriction descended on all of Aestra, announcing the arrival of a Goddess in their Realm.

"The Royals of Aestra have submitted, and the World is now under the command of the Empress of Runes." The girl with the fiery chestnut hair spoke, and her voice was heard all over the Realm. "Everyone who takes refuge here can rest peacefully. This Realm will not be a part of the war that is about to take place." She announced, and then they watched the entire sky brighten up in brilliant Golden Runes. 

Yexuan felt himself losing control over the Shields of the Central Tower as they were effortlessly broken and overwritten. And he was sure that similar things were happening all over the world.

He had heard about her, the Golden Empress, the Empress of Runes, The Sacred Architect, the Inheritor of the Runic Monarch. But this was the first time in his long life that he was seeing her. 

And she was Ethereal...

Her Golden eyes were shining brightly, and they only stopped shining when the Runes in the Sky settled down.

And just like she had arrived with her three subordinates, she left through the swirling Portal in the sky. 

Once the Golden Empress left, the Announcements from the Royals of Aestra reached their respective territories, informing people about the war that was about to take place in Southern Heaven, and also confirming that they had indeed submitted to the Empress of Runes. 

Unbeknownst to him, a tear escaped Yexuan's right eye, and he lowered his head. 

Seemed like not all Immortals were the same, and some indeed cared for Mortals like them. 

He knew that the Golden Empress held a lot of weight in the Immortal Realm, and she was also favoured by the Temple of Light. It seemed like people were finally acting against the Evil God. 

Then again, they were a little late... He had already lost everything to Darkness. 

His pain gripped his heart, but soon he found solace in the hope that, at least, the land that had been his home for the longest he could remember, would survive. 

Suddenly, he felt the Aura and Mana inside his body growing excited, and red streaks of lightning started revolving around his body. 

It was a sign that he was about to step into the next Desolation Realm, a chance for him to become a True Immortal in the future. 

Yexuan looked at the Sky again, right where the Portal had closed, and he promised himself that if the Golden Empress was as just as he had heard, he would submit himself to her after arriving in the Immortal Realm. 

It was a whimsical resolve, but a resolve nonetheless. 

Yexuan dropped the badge of the Guardian of the Central Tower as he disappeared from his place, going into retreat to pass the Desolation. 

He reached his destination just in time before weakness crept in, and everything started crumbling down as reality seemed to fleet away. 

A pair of golden eyes with slits opened, and a young man, lying on soft grass, frowned as he found a blue sky covering everything in his visions. 

It did not take him long to realise that he was experiencing a memory in the form of a dream, and he took a deep breath to calm down his turbulent heart. 

He slowly sat up, inspecting his injuries, which had all healed, except for the long scar that now diagonally ran from his right shoulder to his waist. And it brought along its own set of memories.

It reminded him of everything that had transpired earlier, and the angry roar of a Dragon escaped his lungs, travelling far into the surroundings. 

"Damn you, Demiliore!"