A tremendous and boundless divine power descended from the heavens, crashing down like a massive mountain upon Luca.
For a moment, it felt as though his heart had stopped beating entirely.
What is this…
Luca’s lips twitched. He had the sinking feeling that this time, he had truly overplayed his hand. Unfortunately, there was no chance for regret.
A flash of golden light flickered before him, vanishing in the blink of an eye. By the time he had processed what had happened, the scene before him had completely changed. The altar he had been standing at was now replaced by a desolate, fog-shrouded ruin.
“This is the Divine Ruins?” Luca scanned his surroundings. The air was thick with a greyish mist, almost like dust, that not only obscured his vision and the light but also interfered with his mental perception. He couldn’t make out anything too far away.
Only the light of the stars above, scattered across the sky, provided enough illumination to prevent him from becoming a blind man with his eyes wide open.
Once grand buildings now lay in ruins, with only broken walls and crumbled remnants left behind. The intricate patterns and murals on the remaining structures faintly hinted at their past splendor, but now, as far as the eye could see, there was nothing but devastation and lifelessness.
“I can’t even use my tools… What a strange place,” Luca muttered, trying to open his Storage Ring. It failed immediately, not even the slightest reaction.
It seemed that, just as Selin had warned, transcendental items couldn’t be used here.
The only thing Luca could be thankful for was that his equipment was still functional.
Not knowing what dangers the fog might be hiding, Luca chose not to act rashly. He asked in his mind, “Do either of you know where we are?”
After a moment, a faint and weak voice from Jormungandr echoed in his mind.
She spoke, “I’ve heard of this place in the Abyssal Demon Realm. It was once the home of the gods, and it was here that the Divine Cataclysm first occurred.”
“The Divine Cataclysm?” Luca’s heart stirred at the unfamiliar term. On the Eternal Continent, any history related to the gods had almost completely disappeared, and only a few remnants survived.
Jormungandr sighed, “I’m not sure. All I know is that it was a great catastrophe involving the gods. The historical records about this event in the Abyssal Demon Realm were all erased by someone. The only reason I know about it is by chance.”
Erased history… What is it they want to hide? Luca pondered silently. At that moment, Solar Divine Spear, who had been silent until now, sighed and spoke up. “The Divine Cataclysm was essentially a war. A war between the gods.”
Luca was surprised. “You know about it?”
Solar Divine Spear replied somewhat irritably, “Of course I do. I survived that war, didn’t I?”
Just as Luca was about to ask more questions, his expression suddenly changed.
Without thinking, he swiftly sidestepped. Almost at the same time, a ghostly green blade of light flashed by him, grazing his body as it flew past, slicing into the wall behind him.
Boom!!
The already decayed wall exploded with a deafening crash. Dust and debris shot up into the air, mingled with dirt and fragments, and the acrid smell of mildew flooded his nostrils.
“It looks like we’ve got a big one,” Luca said, the Magic Crystal Spear appearing in his hand, his eyes cold as he stared ahead.
A swirling grey mist parted to reveal the massive outline of a creature. It stomped forward, crashing through the fog and emerging right before Luca. The creature was a towering behemoth, easily five or six meters tall.
It had the general shape of a human, but with two heads, four arms, and legs. Its eyes were pitch black, lacking any pupils. The creature’s body was covered in thick, bulging muscles, and its skin had a dark grey, almost charred hue. In each of its four hands, it gripped a rusted, two-meter-long sword. Death energy radiated from it, and the air was filled with the sickly stench of decay, alongside an overwhelming oppressive force.
It was a high-ranking commander!
“Roar!!” The two-headed giant let out a deafening roar, swinging its massive arms. The four swords came crashing down toward Luca with overwhelming force.
“Looking for death!” Luca snorted coldly, unfazed. Black energy surged from his hand, quickly darkening the Magic Crystal Spear. Black magic runes glowed on its surface, and the weapon pulsed with a terrifying aura of malice and desire, bursting into explosive power.
Undead Coffin!
“Boom!!” The green blade of the giant’s swords collided with the black spear in a thunderous clash. The shockwave sent the surrounding fog flying, clearing the air in an instant.
Luca’s arm flexed with force, pushing the giant’s sword aside. The Magic Crystal Spear seemed to morph into a snake, swiftly slithering along the sword’s edge and stabbing deep into one of the creature’s arms.
“Bang!” Dark flames erupted, and a foul-smelling black blood sprayed everywhere as the massive arm was blasted away.
The creature staggered back several steps, clutching its severed arm and letting out a pain-filled roar. Its remaining two arms gripped the swords once more, and it unleashed a violent flurry of blows towards Luca, like a torrential storm.
Luca had anticipated this. The Magic Crystal Spear swiftly retracted, blocking each strike with precision.
Sparks flew, and the clang of metal against metal rang through the desolate ruins. As the creature’s attacks began to slow, Luca seized the opportunity. His feet glowed with silver light, and in the blink of an eye, he disappeared, only to reappear on the giant’s shoulder.
Luca extended his hand, palm facing the creature. His eyes were cold as he whispered, “Die!”
“Boom!” Dark flames erupted from his hand, engulfing both of the giant’s heads completely.
The creature howled in agony, swinging its swords wildly through the air in a desperate attempt to fight back.
The inferno blazed, sending a pungent stench of burning flesh into the air.
The giant’s movements grew increasingly sluggish. It wasn’t long before its body stiffened, and with a final roar, it collapsed to the ground in a heap.
[Ding! Congratulations on defeating the LV59 Two-Headed Guardian (Commander)! You have gained 1,257,000 experience points!]
The kill notification appeared, and a surge of immense experience flooded Luca’s body.
A flash of platinum light briefly flickered across the monster’s corpse.
Dropped equipment?
Luca’s mind stirred, and he walked over to pick up the gear and examine it.
[Two-Headed Bracers: Platinum-grade bracers. When equipped, the player’s Strength attribute is increased by 600 points, Health by 12,000, and Skill 1: Iron Arm: Passive skill, increases Strength by 10%.]
It seemed his luck was good this time—he had received a Platinum-grade piece of equipment, one that was perfect for him.
After equipping it, Luca felt a clear boost in his strength.
He checked his character panel.
His health had broken the 150,000 mark, and his Strength attribute had reached 5,200 points. He had now reached the level of a Diamond-tier player.
Though the monsters in the Divine Ruins Secret Realm were certainly stronger than those outside, with his current strength, Luca felt confident he could handle them.
Next, Luca planned to obtain the inheritance that the previous player had acquired and, at the same time, uncover the hidden secrets of this place.
“By the way, Senior, you mentioned the Divine Cataclysm was a war between gods. Did that mean there were many gods on the Eternal Continent back then?” he asked, shouldering his Magic Crystal Spear as he walked deeper into the black mist.
“Not just many, there were hundreds of gods. A hundred thousand years ago, the rulers of the Eternal Continent were the gods themselves,” Solar Divine Spear’s voice answered as his form materialized in the air. He seemed even more ethereal than when Luca had first seen him.
Although Luca had supplied him with plenty of fire-element Transcendent materials to replenish his strength, Solar Divine Spear’s rank was so high that he had only managed to regain a fraction of his former power.
He sighed and continued, “This ruin here… it’s where the Divine Cataclysm began. Back then, this place was called the ‘Divine Court.'”
“Divine Court?” Luca’s interest piqued. From the name alone, it was clear that this place held some significance.
Both Sophia and the player who came after her had gained immense benefits here. Perhaps, Luca thought, he could extract some valuable information from Solar Divine Spear as well.
As Solar Divine Spear began to speak, the long-forgotten history buried deep beneath the Eternal Continent began to unfurl before Luca’s eyes.
The story was ancient, taking place roughly a hundred thousand years ago. At that time, the rulers of the Eternal Continent were not humans, but rather terrifying beings who controlled the very laws of nature.
These beings were far stronger than humans today. They were born with the power to manipulate the laws of the universe. With a mere gesture, they could reverse the flow of time, move mountains, and boil seas. Their lifespans were unimaginably long—often stretching into tens of thousands of years.
At that time, intelligent races such as humans, dragons, and elves were utterly insignificant in comparison. They were like ants before these mighty beings, who were therefore referred to as “gods” by the various races.
The Goddess of Dawn was one such deity, and she was not only a god but the offspring of the God King. She wielded dominion over the stars and was one of the most powerful gods of her time.
The previous owner of the Solar Divine Spear had also been a deity, one who wielded the powers of flame and the sun. As a result, the gods and all beings referred to him as the “Lord of the Sun.” Although he was weaker than the Goddess of Dawn, he still possessed considerable power.
The gods ruled the Eternal Continent for countless ages, a span of time so long that even Solar Divine Spear could not fully comprehend it. He had been given life by the Lord of the Sun for several decades now, but his existence was just a fleeting moment in the grand history of the gods.
This reign of the gods persisted until it was shattered a hundred thousand years ago.
The catalyst for the war was a woman—a woman so beautiful that she made the gods lose their minds.
Her name was “Zenobia.” She was the older sister of the Goddess of Dawn, “Sylvia,” and the offspring of the God King and the Night. From birth, she was endowed with the most perfect body and appearance, as well as the most terrifying powers over the laws of the universe.
“Sin and Desire!”
Desire was not something confined to mortals—gods too had desires. And Zenobia’s most terrifying ability was that she could easily awaken the deepest desires within all living beings, including the gods, and she fed on those desires to strengthen herself!
Even if she herself had no intention of doing so.
Her power quickly became a source of fear for both the gods and the God King, and as time passed, that fear only grew stronger. On the day Zenobia came of age, the gods sent her to the plaza outside the Divine Court, intending to execute her.
This had been done with the approval of the God King. He would not allow anyone, not even his own flesh and blood, to threaten his position.
Zenobia begged for mercy, but her pleas were ignored. Despair overwhelmed her, and in the depths of her sorrow, dark thoughts took root. She used the God King’s treasure—the Celestial Pearl—which she had somehow stolen, to enhance her power of sin and desire! freēwēbnovel.com
Her already immense strength, after being amplified by the Celestial Pearl, became so overwhelming that even the God King could not withstand it.
And it was with this terrifying power that Zenobia controlled the gods and ignited the catastrophic war between them, the Divine Cataclysm, a war so fierce that even Solar Divine Spear still trembled at the thought of it.