Asqa felt the portal journey twist her senses, leaving her dizzy and disoriented. It had been a long time since she had left Uriel’s domain, and now, the first chance she got, she was escaping through an interdimensional portal.
Her body felt like it was unraveling from all sides, bombarded by an overwhelming flood of colors and distortions she couldn’t even begin to explain. Her mind struggled to process everything happening at once.
And then, suddenly, her feet touched solid ground. The sensation vanished. She was no longer traveling through the portal.
Asqa immediately doubled over and vomited. Afterward, she collapsed onto the ground, staring blankly ahead.
"Where... What..." she mumbled, dazed.
She glanced around, taking in her surroundings. Only now did she fully realize where she had ended up.
Floating landmasses drifted around her, anchored by some strange force that kept them from colliding.
She herself stood on one of these landmasses—a much smaller one compared to the others, its edges clearly visible.
The sky was dark, cracked open in places. It was the same scene she had witnessed when she first completed the apocalypse.
She recognized this place. It was one of the Ruins—a shattered world, left abandoned and forgotten after the Selection Stage.
"You good?" Clyde asked, standing beside her.
"Uh..." Asqa swallowed hard. "Yeah. I think I’m good. What happened?"
"I pulled you out of Uriel’s domain. You did well holding her off."
Asqa let out a heavy sigh. "I almost died."
"Yeah, good thing that Archangel’s half-mad now. She can’t fight properly," Clyde said.
Asqa looked at him. "Is she really mad?"
"Not completely. I think an Archangel has more resistance than her followers."
"What about the other Archangels?"
"They’ll end up like that soon enough," Clyde replied. "Same with the other Demons and Celestials."
Asqa blinked, then swallowed again. A powerful force was at work—one so overwhelming that even higher beings couldn’t resist it.
But Clyde seemed to know more than he was letting on.
"Clyde... what is actually happening?" Asqa asked.
Clyde sighed before answering. "This is going to be a long explanation. Come with me—we need to treat your wounds first."
"A-Ah, right." Overwhelmed by everything that had happened in the past few minutes, Asqa had completely forgotten about her injuries.
Clyde helped her to her feet and carried her toward the mansion.
They arrived quickly, but Clyde realized there was no healer here. All he had were a few health potions that Graemory had given him.
"Here." Clyde handed her the potions. "This is all I have for now. There’s no healer here, but at least you’ll feel better."
Asqa nodded and quickly drank the potion.
"I’ll explain everything to you. But it’s going to be a lot, so bear with me, alright?" Clyde said.
They were in Clyde’s room now, so that Asqa could rest as soon as he finished explaining.
A few minutes passed. Clyde tried to explain everything as briefly and clearly as possible. But for Asqa, it was still overwhelming
Too much was already happening. Clyde had only revealed the smallest part of the truth, and Asqa knew it. She could sense it in the way he carefully chose his words, holding back the full extent of whatever was going on.
Asqa’s eyes drifted toward the remnants of battle outside the mansion. Many of the floating landmasses were scorched, some entirely shattered, reduced to drifting debris.
The air still carried the faint scent of burnt stone and something more unnatural—like reality itself had been torn apart and barely stitched back together.
There were a huge battle here when Clyde fought againts an unknown enemy that was so strong.
She exhaled heavily. "For now... I think I know enough. I don’t want to hear any more yet."
Clyde studied her for a moment, then gave a small nod. "Alright."
A short silence passed before he asked, "Are you hungry?"
Asqa hesitated, considering the question. She hadn’t even thought about food until now, but the moment he mentioned it, she realized just how empty her stomach felt.
"Yeah... I guess I am."
Clyde stood up and headed for the door. "I’ll have something brought up."
He left the room briefly, calling for a servant to bring them food. A few minutes later, a knock came at the door, and Clyde opened it to take the trays.
He placed them on the small table in the room, then handed Asqa a plate.
Asqa focused on the meal, letting the warmth of the food ground her.
The quiet between them wasn’t uncomfortable—it was the kind that came after surviving something terrible. A moment to just exist before facing whatever came next.
In her domain, Uriel was still wreaking havoc. Her mind was no longer her own. It was twisted, unstable, and consumed by fury.
She had just lost Asqa, the traitor! And that man. That unknown man who dared to speak nonsense before vanishing.
"What did he say? That she would feel what happened to those lower beings in the Selection Stage?"
Ridiculous. She was an Archangel. What did their suffering have to do with her?
But then she looked around. Her domain was in ruins. The once-pristine halls, now fractured and broken. And her warriors—her loyal soldiers—had all turned into grotesque, mindless creatures.
She had been forced to kill them herself, one after another, each death a sickening reminder.
This... This was exactly what had happened in the Selection Stage.
When they—the higher beings—watched from above as lower beings slaughtered each other, searching for the strongest among them. Testing them and then using them.
Was it all coming back to them now? Was this what was happening?
But how? Who could do this?
Her hands trembled. Then clenched into fists. Her teeth bared in rage as the realization clawed its way into her mind.
"Is this... Is this the World Master’s doing?!"
Uriel screamed again, her voice shaking the very foundations of her domain. With a single sweep of her blade, she cut down more of her own corrupted warriors as they lunged at her, their twisted forms barely resembling the soldiers they once were.
And still, more of them kept coming. Their bodies were deformed beyond recognition now in a matter of seconds, their divine essence tainted.
She couldn’t let this continue. She had to act and had to find out who was behind this.
But first, she had to kill every last one of her corrupted warriors.
Uriel’s body trembled as an overwhelming fiery aura erupted from her, stronger than ever before.
Her eyes, once filled with divine purpose, were now sharp and cold, devoid of any emotion. She looking at the corrupted warriors before her, and for the first time she decided to felt nothing.
No remorse and no sorrow.
They had become tainted. There was no saving them.
That was the truth she told herself, without bothering to think further.
And so, she began the slaughter.
Her blade cut through them with ruthless precision, flames trailing her every strike.
The corrupted warriors howled, their twisted bodies writhing in agony as they fell one by one. Blackened blood splattered across the ruined ground, the stench of burning flesh filling the air.
She moved without hesitation and without restraint.
From within the buildings not too far away, the remaining followers—those who had not yet succumbed to corruption—watched in stunned silence. Their eyes wide with shock and fear, reflected the inferno outside.
This was the power of Uriel.
Their leader, the Archangel of Fire, was burning her own domain to the ground.
Time passed, though no one knew for how long.
Uriel’s domain had been reduced to a charred wasteland—a shadow of its former self. Some buildings stood in ruins, blackened and crumbling, while the scorched ground smoldered with dying embers.
Inside the last standing structure, her remaining followers cowered in silence. Fear gripped them too tightly to move, too suffocating to even glance outside. The question lingered in their minds.
If they became corrupted like the others... would Uriel slaughter them just as mercilessly?
The answer seemed obvious.
Then, the door creaked open.
Uriel stepped inside. Her blazing aura was gone, her once-flaming sword now dimmed. But the air around her still burned with an intense lingering heat, making those inside flinch as she passed.
Without a word, she strode to her throne and sat. Her expression was unreadable, her gaze empty. The silence stretched unbearably.
Then, she reached out with her mind.
The connection formed instantly. Gabriel’s voice came through, sharp with concern. "Uriel? Are you alright?"
"I’m still containing my warriors," Gabriel said. "The ones who changed are being held under control for now."
Uriel’s eyes widened slightly. The thought hadn’t even occurred to her. She had killed them all. Without hesitation, without consideration.
Why hadn’t she tried to contain them?
"Uriel?" Gabriel’s voice cut into her thoughts. "If you’re done, come see me."
"I’m done," she answered flatly.
A pause. Then disbelief. "What?"
"I said I’m done." She stood from her throne. "I’m coming now."
She turned and walked toward the door.
"Y-Your Majesty... what about us?" One of the scholars finally gathered the courage to speak, his voice trembling.
Uriel stopped. Slowly, she turned to look at him, her eyes hollow, lifeless.
"Take care of yourselves," she said.
Then, without another word, she stepped outside, spread her wings, and flew away.