As soon as the blood scepter was plunged into the crystal pedestal, six menacing auras surged into the sky. The channeling of the blood scepter roused the consciousness of the Six Gods Envoys like a kindled torch. They were guided out of their seals through the connection of their souls.

A furious storm whirred in the room.

Six distinctly different but devastating kinds of mana rippled across the room, suppressing the brilliant light that had dominated this space thus far.

Roel glanced at the Savior and saw His disdain fading into impassiveness. The latter didnt look surprised by the current turn of events.

Another scepter? You must be referring to your soul.

Indeed. I took my time testing it in the last two days while you werent looking. Consider this my parting gift.

Is this vengeance? I should remind you that just rousing them with your Crown Origin Attribute isnt enough to awaken them. Youll have to put your soul on the line. Are you certain that you want to risk your life for those monsters?

I am certain.

The Savior stared intently at Roel as if trying to peer into his head. There was a long moment of silence before He suddenly smiled. It was not a smile of disdain or glee, but amusement. His interest was piqued at having met a worthy opponent.

I'm surprised. I misjudged you. I was convinced that you were the same as the others, ravenous wolves whose eyes are blinded by the meat dangling in front of them. In just a few short days, you turned into a lunatic who showed no hesitation to risk everything to bare your claws at Me. I almost thought that your soul had been swapped with someone elses.

Roels eyebrows shot up at the Saviors frighteningly accurate description.

You are the one who changed. Or should I say that you are finally revealing your true nature? That righteous front of yours has always been a facade.

What the world needs is an excuse. Do you think those people really care about My nature? They choose to see Me through rose-tinted glasses because I assure them of their interest. You, of all people, should know that. God dwells not in the mortal world but in the hearts of the mortals, the Savior said with a mocking laugh.

!

Roels expression turned grim. The Savior took a moment to assess him before heaving a sigh.

Haa. It was a miscalculation to have treated you like those wild dogs. I have embarrassed Myself. Still heh, this doesnt feel too bad. I am almost tempted to spare your life.

Is there any meaning in saying that?

I am speaking in earnest. You are a dangerous variable, but itd be worth taking on this risk to win over a Kingmaker who's willing to risk his life to uphold the balance of the world. What a pity. I doubt that theres any room for reconciliation between us anymore.

I have no interest in helping an impostor.

Impostor? You are misunderstanding something. I have never claimed to be Sia.

The Savior shook His head with a smile.

Darkness engulfed the world when Sia disappeared. All lives despaired in the cold. I was the one who descended upon this world and bestowed its inhabitants with the gift of light and warmth. That is why I am the Savior. I represent progress and the future.

You? Sias scum?

Scum? Who can say what Sias true nature is? You see Me as the embodiment of Sias repressed darker nature, but even if thats true, that doesnt make my existence any less. Duality exists in all beings, whether you acknowledge it or not.

The surrounding light began to intensify.

Duality exists in all beings, but thats why we learn to control our nature. All I see in you is a boundless desire for power and the tenacity to do anything for it. Id consider that scum, Roel replied.

Hah! I suppose you might be right, but doesnt that make a ruler? Times have changed. That foolish womans dream of playing house will never come to fruition. As for you Ill concede. Youre cunning, patient, and decisive. But you have made a fatal mistake by underestimating Me. Do you think that it has taken Me so long because I am afraid of Her?

The Savior turned around. His eyes peered through the walls of the room to look at the setting sun. He calmly revealed a simple but shocking fact.

Todays sun will not set.

!

Roels eyes widened in shock, but the Savior wasnt done yet.

You have surpassed My expectations, but I hope you didn't think you could defeat Me with just this. I'd be disappointed if you naively thought that I am your only enemy. What you are opposing isnt just Me, but the races that support My ideology too. You are standing against the inevitable tide of change pushing this era forward! the Savior scoffed.

He looked at Roel, who was shrouded in the powers of the six Gods Envoys.

Try it, if you think that you can stop Me and the inevitable tides of change.

Leaving those words behind, the Saviors body scattered into specks of light and the silenced world concluded.

Minutes later, the empty High Elves quarter was crowded with guards, maids, officials, and all sorts of people. They stared at the black-haired man standing next to the crystal pedestal with a blood scepter in his hand.

Just a moment ago, a terrifying explosion broke out in the High Elves quarter, shaking the entire Moonsoul Tower. Alarmed, the high elves responsible for guarding this room barged in, only to see Roel standing next to where the original scepter should have been.

The high elves felt helpless. They stood at a distance away, hesitant to approach.

Roel had clearly done something to the scepter, but they couldnt do anything to him because he was the Kingmaker, the Mother Goddess favored child. Moreover, they werent certain what had happened here, particularly because there was another scepter in place of the missing one.

The blood scepter appeared to have been forged out of blood, mana, and soul. It didnt have a tangible body, just like the moonlight scepter, but it gave off the domineering aura of a ruler. No one dared to make light of it.

The situation came to a standstill.

More people arrived and crowded the High Elves quarter, but still, no one dared to confront Roel. This bizarre standstill was only shattered when the chief of the High Elves, Micher, arrived with an edict.

Immediately raise the scepter and summon the Gods Envoys to reinforce the frontlines.

Not daring to dawdle around, as this was a direct order from the Mother Goddess, Micher rushed to the High Elves quarter, only to be startled by the crowd gathered in the vicinity.

What happened? Micher questioned Roel in a surprisingly composed tone.

He had a deeper understanding of the Gods Envoys than the others did, and thus understood what Roel was attempting to do. The latter was trying to control the Gods Envoys with not just his blood, soul, and mana, but with his entire being.

Micher was astounded. He knew what Roel was putting on the line here, and that dispelled the doubts he had expressed about him.

The Savior destroyed the scepter. I couldnt stop Him.

I see The Mother Goddess has just issued an order for us to awaken the Gods Envoys.

Micher relayed a piece of information that highlighted the urgency on the frontlines before falling silent. He was curious to see how Roel would react. To his surprise, Roel responded with a completely unexpected question.

What will you do if I insist on joining the battlefield?

The Mother Goddess has ordered us to stop you from attempting anything dangerous.

Is that so? Roel shook his head with a helpless smile. She really thinks of me as a child, doesnt She You know what you should do, right?

Mm. I understand.

The two people who had been at loggerheads since their first meeting came to an implicit agreement. Micher took one last look at Roel before issuing an order.

Everyone, follow me out.

Under Michers orders, the crowd began evacuating the room. Adola looked as if she had words lingering at the tip of her tongue, but she didnt get a chance to voice them.

Soon, Roel was the only one left in the room. He turned his attention to the System.

Progress of Bloodline Awakening: 86% Evaluation: 90 (High)

Roel fell silent looking at the Systems evaluation. It confirmed his current situation.

Strictly speaking, he had already succeeded in his missionit just wasnt completed in a perfect manner. The original Kingmakers foolish decision of entrusting his flame of life to the Savior was a fatal mistake that even Roel was unable to overcome.

From the very start, the destruction of the scepter was inevitable.

Roel had already paved a different path from his ancestor. He hadnt betrayed the Mother Goddess to the very end, and the Systems evaluation score reflected that.

He could feel an increasing connection with the outside world. It told him that his job was done and that there was no need to do anything else. He would be able to return to his original timeline once the war concluded.

His trip to this Witness State had been fruitful. He had made a breakthrough to Origin Level 2, and he should be able to awaken his Gold-tier Bloodline by the time he returned.

Yet, he couldnt smile despite his successes. He couldnt bring himself to sit idly and do nothing till the end of the war.

The Savior had said that the Mother Goddess was opposing the inevitable tides of change. Roel agreed with Him. Competition over scarce resources was the natural order of the world. While the Mother Goddess could delay the transition, She wouldnt be able to stop the arrival of the new world order.

It wasnt a wise decision to support the Mother Goddess here but who said that a child supporting their mother had to make a level-headed decision?

Even if the Mother Goddess was doomed to drown under the tides of change, Roel could never let Her face it alone. He would never forgive himself if he remained a spectator.

The time he had spent with the Mother Goddess flashed across his head, and his eyes became firm.

Roel winced as the six surges of power he was channeling through the blood scepter furiously tugged at his soul. It was not without reason that the Savior was unfazed when he manifested the blood scepter. That man knew how difficult it was to control Sias power. It was impossible to adapt to it within a short period of time.

But this knowledge would become the Saviors undoing. He didnt know about the Crowns Stones. He was oblivious to the fact that Roel had spent many years dealing with those monsters. Time was not on his side, but experience was.

Roel noticed that the Gods Envoys had gotten agitated, possibly because they noticed that the Mother Goddess was in danger too. He clenched his fists and focused his soul and mana into the crystal pedestal. His intrusion alarmed the Gods Envoys, prompting them to flare their powers.

Bits of the room began to dissipate under the sheer amassment of power.

The backlash delivered a sharp pang of pain to Roels nerves. The Gods Envoys were probing him to determine his intention. Despite standing in the presence of six civilization-destroying monsters, Roel showed not the slightest fluster.

He thought about the Mother Goddess and relayed his earnest thoughts.

Even if my aid amounts to nothing Even if this is a futile attempt to satisfy myself in a dream, I still wish to bring Her solace, even if for a brief moment. Thatll bring meaning to everything I do. Come with me. At least at this moment, you are my companions.

The six powers quietened down as if to ponder those words. A brief moment later, a surge of energy suddenly rippled outward. Six overwhelming powers flared up and wrapped themselves around Roel.