The moment the Inheritance of Fire was completed, Vivian heard the crisp snap of a lock breaking. It was the sound of floodgates in the depths of a soul being shattered by a torrent.

  The scalding Golden Liquid poured entirely into the mouth of The Unstained. The Holy Fire rushed down his throat and between his teeth, unstoppably flooding that parched body.

  His Adam's apple bobbed, swallowing greedily, like cracked earth devouring a violent storm.

  "Drink..." Her heart trembled as she stroked his forehead. "The Holy Fire is not a punishment. It is molten gold that casts you into sanctity."

  Just then, a piercing wail tore through the air.

  The warning did not come from a mortal throat, but from the void above.

  Countless red runes exploded out of thin air, popping up one after another like a swarm of panicked demons.

  Most terrifying was a countdown timer, slicing the originally holy ritual into fragmented chaos.

  [ WARNING: GLORY OVERFLOW ] [ EXTREME SACRILEGE: FALSE COVENANT · UNAUTHORIZED UNION ] [ DEEP HERESY: SIN BACKFLOW · SANCTITY CORRUPTED ]

  Nonsense!

  Vivian flew into a rage. Her fingers danced in the air, trying to slash away these counter-attacking evil spirits. "Begone..."

  Suddenly, the blast doors were smashed open. Crow rushed in, wrapped in a wave of heat, and shoved Vivian aside.

  Mother Mora appeared right behind him.

  She was clad in the "Armor of Sanctified Light," a relic rarely shown to others. Six articulated silver arms unfolded behind her, each one humming and sparking with electricity.

  "Mother! Look!" Vivian ignored Crow’s rudeness. She wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth, pointing excitedly at the Holy Coffin. "The Fated Covenant is sealed! The Unstained has accepted the Holy Fire! He is sharing my pain..."

  But they didn't even spare a glance for Vivian. They surrounded the Holy Coffin, their fingers tracing afterimages in the air.

  Mora’s voice was filled with terror: "Lord Morrison... I must pull him back!"

  Pull him back?

  Vivian tilted her head, her golden curls falling over her eyes.

  He is already bathed in the Grace of the Supreme One. Why drag him back into the mud?

  But no one answered her.

  Crow dragged The Unstained out of the Holy Coffin like a dead fish and threw him onto the unfolded black case nearby.

  "Hold him down!" Mora roared.

  Then, Vivian stopped breathing.

  Time seemed to be forcibly stretched.

  She saw a silver arm behind Mora eject a buzzing Light Blade.

  No prayer. No ritual washing of hands. Not a shred of reverence. Accoumpanied only by a mechanical whine, it plunged without obstruction into The Unstained's chest.

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  With a hiss, the skin curled open like burning paper, releasing a suffocating stench of scorched flesh—the smell of burning sulfur.

  Vivian had to clutch her chest. That blade felt as if it had sliced open her own heart, the pain nearly bending her double.

  But this was not the end.

  Mora dragged a long, transparent leech from the black case and, with her cold silver hand, thrust it deep into The Unstained's chest cavity.

  The black case emitted a greedy, slurping sound.

  A stream of blue light was sucked out—the very Holy Fire she had just transferred.

  Another leech was stuffed into his body by Crow. A pale yellow liquid surged in, flushing away the golden traces, washing away the sanctity of the Covenant.

  Vivian opened her mouth, but no sound came out.

  Why use mortal water to extinguish the Holy Fire?

  Why drag The Unstained from the Gates of Heaven back into the Abyss?

  A ladle of boiling oil was poured over her heart. Vivian curled into a ball, every inch of her flesh sizzling.

  Unacceptable. Absolutely... unacceptable.

  In that moment, her golden hair danced without wind, like a burning solar corona.

  She spread her arms and uttered a Holy Syllable belonging only to a Fire Keeper:

  "KNEEL!"

  This was not a mortal voice. It was the screech of tearing Mithril.

  Space distorted instantly. The Ark screamed, cracking open a fissure. Eldritch Blue Light flooded every corner of the Chamber of Transference like a tsunami.

  In this moment, there was no Guardian, no Mother, not even herself. Only the Blue Light itself.

  The walls vibrated violently, dust raining down.

  All the red runes extinguished instantly, leaving only flat lines representing "Dead Silence."

  Crow looked as if he had been hit by an invisible giant hammer. He was flattened against the floor, his body emitting a chaotic crack, followed by the sound of retching.

  Mora’s Holy Armor burst into sparks and spewed black smoke. Those arrogant silver arms drooped powerlessly, like six dead snakes.

  The world was finally quiet.

  Vivian, bathed in gloom-blue light, walked barefoot across the mess. She pulled out the greedy leeches.

  Then, she picked up the man with the open chest, dripping with blood. It was like holding the entire world, or holding her own shattered self.

  She gently placed him back into the Holy Coffin.

  "...Don't be afraid." She cradled the back of his neck, her fingertips brushing over the bloody wound. "What they took, I will return to you double."

  She leaned down again.

  This time, there was no probing, no hesitation.

  "No... Don't..." Mora lay on the ground, her eyes bulging from their sockets. "...That is The Primordial Fluid... He... will melt!"

  Melt? The corner of Vivian’s mouth hooked into a scornful smile.

  You mortals. What do you know? This is called... Rebirth.

  The world died... and lived again.

  She stood up and displayed the man to the two of them.

  He did not melt.

  On the contrary, in the blue light, the incision on his chest—along with other wounds, bruises, and dark scars—began to wriggle and stretch visible to the naked eye. Pink buds of flesh wove together like living vines, scabbing, falling off, and finally becoming smooth as new.

  Even his tightly furrowed brow relaxed.

  The convulsions of pain vanished. His breathing became long and powerful.

  Ritual complete! He is Purified!

  The blue light on Vivian’s body retracted into her bones, turning into a veil as cool as moonlight, covering Mora and Crow.

  Mora stared dead at all this, her lips trembling, unable to utter a word.

  The vomiting Crow stared at the Holy Coffin, the corner of his mouth twitching violently.

  It was the instinctual aphasia of mortals facing a True God.

  Vivian puffed out her chest, looking down at the two ants from above.

  "Did you see clearly? This is Inheriting the Fire. This is Purification."

  Her voice returned to calm, but now carried a chilling indifference. "You only know the Dogma, but you do not know that the Dogma is written by the Fire Keeper with miracles."

  This time, no one dared to move, and no one dared to argue.

  She turned her back to them and knocked on the coffin wall.

  "Get out."

  The voice was not loud, yet it carried an unquestionable divinity.

  Behind her came the sound of metal scraping and stumbling footsteps.

  Moments later, the heavy door closed quietly.

  The Chamber of Transference returned to silence.

  Endless exhaustion washed over her. Vivian slid to the floor.

  She pressed her cheek against the cold crystal wall of the coffin, drawing on its coolness.

  In the second before her consciousness fell into darkness, the sleeping face of the man in the coffin fell into her dream.

  The world inverted.

  She was lying in that cold Holy Coffin, her body cracked and dry, smoke rising from her throat, looking up in despair.

  And The Guardian stood in the clouds, leaning down toward her.

  She stared at those lips.

  Give it to me... her parched throat begged. Kiss me... even if it is poison.

  In a low moan of satisfaction, a sense of shame shivered up her spine.

  But it had never been so sweet. Like a stray fawn wandering the wasteland for too long, finally finding its Master.