Her heart gradually cooled, accustomed to death, accustomed to farewells, accustomed to maintaining calmness amidst grief and eternal separation. She learned to smile at funerals, to be composed in the face of loss.
"Really, dreaming of things from long ago."
The Hero opened her eyes, with a tranquil gaze, she watched the world split in two before her.
What lay before her was everything that had succumbed to depravity.
Arcane Surge—simply such a term, far from capturing that world-upending vista.
Like a flood heralding destruction, like a tsunami declaring the end, beneath the wings of the Great Demon, was a world where both the air and soil were saturated with malice, thoroughly twisted.
Dark clouds, corrupted soil, a poisonous atmosphere...
In this hellish world teemed Goblins, Black Treants, Magic Wind Elves, Depraved Flame... and those humans and Magic Creatures who had lost their original forms, distorted in posture, who were once kin and even companions.
Before her gaze, there were no kin, no companions, no beings to rely on, only widespread evil, only the twisted form of the Corrupted Phoenix filling the skies and the land.
Under the undeniable malice of half the world, her presence seemed so minute.
Yet behind her, the sound of a Long Blade being drawn rang out.
Someone stepped forward, standing shoulder to shoulder with her.
The Hero did not look back, only revealing a slight smile.
Alone, she certainly could not change anything.
Even though she had walked ahead of everyone, stood in front of everyone.
But just like she had Determined to become a Hero, others relentlessly pursued her steps, trying to chase her, keep up with her, Transcend her.
And now, on this seemingly endless journey, they had finally reached the ultimate starting line.
Behind the Hero stood countless beings brimming with Battle Intent.
Not just Humankind, Snow Woman, Sand Lizardfolk, White Snake...
Demons and Magic Creatures alike, all unwilling for their existence to be twisted, unwilling to fall, have raised their Weapons, bared their fangs, and rallied under the Hero's banner.
Behind her, there lay verdant meadows, azure blue skies, everything she yearned for.
The world was divided at this point, and only one part was destined to remain.
The Hero drew her Longsword, her soaring Magic Power piercing through the dark clouds, charging towards the near-eternal Great Demon.
2. Heart of Still Water
7. Deteriorating Curse
10. Critical Success/Extreme Failure
3d57+30=(52)+d57(54)+d57(8)+30=144
Fragments of a broken sword, imbued with immense Magic Power, streaked across the sky like Meteors, falling on distant lands, and igniting a few insignificant sparks at the horizon's edge.
Countless beings looked up, watching this signal of the end.
The Hero still stood high above, Magic Element was her solid stepping stone in the void, toxic miasma not harming her Mutant organs, not even the Depraved Flame could make her frown, as the distortion within her had long since surpassed this.
Yet, her Magic Power was no longer as high-spirited as it began, her Armor already in shambles, beneath the tattered clothes lay a body covered in scorch marks and dense wounds.
And before her, the Fallen Phoenix spread wings sharp enough to cleave the skies, the Great Demon's majesty undiminished, its crimson Phoenix Eyes reflecting that tiny existence precisely.
The Hero looked towards the gradually sinking Sun, ripples emerging in her violet pupils.
The moment the Sun completely sets, the Great Demon's power will erupt entirely, with the temporary cessation of Resurrection Power, a black Sun will descend here, a vast cataclysm will shroud everything within sight, and ultimately both Degenerators and Resisters will meet equal death under the fiery tsunami.
Even if she and a very few others survive, even if the Corrupted Phoenix could not resurrect during the night, they would not have the strength to fight again.
But this was also the only chance.
She would use this colossal force to activate the long-silent giant volcano beneath her feet before destruction befalls on the land.
The Great Demon's power twisted the world; if the strength of Humankind, of living beings, could not reach it, then seek the world itself for help.
This long-silent giant volcano connected to the core of the stars, that purest flame, untwistable, would become an eternal prison, incarcerating the Corrupted Phoenix here.
How much unbearable price and sacrifice have they paid, how long have they struggled through despair and darkness, before they found this one and final chance of Vitality?
And up until this moment, in order to grasp this sliver of chance, people were still reducing the few things they had, struggling forward.
The Hero could feel, on the other side of the battlefield, where companions clashed with the Degenerator's Followers, the sharpness of the Long Blade was gradually shattering, and many familiar spirits began to fade, disappear, and even twist.
But they had not despaired, had not given up.
Because she was still there.
The Hero still stood in front of everyone.
As sunset was imminent, the Corrupted Phoenix no longer held back, unleashing a sweeping blaze, diving towards the Hero.
"...Actually, if possible, I wish for no more such Heroes like me to appear."
But that was unachievable, because this was not the end, she had not put a full stop to all this, pure Fire could imprison the Great Demon but could not kill it.
In the far future, in an era long after they were forgotten, the Fallen Phoenix would eventually return to the light of day.
At that time, will more mighty ones emerge?
Or perhaps, will the civilization of Humankind simply not survive until then, extinguished by other disasters?
Even the most powerful Prophet could not glimpse into that future's mere Scale and Feather.
But if it's true, humankind will once again face the Great Demon...
"Hopefully, when the time comes, the one standing here will not be a liar like me, but a true Hero."
Facing the imminent Break the Void, she spread her arms slowly with a hint of bitterness and a hint of nonchalance.
The last ray of the setting sun disappeared over the horizon.
Then, accompanied by the roaring of the earth and the trembling of space, in the catastrophic Magic Power explosion akin to the heavens falling and the earth cracking, the split mountain peaks ejected magma straight into the sky.
Countless rocks turned into thousands of meteor-like flames, like fireworks, illuminating the pitch-black sky, swallowing the dark Sun within them.
[Judgment Requirement Three]
2. Demon Time (Switch to positive personality)
3. Purifying Fire Seal (Draw power from the volcano)
4. Dusk Ice Flames (Use emotions as fuel)
6. Anchor: Cycle of Reincarnation♛
10. Critical Success/Extreme Failure
3d47+60=(17)+(3)+(46)+60=126
[First Round of Forging Statistics]
[Beast Spirit Magic Power: 7557]
Requirement: Ice Heart (Spirit remains unaltered by external factors)
Difference 20-14=6, essence capture successful, consuming Magic Power 6+6=1200,
Total value=40 (Weak)
Effect: Calm the uncontrollable heart, suppress excessively intense emotions. (D30)
[Beast Spirit Magic Power: 6357]
Requirement: Ice-Frozen Soul (Preserve the soul on the brink of death from dissipating)
Difference 52-54=2, highly successful in essence capture, consuming Magic Power 2+8+10=2000
Total value=144 (Fairly strong)
Effect: When the spirit mutates, forcibly chill the soul. (D100)
[Beast Spirit Magic Power: 4357]
Requirement: Cycle of Reincarnation (Join the world's cycle, slowly and permanently remove the curse)
Difference: 17-3=14, some deviation in essence capture, consuming Magic Power 14+46+20+30 (Critical Success)=11000
This will anchor the requirement at the cost of a large amount of Magic Power.
Total value=126+30=156 (Strong)
1. Upon success of Ice-Frozen Soul, add D10 curse removal (Total value 100)
2. Remove D10 curse with every level up
[The Magic Power consumed in the Third Round exceeds the Hero's limit and will be assisted by——]
3.~7. Gleaming Scale Serpent♛
10. Critical Success/Extreme Failure
[First Round of Forging Complete]
[Hero's Luck (3-Exhaustion)]
[Location of Ice Abyss Prayer House]
1. Beneath the Ice Lake
2. In the depths of the Snow Mountain
3. Near the Sword Tomb♛
7. Within the reflection
8. Eternal Frozen Ice Field
9. Ancient Village Ruins
10. Critical Success/Extreme Failure