The world beyond their realm of light witnessed the arrival of a celestial being.
The Light eventually formed a replica of the Arbiter with all 12 wings and 7 tails. Her form was far larger than it was originally, and what blemishes she had was replaced with a pale, glowing body of light.
She was easily over 100 meters large. The feminine form of her body as Michaela barely existed in this, aside from the mounds on her chest that could be interpreted as breasts. But they were armored, and running through the chinks of her armor of light was a deep, scarlet red.
Accompanying it were large, golden stripes that resembled a ribcage. Her form was still humanoid, but only in appearance. Otherwise, it was entirely alien.
She had two legs and six arms. Her head was enlarged by a mass that took the shape of a 12-armed star.
Furthermore, her inner mouth was completely red and monstrous, as a single row of slitted eyes surrounded her head. They glowed with a golden light and were the only thing reminiscent of the Arbiter aside from her wings and tails.
Held in the upper and lower pair of her hands were colossal Markers, each at the minimum 300 meters long. The swords of light pointed their tips against one another above and below the Arbiter, creating a diamond shape.
Her form was one of perfect symmetry.
Her tails and wings crumpled the cage that contained the Fruit of Light. The nigh impenetrable rings of eyes were flung across Grandis, flattening small mountains with their enormous size.
Eventually, the wings and tails that defined her were swallowed into her back as though fusing with the remainder of the Light.
All but one tail remained. This was the tail that pierced into Guf. It yanked out a bead of light into the world, accomplishing what it had set out to do. A soul was taken from Guf. Held in her middle hands was the sheathed blade.
The bead of light was delivered to the weapon before the tail shrunk back into her, and at once, the blade exploded into a nebula of gaseous Light. Immediately, the blood that was spilled from the Subcut Layer began to gravitate towards the bead of light in her palms.
Uriel watched it all in horror. There was nothing she could do now. That form that Michaela assumed was all too familiar to her.
“The Pale Arbiter. The Star of the White Forest. A rebirth of a Star amongst Stars.”
Blood as far as 20 kilometers away was pulled into the bead of light. A sea of red webs surrounded the soul of Ilya before suddenly, it was all pulled in at once, creating an Ilya born from the blood of humanity as the Light she once held was syphoned by the Arbiter.
A 40-meter large version of a bloody Ilya appeared. She was taken into the body of the Arbiter as though she was being absorbed.
Ilya was freed from the shackles of the Captured Star. Her Cycles were no longer tied to an existence other than her own as Ilya; the daughter of Michaela.
“Transferal of Light. You reconstituted the Light that defined her existence for the lesser material that plagues humans? She’ll be indistinguishable from them even if she carries a spark of Light and your blood!”
Indeed. Ilya’s Light was taken by Michaela. But it did not cause the Light to shatter. Michaela’s vessel, which had once been primarily P-Factor, was now almost purely Light.
Almost, because some of the blood that constituted Ilya was also absorbed by the Arbiter. It entered through the crimson chinks in her armor, fueling her as her mouth widened to reveal a set of jaws.
Deep within that maw was light.
Uriel’s body nearly froze in place as she backed off as far as she could. The windup of the Arbiter was the only thing that saved her in the following minute. Her heart raced as beads of sweat trickled down her forehead. Even Angels could sweat, but Uriel had not remembered a time in her life where she did outside of physical exhaustion.
“Evacuate. Leave Grandis! Immediately while you still can!” Uriel relayed a message to her conspirators.
Those who received it would heed her at once.
After all, they had never heard her so frightened before. If Uriel was afraid, then there was no hope left for them here. Death only awaited. Uriel’s instincts were correct to scare her into fleeing from the Arbiter
Suddenly, once Ilya was fully absorbed into Michaela’s body – A one kilometer sun dog formed around her. Light was chromatically aberrated around the edges of that ring, causing a myriad of colors to shine.
The tails flung out from behind her and came in the form of golden strips of light. This time, they were disconnected from her body. They formed 7 rings behind her back again, creating what served as both wings and a halo to match the magnitude of her glory.
Then, 12… no, 56 rays of light emanated from the edges of the sun dog. They became her wings, and they annihilated everything they touched. Each were as long as 30 kilometers, and they mimicked the rays of the sun when one squinted at it.
Michaela became a Star.
A Star that was not like the others. Stars were made of P-Factor. This has never changed. But Michaela was a Star born from the Light. Her form had ascended beyond her original, and she now held the full power of a Star.
She lifted her middle arms to the skies. Ribbons of light trailed from Guf into her hands, syphoning souls to further fuel her body.
Uriel desperately clung onto an Etched Coin with grated teeth.
“It was just Grandis and a few Regions that saw you when you became the Icon of Judgement. Your existence now and the fruit of the Rose has been broadcasted to every inch of this wretched world. The sea has its limits. They’ve seen it. Your light has already reached their shores… There will be no Star that does not know of your existence.”
She slowly cracked the Etched Coin, preparing to depart.
Nothing of value was gained here. Uriel had lost her wings, the Price of Paradise, a wish from the Piece of the Fallen Star. Her meticulously crafted plans had all been in vain.
“The Rose we intended to create would have allowed us to prepare for those apocalyptic days ahead. When that day comes, and when Stars begin to traverse the seas, you’ll realize what a mistake it was.”
Uriel couldn’t accept this. She was so far gone that she continued to try to talk sense into Michaela as if it would miraculously cause her to reach an understanding. She was like a child that refused to admit defeat.
And with that, Uriel disappeared, leaving the Arbiter uncontested.
Her middle hands pulled on a handle that miraculously descended from Guf. A great blade shaped like a Marker was pulled free with a powerful heave.
The Gate compressed into a tiny halo before disappearing as she stabbed the blade into the air above. The 50-kilometer blade matched the color of the pale Nexus, whose color had suddenly returned as if to acknowledge the blade.
Then, the symbols of the Yetzirah appeared along the length of the blade. It began from the bottom, with inscriptions reading:
Desire, Wrath, Lament, Attachment, Purpose, Civilization, Despair, Ego, Hope, Judgement and finally – Amalgamation.
Civilization was the only node on the blade that was illuminated with light. Suddenly, light filled the node of Judgement. It was far brighter than Civilization. Light had poured into the Yetzirah, but no one knew what it meant.
… No, there was someone who did.
< Magus has kindly fed me with your Awakening Requirement. Albeit far too late. Whether you can hear me or not will not matter. I will repeat it to you as many times as you ask when you return >
< For now… Magus congratulates you not causing another Shattering of the Light >
< You have restored it >
< With each Awakening that occurs, more Light is restored to the Nexus >
< Awakenings are indeed such marvelous things >
Finally, the blade flipped so that the edge was facing the world.
Then, it came crashing down upon the remnants of Mount Saris like the wrath of a deity. A pale disk extended across all of Grandis much like the Gate. When the blade impaled the earth and replaced Mount Saris with the Marker it released a pale ring of energy across the surface of Grandis.
< [OOOOO] [Vanquish Impurities] [OOOOO] >
< Impurities shall never set foot into my kingdom again >
< EFFECT: ??? Awakened Skill >
It moved so quickly that nothing could possibly attempt to outrun it. The wave scaled mountains, explored caves, and pulsed through forests harmlessly.
However, upon touching a Sin –
– A 50-meter Marker burst from their exploding bodies. The Marker stood stall amongst its surroundings like a prideful beast. A scream accompanied their arrival. Larger Sins gave birth to even larger Markers, some as large as hundreds of meters. The largest were born from the Odium Corporeus Maximus’.
A desolate choir of screams resounded across the entirety of Grandis as Markers spontaneously appeared all over the world. It did not matter where the Sins were, be it underground or within shelter. The pale wave – the Trumpet of the Arbiter – would cause them to transform, destroying rock as it pierced through the earth.
Before long, the Trumpet reached the very coastlines of Grandis, leaving behind a purified Region of Elysia free of Sins. What the world witnessed was the power of a Star. Its very reach defied all reason, and illustrated how civilizations were utterly destroyed by such entities, and why they were even revered as gods.
Michaela had ascended beyond the logos of the world.
And this time, she sought to bring about her promised paradise the way it should have been done from the start.
Thousands of enormous Markers littered Grandis; the proof of its purification.
And not only that – but of its liberation.
< [OOOOO] [Paradise Found] [OOOOO] >
< The promised kingdom has come >
< EFFECT: ??? Awakened Skill >
The wrath of the Arbiter and all her glory ushered a new era of Grandis.