“Could something have gone wrong?” Susie asked, her voice filled with concern.
Darabont frowned, remaining silent. From what they knew about Luca, if something wasn’t wrong, he wouldn’t still be inside the game at a time like this.
“Should we wake him up?” Zoey asked, looking at the others, unsure.
Donald thought for a moment and then shook his head. “Forget it. Something definitely went wrong in the game. I saw the commotion earlier. Darabont and I will go check it out. We might be able to help.”
With Luca’s assistance, they had already received some feedback from the game before the game world descended, and their in-game strength had reached Silver-grade. As long as they didn’t run into high-level monsters, they should be able to handle it.
“Stay safe,” Sini and Zoey knew the stakes if the situation worsened but didn’t try to stop them.
Darabont and Donald merely waved their hands and, after grabbing their weapons and equipment, left the basement.
Susie stood beside the game pod, staring at Luca inside. Her brows furrowed in frustration. The silver-white eagle mouse in her arms squeaked incessantly as she absentmindedly petted it.
Several days had passed without seeing Luca, and their planned schedule had been thrown off course. Once he came out, she’d have to give him a piece of her mind.
…
Meanwhile, in the Abyssal Demon Realm.
The blood moon hung high in the sky, its ominous glow casting an eerie light across the entire realm. Zenobia’s divine rank glowed with a blinding brilliance from the center of her forehead, illuminating the entire Abyssal Demon Realm in a dazzling spectacle.
The monsters within the demon realm knelt toward her direction, as though they were worshiping a deity.
Simultaneously, changes were occurring in the Eternal World. The endless Demonic energy completely blotted out the sun in the sky, and a blood-red moon rose, casting its sinister light across the heavens. The light was consumed by darkness, and it felt as though the end of the world had arrived.
“It’s over…” Augustine’s face turned ashen. He understood what the fusion of Zenobia would mean for this world.
To put it bluntly, even if the three great empires united, they would barely be able to make a dent. The entire Eternal World would be reduced to hell under Zenobia’s control, becoming a world ruled by monsters.
Looking up at the pillar of light, which was now completely overtaken by purple, Evelyn clenched her fists, her eyes filled with frustration. “Are we just supposed to wait for death?”
The others were also sinking into despair. If even Luca had been killed by Zenobia, what chance did they have?
“Evacuate immediately.” A voice suddenly rang in everyone’s ears, startling them.
They turned around to see that, at some point, Fratis had already regained consciousness. Though his eyes still carried an unmistakable sadness, he had forcibly broken free from that emotion.
Noticing the gazes of everyone, Zenobia took a deep breath and said, “Head back to Dawn City. Tell everyone in the empire to prepare. No matter what happens, we must not sit idly by.”
It was an undeniable fact that Luca had been killed, and Sophia was on the verge of death—her time was likely running out. This left Zenobia as the strongest among them.
Fratis understood that she now carried a heavy burden. This was not the time to act on impulse, as that would only make things worse.
For Clinton and the entire Eternal World, what mattered most right now was preserving what little strength remained, ensuring everyone was prepared for the even harsher battles ahead.
Augustine and the others gazed at Fratis, who seemed to have matured in an instant, and they all paused for a moment, as if seeing the shadow of Alfred in her.
In this moment, she could finally be considered a true ruler.
Now, Zenobia had become the final pillar of support. Her words were absolute, and no one dared to oppose them.
Whether it was Evelyn, Winston, or the other powerful warriors, or even the soldiers, all of them immediately obeyed orders and began evacuating Farlenben with everyone else.
The monsters did not hinder them. Instead, they crawled to the ground in devotion, offering their loyalty to Zenobia, who resided in the Abyssal Demon Realm. The soldiers were allowed to pass by them, and even when attacked, the monsters did not retaliate.
…
At the same time, the fusion between Zenobia and Sophia reached its final stage. The sky above the Abyssal Demon Realm had been entirely obscured by an endless wave of sinful energy, making it impossible to see the figures of the two within the light pillar.
Throughout the process, Sophia did not resist in any way. She allowed the frost-covered divine rank on her forehead to slowly peel away and fly toward Zenobia.
Her body, as though devoid of a soul, simply collapsed in on itself.
Buzz! The frost divine rank collided with the sinful divine rank on Zenobia’s forehead, and they began to merge, gradually fusing together. Eventually, intricate ice-blue patterns formed and settled on the sinful divine rank.
A hint of blue radiance began to appear in Zenobia’s eyes. Laws of power manifested around her, and the Celestial Pearl materialized from her chest, gleaming with flowing brilliance. It emitted boundless light that illuminated both worlds.
“It’s finally going to succeed,” Zenobia thought, her heart swelling with excitement.
For this day, she had waited for a hundred thousand years in the dark Abyssal Demon Realm. Now, she had broken free from control, regained the Celestial Pearl, and was about to reach her peak once again!
“Ancient Gods, I, Zenobia, have returned!!” Looking at the collapsed God-Locking Pillar and the massive sealing formation, Zenobia’s eyes burned with intense hatred and murderous intent.
The betrayal and death she had suffered at the hands of the Ancient Gods a hundred thousand years ago were memories she had never forgotten. Once her fusion was complete, she would go after those Ancient Gods from the Abyssal Realm. When that time came, she would ensure that these filthy, despicable creatures who had hidden in the dark corners would never rise again!
As Zenobia was thinking this, she suddenly sensed something was wrong.
The two divine ranks merging in her forehead began to resist, and the resistance only grew stronger, causing the light pillar connecting the two worlds to tremble violently.
A strong sense of danger enveloped Zenobia’s heart.
This feeling was something she hadn’t experienced for nearly a hundred thousand years.
This is… Zenobia’s heart sank with an ominous premonition, and then she noticed that the frost divine rank on her forehead suddenly emitted a restless energy wave.
Cracks began to appear on it, with frost magic spilling out, and the dangerous aura became even stronger.
“That traitor!!” Zenobia realized what was happening, and an uncontrollable fury appeared on her face.
She had always thought that Sophia had given up hope and lost the will to survive. Now, she understood—Sophia had only been pretending to give in, lulling her into a false sense of security.
The frost divine rank was hiding Sophia’s consciousness, intending to self-destruct at this moment and take Zenobia down with it!
The frost divine rank was a genuine divine rank of a god level. If Zenobia were at her peak, she would have many ways to deal with it.
But Sophia knew this, and she had chosen this critical moment when Zenobia could not afford to be distracted.
It was Zenobia’s own avatar, but it was attempting to destroy itself along with her. How could she not be enraged? Still, Zenobia was one of the top deities in the world, and she quickly regained her composure.
The power of sinful desire surged in her hands as she began to draw on her limited strength, casting divine spells in an attempt to prevent the frost divine rank’s self-destruction.
But at that moment, a powerful frost force appeared once again in her Perception, stronger than the one from Sophia.
Zenobia froze in place, caught off guard.
At that moment, a figure enveloped in blue light effortlessly passed through the light pillar and appeared before Zenobia. The killing intent in its eyes was almost tangible.
“How is this possible?” Seeing the figure covered in blue light, Zenobia’s face showed shock. Because the figure in front of her was none other than Luca, the one she had thought was dead!
But what truly surprised her wasn’t just Luca’s sudden Resurrection—it was the fact that the power surrounding him was Sophia’s frost energy.
The problem was that, in this world, there could never be two identical laws.
How could he possibly have frost energy?
Zenobia couldn’t figure out what was happening.
She had no idea that Luca possessed two hidden trump cards: “Resurrection” and “Fate Duplication.”
“Die!!” Seeing the shattered frost divine rank, Luca’s eyes were bloodshot.
Rage boiled within his heart.
The Solar Divine Spear in his hand, brimming with endless divine might, was swung without hesitation, directly aiming at Zenobia’s head!
At the same time, the frost divine rank embedded in Zenobia’s forehead shattered with a tremendous crash!
Time seemed to stop in that instant!
Then, the world lost its color!
Boom! The two frost forces merged, without any repulsion.
Endless frost spread out from Zenobia’s position, and a terrifying cold wave swept across the entire Abyssal Demon Realm.
Life, matter, space, even laws were frozen.
Zenobia herself was frozen in place.
She could only watch helplessly as Luca, filled with boundless fury, delivered his powerful blow directly onto her!
Boom! The surging power of sinful desire pierced through Zenobia’s body like a tidal wave.
She was sent flying out of the light pillar.
Purple divine blood fell, disintegrating in the air before it even touched the ground.
The Celestial Pearl, glowing with dazzling light, fell. Luca reached out and caught it.
In that moment, countless stars in the sky flickered, rotated, and transformed!
His aura surged once again, surpassing the divine lord level, reaching the divine king level!
The overwhelming power of the celestial gods poured into his body, enhancing his strength rapidly.
Divine runes began to appear around him.
Dreamweaving, Fate, magic runes, frost, and other forces intertwined around Luca, gradually forming a grand path made from the very fabric of laws beneath his feet!
It stretched up into the heavens!