Nia, I Seem to Have Arrived a Bit Late!

Dark Domain

Under the moonlight, black mud flowed continuously from the King of Pride, Yafuan.

It seeped from his eye sockets and from within his bones.

However, this filth did not come from the Abyss, but from Purgatory.

He was embracing the power and corruption of Purgatory, shaping it into something entirely new.

The voice of the King of Pride, Yafuan, resonated through the Dark Domain. It carried into the depths of the Abyss and beyond into the outside world.

His voice carried an icy tone, filled with longing.

It also carried a tone of mockery toward the lofty existence that sought to control him.

"Purgatory Will!"

"I offer myself as a sacrifice!"

"I pay with myself as the price!"

"With my Mythological Brain, I accept the descent of the Darkness of All Spirits and the world-burning flames."

Endless magical fire flowed from the King of Pride's body, accompanied by endless black mud.

Countless skeletal legions were engulfed, dissolved, and offered as sacrifices.

The entire Dark Domain turned into a chaotic blend of black and red.

Immense power poured in, causing the unstable Dark Domain to tremble. It seemed as though it could collapse into the mortal world at any moment.

The ceramic figure was stunned, but it dared not approach any closer.

It was also a monster from the Abyss. More importantly, it was not an Abyss King who had fused a mythological organ with the Abyss.

If it were to be annihilated, it would have no chance of revival.

It also feared that stepping into the Dark Domain would cause it to collapse instantly, and the madman Yafuan might drag it down to the mortal realm with him.

After all, it was just a ceramic figure acting with authority granted by the God of Original Sin.

The ceramic figure could not understand why Yafuan would do such a thing.

How was this any different from suicide?

With an expression of extreme shock painted on its face, the ceramic figure looked at Yafuan as if he were a madman.

Although the Abyss was home to countless madmen, it was still uncommon to encounter this kind of madness in one who had risen to become a King of the Abyss.

"You sacrificed yourself?"

"You ended your own life just to create Purgatory?"

It could not comprehend his intentions.

Behind it, deep within the Door of Original Sin, the Evil God on the Flesh and Blood Star paused his construction with the blocks, high above the endless black rain.

Xiao watched this scene and found himself laughing softly.

"Anhofus, your old tricks haven't gone out of fashion, have they?"

"After crossing an era, two hundred and fifty million years."

"You really are a lingering ghost."

Anhofus Samo.

In the previous era, the Samo family was the first to explore immortality as mortals. Anhofus was the one who first discovered the path to immortality and created Mythical Artifacts.

Xiao studied under Lan, while Anhofus was a student of Haru. Lan and Haru were the two most significant disciples of the first-generation Sage of Truth, Sandean.

One was like a son who had grown up under Sandean's guidance, while the other upheld Sandean's ideals and legacy.

This made Xiao and Anhofus apprentices of the Temple of Truth from the same generation.

While Xiao was still an ordinary student at the Temple of Truth, Anhofus had already gained fame as a genius.

Anhofus was the first to conceive the idea of using contracts to control monsters. It was said that when Lan encountered this ingenious concept, he was deeply impressed by Anhofus's talent and decided to prioritize nurturing him.

In the end, Anhofus made the decision to leave the Temple of Truth.

After leaving, he created the Bone Demons.

Then came the Disaster of the Evil God.

When the other stood at his peak, Xiao was still an unknown figure in the background.

It took him countless years to reach the shadow of the other.

Now, as he watched someone replicate what Anhofus had once achieved, Xiao could not help but recall his image.

Xiao truly admired such genius.

After speaking, his gaze returned to the figure imitating Anhofus.

He watched as the figure descended to the mortal realm, consumed by madness.

Alone in the chaos, Yafuan mocked himself amid the sea of fire and filth, a chaotic dance of swirling black and red.

Endless black mud flowed from the body of the King of Pride, Yafuan, until the entire Dark Domain could no longer contain the filth and fire.

At this moment, the Purgatory Ritual had also reached its final step.

Yafuan moved toward the gap that had opened in the Dark Domain above.

The moonlight grew brighter, illuminating the path ahead.

Beyond its glow, the mortal realm awaited.

Since Yafuan fell into the Abyss hundreds of years ago, he had never truly set foot in the mortal realm again.

In that moment, he stood bathed in the moonlight of the mortal realm, just a single step away from the world he had once called home.

Yafuan leapt gracefully, reaching toward the moonlight.

Using the domain formed by the Divine Artifact, the Bronze Lamp of Greed, as a stepping stone, he moved forward with determination.

He even turned back and waved toward the ceramic figure behind him, toward the Door of Original Sin, and toward the Evil God deep within it.

Crash!

A sharp crack echoed through the air, resembling the sound of something breaking apart.

The ceramic figure stood frozen before the Door of Original Sin, its gaze filled with disbelief at Yafuan's actions.

"Really?"

"He actually crossed over?"

Only at this moment did it truly realize that everything Yafuan had done was real, not just posturing.

Yafuan rushed into the mortal realm.

He offered himself as a sacrifice and paid the ultimate price to bring forth the true Purgatory.

As the King of Pride, Yafuan, crossed the boundary, his form started to dissolve and fade away.

The clear moonlight enveloped him, and he seemed to merge with its glow.

All that remained was a concentrated blaze of intense flames.

That was his mythological organ and magical fire.

Mortal Realm

In Fort Pence, the mortals were still reeling from the terrifying events they had just witnessed. As they struggled to recover from the shock, another strange phenomenon began to unfold in the city.

The people, busy preparing to clean up the chaos or return home, looked up at the sky and waited.

They saw the Abyss King cross over from the Abyss and enter the mortal world.

The mortals on the street looked up with expressions of extreme terror.

"Again? Something else appeared in the sky?" Some could no longer distinguish whether this was an illusion or reality.

"Bones. It's a bone monster." The huge, grim skeleton was so terrifying that some people reflexively collapsed to the ground, curling up in street corners to avoid the coming impact.

The various Ability Users in the city also stood at high vantage points, watching the King of Pride, Yafuan.

"That's a monster from the Abyss, a skeletal monster from the First Layer of the Abyss."

"A monster over a hundred meters tall? Can you even call that a monster?"

"An Abyss... King?"

Some had already guessed the identity of this terrifying monster, but they could not understand how an Abyss King could cross from the Abyss into the mortal world.

Who in the mortal realm could release these terrifying beings and keep them in the mortal world?

Roar!

The terrifying skeletal monster unleashed a deafening roar.

His body dissolved in the sky, transforming into magical fire that nurtured the emergence of monster intelligence.

At that moment, the ritual array that had been etched into the earth long ago began to stir.

It ascended into the sky, glowing with renewed energy.

Lines of light intertwined above, forming a colossal ritual array that unfolded in the heavens.

In an instant, a vortex opened in the sky of the mortal realm.

The Purgatory Embryo appeared above.

Thick black mud oozed from the pulsating Purgatory Embryo, cascading like a dark waterfall from the sky.

The flowing black torrent merged with Yafuan below, linking him to the fractured Dark Domain.

The two were connected through Yafuan's will and sacrifice, drawn to each other like magnets until they finally fused together in the sky.

The flames roared intensely, transforming the filth into solid earth and scorching it into a stone-like substance.

Finally, a fiercely burning star of flames emerged in the sky, radiating an intense and unrelenting heat.

Within the Flaming Star, a completely new life form was being nurtured. It was the master of a new Abyss, the Purgatory Will.

Before the Door of Original Sin, the ceramic figure stood frozen in silence, struggling to process the unexpected turn of events.

After a moment that felt like an eternity, it finally found its voice.

"What... what is that thing?"

"Is it alive?"

Its vision penetrated all barriers, observing the form of the being nurtured within the Flaming Star.

Only at this moment did the ceramic figure realize that the King of Pride, Yafuan, had actually created another version of himself.

A Lord of Purgatory Yafuan.

Now, it understood why Yafuan had mocked it as a fool at the end.

The King of Pride would rather create another version of himself to become a god than remain forever suppressed by Xiao.

His pride would not allow it.

His dignity would not allow it.

Perhaps his inner will carried another intention. He was determined to escape from this deep and boundless Abyss, even if it meant paying the ultimate price of death.

This will came from the figure under the moonlight, who revealed endless regret. It stemmed from the nightmares that haunted him day after day and from the sentence carved deeply into his memory.

I'm sorry.

And that tear-stained face.

An Abyss King cannot be killed by ordinary methods. Without the intervention of the Original Sin Evil God, they would remain the rulers of the Abyss.

To remove their mythological organs from the Abyss, they would first need to obtain permission from the Original Sin Evil God.

Even if a mad Abyss King wanted to attempt such a thing, the Original Sin Evil God would never allow it.

They would remain eternally bound under the control and servitude of the Original Sin Evil God.

But now, Yafuan had done it.

He had broken through the seal of the Abyss, escaping the eternal control and enslavement of the Original Sin Evil God.

At the moment the Flaming Star was born, Yafuan's consciousness and his mythological organ were entirely sacrificed. They were on the verge of being consumed by the flames, ready to descend into a deep slumber.

The shadow of magical fire surged upon the Flaming Star, and the voice of the King of Pride, Yafuan, echoed from that shadow.

Although it was clear that he was rapidly fading and nearing the brink of extinction, Yafuan laughed loudly, his voice filled with pride.

"Purgatory is born!"

"Do you see it? My Purgatory!"

Hahahahaha!

"I am Pride."

Yafuan's voice echoed across the sky of Fort Pence. "I am... God!"

"I am the destined divine being."

"I am the Lord of Purgatory."

Everyone watched the birth of Purgatory as the former King of Pride unleashed terrifying, wild laughter.

Some viewed it calmly, some were furious, and some felt as if they were witnessing the arrival of doomsday.

As Purgatory reached its full formation and the Flaming Star solidified, a tremendous force began to draw it upward. It ascended steadily toward the gate of the Dream Realm that had opened above.

Yafuan's magical fire gradually burned out.

Eventually, his voice began to take on a clear and steady tone.

His voice grew softer as he began to change, gradually shedding the image of the Abyss's King of Pride.

At last, his voice no longer carried the proud and defiant tone of declaring, "I am God."

Instead, with a sense of confusion, he called out.

"I am..."

"I am."

"Yafuan?"

Yafuan seemed to recall something, and the shadow formed by flames suddenly turned its head.

He no longer appeared as a divine being gazing down upon the mortals below. Instead, he used this final moment to experience what another version of himself might feel while ascending to godhood.

He raised his head, looking at the moon in the sky.

The moon, or rather the moonlight, held special meaning for Yafuan.

In that instant, he thought he saw a silver-haired witch approaching him under the soft glow of the moonlight.

With a happy expression, she leapt down from above and opened her arms toward him.

She called out Yafuan's name loudly, addressing him as, "Lord Yafuan!"

From within the shadow composed of flames, Yafuan also gently extended his arms.

He seemed to want to catch her.

But as light and shadow intertwined, everything faded into emptiness.

There was no silver-haired witch. Everything was merely an illusion, a fragment of a past that had long since faded away.

Yet, a smile of liberation appeared on Yafuan's face.

He seemed to have truly embraced her, holding onto that embrace that had been separated by hundreds of years.

He softly said, "Nia."

"I'm sorry."

Yafuan's voice carried a hint of emotion, as though it was caught in his throat.

"I seem to have arrived a bit late."

He was late.

Late by hundreds of years.

With that smile, Yafuan's shadow completely dissipated.

In the moment his will returned to freedom, the King of Pride, Yafuan, finally transformed back into the former hero of the Avel people.

The real Yafuan had passed away, and there was nothing left that could hold him back.

The golden ship from the Dream Realm arrived to guide him, leading him to the destination that the Creator had prepared for all.

There, where everyone's dreams awaited. All his companions were waiting for him.

Under the lighthouse of Avel, Nia, Sidi, and Echilio stood together, waiting for him.

They would finally be reunited, until the end of time.

Before the Door of Original Sin

The ceramic figure trembled as it watched the King of Pride, Yafuan, speak with unrestrained arrogance.

It listened to his roar echoing through the mortal realm.

"I am God!"

"I am the destined divine being."

"I am the Lord of Purgatory."

The ceramic figure was furious, feeling it had been tricked and toyed with by Yafuan.

Before this, it had always been the one toying with others. No one had ever dared to toy with it.

The ceramic figure let out a furious roar.

"Curse you!"

"This isn't over. You haven't won yet."

"Only the one who prevails in the end can truly be called a winner. Someone like you could never become a god. You could never achieve godhood."

At that moment, a massive divine hand emerged from behind the ceramic figure and seized it firmly.

The ceramic figure, which had once stood tall and mighty like a divine being, let out a surprised cry as it was suddenly placed back on the bone table.

It was pinned down by a left hand.

The ceramic figure that had just been as tall and mighty as a divine being was now truly small.

A little toy held between fingers.

A voice echoed from the front of the bone table, coming from above.

"Silence."

"You are interrupting my data collection."

The ceramic figure, which had been extremely arrogant just moments ago, now dared not say a word.

It remained completely still, as if it had truly turned into a ceramic doll.

The Original Sin Evil God, Xiao, leaned back on his divine throne made of flesh and bones, gazing at that fiercely burning star in the distance.

The newly born Purgatory.

However, at the moment Purgatory was born, an overwhelming and undeniable force descended upon it. This was the supreme Power of Law.

The Power of Law directly lifted Purgatory, that Flaming Star, toward the sky.

The Flaming Star ascended steadily into the sky.

It rose higher and higher until it passed through the massive gate that had appeared above, entering the Dream Realm beyond.

Then, just as the Abyss had been before it, Purgatory was sealed deep within the Dream Realm.

The scene came to a close.

Xiao tapped the pen in his hand, his face deep in thought.

"So, it is still impossible to escape the binding of the Abyss Race Covenant through this method."

"It seems the covenant is not based on the Abyss itself but on the Abyss Race as a whole."

As he spoke, he reached for a scroll lying nearby.

The Crown of Wisdom Covenant and the Second Path to True Divinity

Seeing that Xiao finally had some free time, the ceramic figure immediately spoke up.

"God, that man is too arrogant. He even dared to call You stupid."

"We cannot let him go unpunished. He must face divine punishment, the harshest punishment imaginable."

"Ensure his end is as miserable as possible."

Xiao looked at this ridiculous and laughable ceramic figure and nodded.

"He was right."

"You are very stupid."

"Foolish people always engage in actions that lack any real purpose."

The ceramic figure wanted to retort, but before it could, Xiao lowered his head once more and began writing on the scroll.

The ceramic figure was very dissatisfied, unwilling to have been tricked by Yafuan like this, but at this moment it dared not speak up.

It understood that for the cold being before it, concepts like winning and losing, victory and defeat, or slander and insults held no significance.

The only thing he cared about was whether he had achieved the goal he set out to accomplish.

Now, the Original Sin Evil God, Xiao, was clearly focused on something crucial to his ultimate goal. As a mere plaything, it dared not interrupt him again.

On the scroll titled 《The Crown of Wisdom Covenant and the Second Path to True Divinity》, a few additional lines had been written.

"Experimental Target 1 Demon Spirit Pyramid: On the verge of ascending to mythology, uncontrollable. Awaiting further developments, observe and collect data only."

The previous content had already been written. Xiao was now writing the subsequent content.

Scratch scratch scratch!

The pen stroked across the scroll, creating a light scratching sound.

"Experimental Target 2 Purgatory Abyss: The experimental subject is an existence created using the Abyss as a template. Yet at its birth, it remains bound by the Crown of Wisdom Covenant. Experimental results indicate the covenant is not based on the Abyss as a subject, but on the Abyss Race as a species."

"Experimental Target 3 King of Pride Yafuan: The experimental subject is one who made the Crown of Wisdom Covenant. Until death, he never exhibited any connection to the Crown of Wisdom through the covenant. This indicates that the one who made the covenant is not the one bound by it, showing no special characteristics before the Crown of Wisdom."

After writing to this point, Xiao paused briefly in thought. Then, with a deliberate motion, he continued writing.

"Experimental results indicate that the connection between the covenant and the race is not maintained through any particular individual but through something deeper."

"I need further experimental data to discover the key point of connection between the covenant and the race, in order to find the path to the Source of Wisdom."

Finally, Xiao added one more note to the scroll.

"Experimental Target 4 Lord of Purgatory: Has not yet ascended to mythology. Can serve as material for future true divinity experiments."

The scroll closed.

Xiao set his pen aside with a thoughtful expression.

Deep in the Dream Realm

Unlike the Abyss's black, broken egg form, Purgatory was a burning star of flames.

At this moment, it could not yet be considered large. It was still much smaller than the current Abyss, but the seed had already been planted.

Now all it needed was time to grow.

Similar to the Abyss, it could steadily grow its power using the Crown of Wisdom Covenant and the strength drawn from the Darkness of All Spirits.

At this moment, significant changes took place within the Flaming Star. The life form that had been gestating finally emerged, marking its birth.

A being born with God's Form opened its eyes.

The Flaming Star split apart, revealing a deep crevice, a gorge that seemed to descend endlessly into the depths of hell.

From the depths of the bottomless gorge, an endless swarm of monsters emerged, clawing their way upward.

Layer upon layer of monsters surged out like a tide, their presence utterly terrifying.

From the depths of the gorge, the Lord of Purgatory emerged, walking forward with deliberate steps.

In the midst of the fierce flames, countless monsters gathered to raise a throne for him. They prostrated themselves beneath him, revering him as their master.

Born together with Purgatory, he could be considered a destined mythology.

From the moment of his birth, he held power far surpassing that of an ordinary apostle, comparable to a Wisdom Ability User who had undergone countless reincarnations. However, for now, he remained far from achieving true mythology.

The Lord of Purgatory had a face identical to Yafuan in his youth. His face was expressionless, devoid of any human emotion.

He sat on the throne, feeling his power.

Although newly born, he carried within him all of Yafuan's memories.

"Yafuan?"

The Lord of Purgatory spoke Yafuan's name, his voice filled with uncertainty.

However, he quickly rejected the name.

"I am not Yafuan."

In the raging fire, he seemed to confirm his identity.

This terrifying being erupted with incomparable might, and the entire Flaming Star trembled under his will.

"I am the Lord of Purgatory. I am the destined divine being."

"I need no name."

"Lord of Purgatory is my name."

The Lord of Purgatory rose from the raging fire, gazing toward the direction of the Abyss.

An infinite desire to swallow the Abyss and merge with it welled up in his heart.

From the moment of its birth, Purgatory was destined to have an irreconcilable relationship with the Abyss.

They shared the same origin and were bound to the same destiny.

Between the two, only one could endure.

Either Purgatory would be swallowed by the Abyss, or Purgatory would swallow the Abyss.

The voice of the Lord of Purgatory echoed from within the raging fire, resonating throughout the Dream Realm.

"Original Sin Evil God Xiao."

"Our true contest," he declared, "is only just beginning."

In the Mortal World

The events in Fort Pence today were a series of unexpected twists. Apparent doomsday disasters loomed repeatedly, only to vanish in an instant, leaving the city's residents bewildered and unsure of what had truly happened.

It seemed as if all disasters were converging on this city, targeting the mortals within. Yet, they merely swept past, without even acknowledging the mortals' existence.

In the end, they had managed to witness the sun rise once more.

For that alone, they felt it was worth celebrating.

"Is it over?" When the sun shone upon them, many could hardly believe it.

"Just like that?" People in the western district exchanged uncertain glances. They had seen the meteor fall from the sky, watched the King of Pride descend to the mortal realm, and witnessed the birth of the Flaming Star in the heavens. They had truly believed the end of the world was upon them.

"We're still alive?" Someone burst into laughter.

"This is truly fortunate." The entire street erupted in cheers.

They did not know that while the Abyss Cult and the former High Priest sought destruction for its own sake, these lofty beings pursued their own grand designs, indifferent to the fate of mortals.

The Original Sin Evil God and Yafuan, after becoming the King of Pride, both acted solely for their own purposes. To them, mortals were insignificant and held no importance.

Regardless of their destruction or existence, these beings paid no attention. Their only concern was achieving their own goals, with mortals serving merely as observers to their achievements, not as active participants.

Fort Pence was alive with celebration today as everyone rejoiced in their survival.

"The tavern is half-price today!"

"Let's go, let's go! Time for a drink!"

"That wasn't easy. Today, I must get drunk. I don't want to do anything else."

But amid the cheers, the people failed to notice something unusual.

In the water channel of Fort Pence, a golden bronze lamp gleamed faintly as it drifted away with the current and sand.

The Bronze Oil Lamp, once wielded by Dark Moon and Yafuan, had slipped into the water channel during the collapse of the Dark Domain.

Now, it embarked on a new journey.

It drifted onward, waiting for the next person to claim it.

Waiting for its new master and the beginning of the next story.