The First World.

  A couple of days later, after Nyxarin heals himself to a tolerable state, he sits across from Kaelan inside the tower.

  The room is quiet, suspended high above the clouds, its walls etched with faint runes that hum softly with restrained power.

  Nyxarin lifts the porcelain cup and takes a slow sip.

  The tea is made from the seven-element liquid.

  The moment it touches his tongue, warmth spreads through his body, flowing along his meridians like a gentle tide.

  He exhales softly.

  The familiar energies are there, fire’s vigour, water’s calm, wind’s sharpness, earth’s steadiness, lightning’s tension, light’s clarity, and darkness’s depth.

  But something else moves beneath them.

  Nyxarin’s eyes narrow.

  There is a new energy in the liquid.

  He can perceive it.

  But he cannot grasp it.

  It feels like one of the seven elements.

  Yet also like all of them together.

  Not fire.

  Not water.

  Not wind.

  But something was born from their union.

  A higher synthesis.

  His fingers tighten around the cup.

  He understands.

  This is not a naturally occurring energy.

  This is something created.

  Something forged.

  Nyxarin looks up at Kaelan, who sits calmly across from him, hands folded, expression serene.

  “So this is it,” Nyxarin says slowly. “The energy with which… You ascend to Godhood.”

  Kaelan smiles faintly but does not deny it.

  Nyxarin lowers the cup and sets it down.

  Two days ago, they were enemies.

  He had expected death.

  Or at best, imprisonment.

  Instead, Kaelan healed him.

  Sheltered him.

  And then offered him something absurd.

  An opportunity.

  Not mercy.

  Not charity.

  An opportunity that even a father would hesitate to offer his own child.

  Godhood.

  Nyxarin’s brow furrows.

  “I still don’t understand,” he says. “Why me?”

  Kaelan tilts his head slightly.

  “Why can’t it be you?”

  Nyxarin lets out a short breath.

  “This is a chance to ascend to Godhood,” he says. “You have followers. Disciples. People who have served you for centuries. Why give this opportunity to me and not them?”

  Kaelan’s eyes soften, but his answer is not sentimental.

  “There are many reasons.”

  Nyxarin hesitates, then speaks more carefully.

  “Please tell me the reason. It will give me peace of mind.”

  He pauses.

  “And it will allow me to accomplish what you want without hesitation.”

  Kaelan studies him for a moment.

  Then he nods.

  “First,” Kaelan says, “we don’t have time.”

  Nyxarin stiffens slightly.

  “Our world can be invaded at any moment,” Kaelan continues. “The balance is fragile. Preparation must be completed before the first blade falls.”

  He raises a finger.

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  “Second, right now, you are the closest to Godhood among all available candidates.”

  Nyxarin’s eyes widen subtly.

  “And third,” Kaelan adds, “one of your authorities aligns perfectly with what I need.”

  Nyxarin’s throat tightens.

  “What authority?” he asks quietly.

  Kaelan lifts his hand.

  The space between them ripples.

  Reality folds inward, and an image forms in the air.

  The inner void.

  Black, vast, silent.

  Within it float the Sun and the Moon, locked in distant orbit.

  Asteroids drift aimlessly.

  And there, expanding steadily, is the divine kingdom of Isla, luminous and alive, its borders slowly pushing outward.

  Nyxarin watches, breath caught.

  Then the image shifts.

  Large rocks appear in the void.

  One by one, they move, guided by invisible force.

  They arrange themselves into a vast array, spanning the space between Sun and Moon.

  Each end of the array anchors itself to one of the celestial bodies.

  The moment the final rock locks into place, the array ignites.

  Golden light pours from the Sun.

  Silver radiance flows from the Moon.

  The energies travel through the array like veins filling with blood.

  The rocks begin to change.

  At first, they glow faintly.

  Then cracks form across their surfaces, releasing brilliant light.

  Nyxarin leans forward.

  One rock collapses inward, then explodes outward into a blazing sphere.

  A star.

  Another follows.

  Then another.

  Each rock transforms, becoming a miniature sun, radiating stabilised power.

  As each star ignites, the array brightens.

  The void fills with light.

  Soon, countless stars form a blanket, stretching across the world’s unseen boundaries.

  A shield.

  Nyxarin’s mind races.

  This is the opportunity to ascend to Godhood.

  It is a true Divine Array.

  And the power of the array will make even a mortal ascend to Godhood in time.

  Kaelan waves his hand.

  The image dissolves.

  Silence returns to the room.

  “Now,” Kaelan says calmly, “you understand what needs to be done.”

  Nyxarin’s hands tremble slightly.

  “Yes,” he says. “And I understand why.”

  He looks up.

  “But what guarantee do I have,” Nyxarin asks, “that you won’t kill me after I complete the array?”

  Kaelan smiles.

  A slow, honest smile.

  “No guarantee.”

  Nyxarin’s breath catches.

  “I can kill you now,” Kaelan continues evenly. “Or you can gamble.”

  “You complete the array.”

  “And maybe… I won’t kill you.”

  The words hang in the air.

  Cruel.

  Transparent.

  Fair.

  Silence falls.

  Nyxarin stares at Kaelan.

  Minutes pass.

  The hum of the tower continues.

  Finally, Nyxarin stands.

  Kaelan rises as well.

  They walk out onto the open platform of the tower.

  Wind rushes past them.

  The sky stretches endlessly.

  Nyxarin stops at the edge.

  He does not look back.

  With a single motion, he takes flight, his figure shrinking as he vanishes into the horizon.

  Kaelan remains where he is, watching.

  Only when Nyxarin disappears completely does he turn his gaze.

  Isla stands beside him, her presence gentle yet immense.

  “Are you sure Nyxarin is right for the job?” Isla asks softly.

  She continues, “There are many others. Safer. More willing.”

  Kaelan does not answer immediately.

  “Essence,” he says at last. “It's time.”

  He turns and walks back into the tower.

  Isla follows.

  They return to the same room where Kaelan and Nyxarin shared tea moments ago.

  Isla sits in Nyxarin’s former seat.

  Kaelan takes his own.

  She looks at him intently.

  “How are you able to ascend to the fourth stage,” Isla asks, “without opening a divine kingdom?”

  Kaelan lifts his cup.

  The seven-element liquid swirls gently.

  A faint trace of ether energy glimmers beneath the surface of the liquid, and Kaelan smiles.

  Isla’s question is not casual curiosity.

  For her to awaken her True Spirit and advance into the Godhood stage, she had no choice but to open a Divine Kingdom and draw upon Origin Energy. Their world simply does not contain any native resource capable of awakening a True Spirit. Origin Energy can only be obtained by opening a world of one’s own. That is the iron law of cultivation here.

  And yet,

  A decade has passed since Isla opened her Divine Kingdom.

  She still has not advanced to Godhood.

  By borrowing the power of her Divine Kingdom, she possesses strength comparable to a Godhood-stage being, but her realm has not truly changed. Her True Spirit remains unawakened. By definition, she is a False God.

  That is why Kaelan unsettles her.

  He has not opened a Divine Kingdom.

  He has not obtained Origin Energy.

  Yet his True Spirit is awakened, and his advancement has been faster than hers.

  Isla looks at him intently, her gaze sharp.

  Kaelan, meanwhile, considers his response.

  He cannot tell her the truth, that he is a clone of a fifth-stage Void Monster, that his True Spirit was awakened long before this world ever knew his name, and that all he required was a Moon-stage Law to progress further.

  The Ether Law fulfilled that requirement.

  So instead, he speaks in a way that is true, but incomplete.

  “Cultivating from the Demigod stage to break through into Godhood,” Kaelan says calmly, “you chose the outer path to awaken your True Spirit.”

  Isla’s eyes flicker.

  She understands immediately.

  Opening her Divine Kingdom, extracting Origin Energy, and refining her soul through it, that is the outer path.

  Her voice tightens with anticipation.

  “So… there is an inner path?”

  If such a path exists, it could drastically shorten her journey to becoming a true Stage Four transcendent.

  Kaelan nods.

  “There is an inner path,” he says. “It requires digging deeper into one’s Spirit Space, and transforming that Spirit Space into a Divine Kingdom.”

  Isla’s expression changes.

  Her brows knit together.

  She understands the implication instantly and why it is impossible for her.

  She has already removed her Spirit Space from herself and used it to open her Divine Kingdom within the inner void. That choice permanently closed the inner path to her. She cannot reclaim her Spirit Space, nor can she transform what no longer exists within her.

  A sigh escapes her lips.

  Disappointment lingers in her eyes.

  Then she frowns again and looks directly at Kaelan.

  “You still have to open a Divine Kingdom,” she says.

  Her words are not advice; they are a warning.

  The world is rejecting Kaelan.

  He has become too powerful for it.

  Even though Kaelan has no intention of remaining permanently, his mere existence is already warping the laws of the world toward his own nature. That is something the world cannot tolerate.

  Every second, the rejection grows stronger.

  Sooner or later, Kaelan will be forced into the Inner Void.

  And without a structure, without a Divine Kingdom, he would be left drifting within it.

  That is why Isla believes he must open one.

  Kaelan listens quietly.

  Then he shakes his head.

  “I will not open a Divine Kingdom.”

  Isla stares at him.

  “If you want,” she says slowly, “you can stay within my Divine Kingdom.”

  Kaelan shakes his head again.

  “I have other plans.”

  Her eyes narrow slightly.

  “What plans?”

  Kaelan smiles faintly.

  “You will see.”

  They do not pursue the matter further.

  Instead, they discuss other concerns, the shifting state of the world, the looming invasion, and the question of who might advance first: Nyxarin, or Isaac and Nyra.

  They speak of the Great Wizards, weighing who among them might reach the Demigod stage, and who, improbably, might even touch Godhood.

  Eventually, Isla leaves.

  When she is gone, Kaelan suppresses his power completely.

  The overwhelming presence fades, and he becomes indistinguishable from an ordinary mortal.

  He leaves the tower to meet his family.

  In a few days, he will enter the Inner Void.

  And after that, he may never be able to return to this world again.

  Unless his family advances to the Demigod stage, he will never truly meet them again, either.

  Before the Demigod stage, cultivation is best carried out within the world.

  Beyond it, everything changes.

  Kaelan walks on quietly, carrying that weight alone.