Is the Goddess of Dawn dead?
Solar Divine Spear pondered this question, her gaze turning strange and uncertain.
Then… who was it that saved me earlier?
And why did she leave me here in the Celestial Pool waiting for this boy?
Looking at Luca, enveloped in golden starlight, the two of them fell into a long silence.
The Lord of the Sun’s eyes were deep and thoughtful. “Regardless of whether this is the work of the Ancient Gods, if the enemy has a plan, it will inevitably surface sooner or later. This young man is connected to too many things, and he is our Divine Court’s last hope. We must protect him.”
“I understand,” Solar Divine Spear replied, nodding solemnly.
While they spoke, the divine light surrounding Luca grew increasingly brilliant, and his aura became more powerful with each passing moment.
Golden currents of energy swirled around him, his heartbeat thundered like a war drum, and his blood surged like a river in full flow.
Endless golden stars poured from the sky, enveloping Luca entirely, transforming him into a massive golden sun, floating high above the Divine Ruins.
Inside the cocoon, Luca kept his eyes tightly shut, feeling countless divine energies transforming his body. He could sense his muscles, bones, and even his very genes undergoing a frenzied transformation.
It felt as though he was evolving into a new life form!
This sensation was even more intense than when he broke through to become Transcendent!
Boom—Boom—Boom—
Luca’s heartbeat grew louder and louder, like the sound of thunder, deafening and echoing through the silent Divine Ruins.
No one knew how much time passed, but suddenly, the heartbeat ceased for a brief moment before it exploded with a resounding crash!
“Boom!” A thunderclap shattered the darkness! Infinite divine light erupted from Luca, shooting out in all directions from his center.
Several figures looked up. In the night sky, they saw a tall, slender figure suspended high above the ground.
The instant his eyes opened, a brilliant flash of light blinked out, and divine radiance swirled around him, as if a god had descended upon the earth!
“Divine Body…” Jormungandr muttered in awe, her face filled with shock.
What they had desperately sought for so long had now been effortlessly obtained by a mere boy. How could she not be astounded?
[Ding! Congratulations! You have completed the “Blessing of the Gods” and acquired the Divine Class talent “Heaven’s Blessing Divine Body”!]
[Heaven’s Blessing Divine Body: Divine Class talent. Charisma, Insight, Aptitude, and Perception attributes are all raised to 200 points. Talent Skill “Gods’ Revelation”: By consuming divine essence, you can briefly gain the power of a god. All skills are divinized and last for 30 minutes with no cooldown time!]
[Current Divine Essence: 0]
Luca hovered in the sky, clenching his fists. He could feel his strength had multiplied several times over, and it even gave him the illusion that he could easily crush a Transcendent with a single punch.
Of course, this was just an illusion due to the drastic increase in his power. However, the fact that his strength had indeed doubled was undeniable.
Luca estimated that, even without awakening his magic runes, he could easily kill a high-ranking expert. If he used the magic runes, he was confident he could defeat even Earth-level and Sky-level Superclass opponents!
In addition, Luca had gained a powerful divine talent.
Gods’ Revelation!
This talent allowed him to briefly acquire the power of a deity, and there was no cooldown time whatsoever!
The only issue was that the skill required divine essence to use, and obtaining divine essence wasn’t an easy task…
“It seems like you’ve gained quite a bit,” the Lord of the Sun said with a smile, interrupting Luca’s thoughts.
“Thank you,” Luca replied sincerely.
The divine essence within the Divine Ruins had been left behind by gods from a hundred thousand years ago, and it had long since been in short supply.
Now, they were using the last of it to forge his Divine Body. Even though the Divine Ruins were quite unique, they likely wouldn’t last much longer and would soon dissipate.
“It was their choice, and you need not concern yourself with it. Also, I have something else for you,” the Lord of the Sun added with a smile, before a flash of light flickered in his hand.
A golden diamond-shaped crystal appeared in the air, covered in cracks, broken beyond repair.
Yet it emanated an incredibly intense, transcendent heat—an overwhelming aura of power!
What is this?!
Luca and the others froze in shock.
“This is the Solar Divine Rank,” the Lord of the Sun explained, his voice calm. “Though it’s damaged, with a little effort, it can be repaired.” He extended his hand, and the broken divine rank slowly floated toward Luca.
His figure grew even more ethereal, but he smiled gently. “My divine essence is soon to dissipate, and this divine rank no longer holds any meaning for me. From now on, it will be yours.”
Solar Divine Rank?!
Jormungandr’s mouth dropped open in astonishment.
For a peak Transcendent to ascend to godhood, apart from acquiring a divine body and soul, the most crucial requirement was the divine rank, which contained the very fundamental laws of the world.
Pandora had gone to great lengths to collect the power of desire just to obtain a divine rank.
But now, Luca had acquired one so easily—and it was none other than the Solar Divine Rank, which was one of the most prestigious divine ranks!
Luca was equally stunned. He never expected that the Lord of the Sun would give him his own divine rank.
Before he could say anything more, the Solar Divine Rank began to merge slowly into his body.
At that instant, Luca felt as though he were seeing a series of profound golden laws before his eyes!
It was as if they were flames—fiery and scorching hot!
“Is this the Law of the Sun?” he instinctively reached out his hand.
Boom—!
The moment Luca’s hand touched the golden laws, a burst of golden flames erupted!
It was as though the flames of the entire world came to a sudden stop in that instant, then they all simultaneously bowed in the direction of Dawn City.
It was like the worship of devoted followers in front of a deity!
Witnessing this scene, countless people gasped in shock, thinking that these flames had somehow gained sentience.
“This bastard…” Jormungandr pursed her lips, her eyes betraying an obvious mix of envy, jealousy, and resentment.
Whether they were monsters, humans, or any other race, anyone who sought to ascend to godhood had to meet three difficult requirements: a divine soul, a divine body, and a divine rank.
Each of these was harder to obtain than the ascent to heaven itself!
However, Luca had not even broken through to the advanced rank yet and had already obtained both a divine rank and a divine body!
As for the divine soul… he had reached the Transcendent level while still in the lower rank!
This meant that as long as he advanced steadily from here, he would naturally come to master the Solar Law.
He would become the new Lord of the Sun and officially ascend to godhood!
The person favored, the destined chosen…
At this moment, Jormungandr finally understood the meaning of these words, her heart filled with bitter jealousy.
A snake could never compare to a human…
[Ding! Congratulations! You have obtained the “Solar Divine Rank (Broken)” and the divine-class profession “Blazing Sunwalker”!]
[Solar Divine Rank (Broken): A God-Lord-class divine rank. The divine rank of the God-Lord-level deity, the Lord of the Sun. The possessor can wield the laws of fire and solar energy. However, the rank is broken and currently only allows control over flames below the divine level. To repair it, you must absorb a large amount of celestial and terrestrial flames.]
[You have acquired the following new skills: “Fire God (Profession),” “Incineration (Profession),” “Divine Flame (Profession),” and “Forging (Profession)”…]
[Current Divine Essence: 3]
A series of notifications appeared before Luca’s eyes. Countless fire elements danced joyfully around him, as if celebrating his ascension.
What surprised him even more was that he had gained three units of divine essence, meaning he could invoke the power of the Lord of the Sun three times!
Although he didn’t fully understand what the God-Lord level represented, it was clearly a step above ordinary godhood.
This was an unmistakable trump card!
Yet, before Luca could fully process his joy, he noticed soft, golden light drifting away from the Lord of the Sun’s body.
His divine essence was beginning to dissipate.
The Lord of the Sun had been surviving on the last remnants of his divine essence, and now that he had given up his divine rank, his life had reached its end.
“…Master.” The Solar Divine Spear looked sorrowful.
The Lord of the Sun, however, seemed unfazed. He smiled and said, “Do not grieve. I have lived for millions of years. I am long past the point of fearing death.”
“You could have survived,” Luca said, perplexed.
The Lord of the Sun had lost his divine body, but his divine soul and divine rank were intact.
If he had wanted, he could have absorbed the divine essence remaining in the Divine Ruins and left this place.
With his strength, even if he couldn’t avenge the fallen gods, he could have rebuilt a new Divine Court. Why had he chosen this path instead?
“The Divine Court is not what you imagine it to be,” the Lord of the Sun replied, shaking his head. He turned to gaze at the ruins of the once-majestic Divine Court, his expression somber. “Nor is our goal to revive the glory of the Divine Court.” “Besides,” he continued with a sigh, “the Ancient Gods destroyed the Divine Court and the gods at the height of their power. What chance would a new Divine Court stand?”
“Their terror far exceeds your imagination. They are beings far older than the gods themselves…
“From the moment the Ancient Gods appeared, no matter how unwilling we were to accept it… deep down, we all knew the era of the gods had come to an end… irrevocably so.”
The Lord of the Sun’s figure grew more and more translucent, and his voice became increasingly faint and ethereal.
He turned his gaze to Luca, speaking in a deep and solemn tone. “In the deepest part of the Divine Ruins… lies the resting place of the God-King…
“Unless the Ancient Gods themselves descend… you must never awaken him…
“Never… awaken him…”
The revelation that the God-King slumbered in the depths of the Divine Ruins.
It left everyone present utterly stunned.
Luca had assumed that the ruler of the Divine Court had long since fallen. To think that he was still alive, and right here in the Divine Ruins!
Recalling the ancient texts describing the God-King, and seeing the Lord of the Sun’s grave demeanor.
Luca could easily infer that the former ruler of the Divine Court was likely no benevolent figure. He nodded resolutely and said, “I understand.”
“Good…” The Lord of the Sun nodded slightly, his body growing ever more transparent.
He tilted his head back, looking at the night sky, as though recalling something. A faint smile of acceptance spread across his face as he murmured, “In the end… I still lost to you…”
His voice echoed in the air, as though he were speaking to an old friend. Unfortunately, none present could make out the name of the god he mentioned.
Moments later, his body transformed into countless golden lights, scattering slowly into the void of the Divine Ruins.
At that moment, across the Eternal World, all flames—whether the magma within volcanoes, the stars in the sky, or the humble fires of peasants’ hearths—dimmed ever so slightly.
A god who had lived for over a million years had fallen.