Deep within the inner realm, in a hidden domain revealed after the sea of blood had receded, stood a small chapel amidst a field of withered flowers. Inside, Dorothy gazed at a message left behind—one imbued with an unmistakably familiar aura—and fell into deep thought. “This... this really does seem like a message from Hyperion... There are indeed traces of His power in this domain. It’s not fake... So Hyperion had such an ambiguous relationship with Astarte—and even gifted her an entire domain?” Frowning, Dorothy examined the carvings upon a broken stone pillar, pondering carefully. Back on the undersea island that served as the domain’s entrance, she had already found spiritual traces of both Lantern and Shadow. And within the domain itself, beyond the floral deity’s divine aura, there were also lingering traces of Lantern and Shadow’s divinity. She had been puzzled before, but now she had her answer. In this cycle, the only one who had ever simultaneously held the dual divinity of both Lantern and Shadow was the Third Epoch’s Emperor of Light—Hyperion—her grandfather. “No wonder Astarte wasn’t heavily affected by the Mother of Chalice’s fall. No wonder this domain, the so-called ‘Fragrant Cradle,’ could remain hidden for so long even under the extensive search of the Afterbirth Cult. So it was all Hyperion’s doing behind the scenes...” Dorothy now understood, shifting her gaze from the message to the ruined chapel as a whole. “Tch... As expected of the most ‘protagonist-like’ god of the Third Epoch. Fortunes stacked on fortunes, overwhelming power, glorious achievements... Not only did He ascend to the most exalted status in the world as a mortal, He also managed to fall in love with the most beautiful among the gods... tsk tsk... “If He had just played it safe, He absolutely could’ve presided over the entire cycle of reincarnation and exited the judgment unscathed, returning in the next epoch as the Lord of Lantern again. But alas... He had to pull that Eclipse Calamity stunt...” Surveying the ruined structures, Dorothy sighed inwardly. So much of the chaos in this Fourth Epoch could be traced back to Hyperion’s reckless Eclipse Ritual. Had He been more cautious, the world wouldn’t be so overrun with evil gods and disasters. Going further—if Hyperion hadn’t gone off the rails and the Third Epoch Empire had endured into the present, her own succession to the Divine Throne of Revelation wouldn’t have been so troublesome. She might have already ascended by now. “I suppose I can finally understand how Beverly felt...” Dorothy murmured softly to herself. Now she could better grasp why Beverly had been so agitated when recounting Hyperion’s illustrious past. In their grand game, everyone had been playing their part, holding things together despite bleak prospects. Then the star player—the one everyone counted on—suddenly made a ludicrous misplay that collapsed the entire team. Who wouldn’t have a spike in blood pressure? “Thinking back... When that automaton woman spoke to me about Hyperion, she still managed to remain calm, even with some positive remarks. Such composure... Truly worthy of a Stone god. Imagine if it were any other deity, things would’ve gone very differently...” Dorothy mused again. Thankfully, the Northern Emperor Inut had already died during the empire’s golden age—he wasn’t Hyperion’s teammate. Otherwise, he might’ve spent millennia cursing Hyperion. Eventually, Dorothy withdrew from her thoughts. Casting one last glance at the crumbling chapel, she slowly rose into the air and continued toward her predetermined destination: the distant, fractured “giant egg.” Before long, Dorothy approached the “giant egg,” gradually lowering her altitude until she landed beneath it. Standing again on the withered flower field, she looked up at the towering crystalline “eggshell,” hundreds—nearly a thousand—meters tall like a sky-piercing wall, riddled with massive cracks. At the top, a portion of the shell had already vanished—damage caused by the Abyssal Serpent before Dorothy’s arrival. Staring for several seconds at the towering eggshell, Dorothy extended her hand and pressed it against the surface. Closing her eyes, she carefully sensed the lingering divine aura within. Then, she extended her own divinity to make contact—instantly triggering a dramatic change in the broken “egg.” Cracks—many more of them—spread rapidly outward from Dorothy’s hand across the entire shell. Finer and faster than the previous ones, they quickly enveloped the entire structure. From within these countless fissures, a faint glow began to shine. Then came the sharp crackling. The entire “egg” began to shatter from the top down. Tiny fragments of the eggshell split along the dense cracks, peeling away and disintegrating mid-air into glowing petals, slowly drifting down like a floral rain—beautiful and luminous—casting a touch of color across the desolate domain. As the “egg” continued to unravel from top to bottom, the floral rain intensified. When it had fully disintegrated, what stood revealed before Dorothy was a towering tree amidst the withered flower field, its branches adorned with countless softly glowing cherry-pink blossoms. Some were wilting, others still in bloom. At the same time, a gentle breeze arose, sweeping the falling petals toward the great tree, circling and floating around it—forming a breathtaking scene. Within that rain of flowers, Dorothy heard a faint whisper—a soft female voice, but frail, broken with noise and static, almost indecipherable. Like a dying person murmuring in a fever dream, barely breathing. Dorothy activated her abilities to process the sound, filtering out the interference and extracting fragmented information. “Ah... it’s over... gone... retreated... the serpent... “At last... someone has come... too late...? Or not too late...? After the serpent... a new guest comes seeking something from me?” These fragmented words hovered around Dorothy’s ears. After a slight pause, she asked in Imperial tongue. “You are the Goddess of Flowers and Dance... the Goddess of Beauty, Astarte?” After a moment, the wind and petal dance responded to Dorothy’s query. “Astarte... Ah... yes... that was the name I called myself in days of full bloom... though withered, I still cling to it... I’m glad... you still grant this name to what remains of me...” Though no form appeared, the voice from the swirling petals confirmed her identity. Hearing it, Dorothy’s heart stirred slightly, and she asked again. “What is your condition now? If you still have consciousness, then the Abyssal Serpent must have failed to completely reach its goal, right?” “What remains of me... is but one fallen petal... After the final seal faded... the serpent devoured most of my flesh... A small fragment lingered, converted into will... The serpent tried to devour my last will... and was repelled by you...” The drifting voice was faint—its owner clearly in an extremely weakened state. Dorothy furrowed her brows upon hearing it. “You’re a subordinate god as well. Couldn’t you defeat the Abyssal Serpent?” “In full bloom... I did not fear it... But in slumber... I was but a curled bud...” The voice from the petals continued its halting tale. “Countless ages ago... my most noble mother became a catastrophe that swept the gods... As one of her closest divine kin... escape was nearly impossible. I needed this cherished cradle-world as a hothouse barrier... and had to seal myself, curling into a bud in eternal sleep... “In such a state... I could not resist the invading serpent... I could only rely on the cradle’s power to barely hold it off... But under its venom that stings the gods... even the cradle’s shelter could not last forever...” Astarte's voice continued to respond to Dorothy’s questions. It was now clear: though the Abyssal Serpent had entered the domain long ago by devouring Charles, it had not immediately consumed the slumbering Astarte due to the protective power of the so-called “Cradle.” There had been a corrosive process... “When the Abyssal Serpent was corroding your protection, didn’t you awaken to resist it?” Dorothy continued her questioning, and Astarte’s gentle voice once again floated forth in the same tone. “The Serpent’s divine venom… has the power to numb divinity… The Serpent was cunning… It deliberately prolonged the corrosion… so that the Cradle would be numbed gradually… corroded little by little without being overstimulated… until it could penetrate the Cradle. By the time I awakened… it was already too late to resist… Moreover… awakening in a weakened state… I stood no chance against the Serpent empowered by my fallen mother…” The voice among the drifting petals continued. After hearing this, Dorothy finally understood why, despite the Abyssal Serpent having entered the domain nearly a century ago, it had only recently begun devouring Astarte. It had taken a long time paralyzing the defenses to avoid prematurely alerting the Flower Goddess. “If most of your flesh was devoured by the Abyssal Serpent, then why didn’t I see it using your power during our fight?” Dorothy posed her next question, and Astarte replied softly. “Because it only devoured… it did not digest… not even absorb… “The Serpent merely stored my power within… not daring to merge with it… It didn’t even dare assimilate it, fearing its own greed… because it needed to deliver it intact… bring it back to my mad mother… My power holds greater significance for them… So the Serpent needed to avoid any blending between its own power and mine…” Astarte whispered this explanation, and Dorothy’s expression darkened further as she asked. “For what purpose?” “A ritual… a divine ritual… “My power… along with that of the Serpent… the Vulture… and the Wolf… the divine powers of the three fallen offspring… with the proper method… is enough to conduct a terrible ritual for my mad mother… Through it, She may… be set free…” Astarte’s ethereal voice uttered those dreadful words, and Dorothy’s expression grew even more grave. After a moment of silence, she spoke again. “Fortunately, the Abyssal Serpent didn’t devour you completely…” “Unfortunately… even from the ritual’s perspective alone… the portion it devoured is already sufficient… The ritual may not be perfect… but it can still proceed…” Astarte’s answer made Dorothy’s face turn even more solemn. “In the Abundance mystical text passed down by your hidden order in the mortal world… does it contain that proper ritual you mentioned?” she asked, her tone now sharp. “The Abundance… mystical text? Ah… yes… that text indeed contains the corresponding method…” Astarte responded after a brief recollection. Dorothy immediately pressed further, voice turning severe. “Why did you pass down such a ritual? Its contents are already known to the three divine offspring. And now that they have your power, they’re fully capable of carrying out the ritual to release the Mother of Chalice!” Dorothy demanded, and Astarte responded again with her airy, dreamlike voice. “The ritual… has already been leaked? That’s unfortunate… but really, there’s no need to obsess over that… “Even if the three divine offspring hadn’t obtained the ritual… once they acquired my power, they could have eventually deduced the correct method through repeated attempts… The text simply gave them a reference… sped up the process, that’s all… “In the face of inevitable destiny… what difference does a few hundred years make? Perhaps even the theft of my power… was simply the unavoidable result of this grand current… Everything was doomed the moment Hyperion failed… Even with all the preparations He made to save me… the tragic ending still could not be avoided…” Her voice carried both confusion and lament. Dorothy, dissatisfied, pressed on firmly. “You still haven’t answered me. Why did you preserve the Abundance mystical text at all?” “Hehe… Such a curious child… As expected of the new Arbiter…” Astarte chuckled softly before continuing near Dorothy’s ear. “Because… to preserve hope… Before Hyperion embarked on His risky endeavor… He had already envisioned the worst-case scenario. He thought of me… and of our unstable mother in this cycle… so He made many preparations across various fields… “In the Chalice domain… Hyperion set two safeguards. The first upon our mother… the second upon me… In the end… the safeguard on mother failed… but mine still functioned… allowing me to slumber within this domain… shielded from the disaster’s reach… “So… I wished to preserve the knowledge of the grand ritual… hoping that one day, someone could use it to free our mother from Her maddening torment…” Astarte continued softly. After hearing this, Dorothy raised her brows and asked directly. “Hyperion set a safeguard on the Mother of Chalice too? What kind? Why didn’t it activate?” “That… I do not know… Hyperion never spoke to me of it… Only that it existed… and that it ultimately failed…” Astarte replied again, and Dorothy frowned in deep contemplation. “So… Hyperion hadn’t overlooked the risk that His actions might doom the Mother of Chalice. He had arranged a safeguard for Her, but it failed when the calamity struck… What happened during the Eclipse Ritual? Why did the Flower Goddess’s safeguard work, but not the Mother’s?” Dorothy pondered with a hand on her chin. And just then, she seemed to feel Astarte observing her. As Dorothy sank into thought, the glowing flower petals began to swirl around her. A gentle breeze brushed her cheek—like a soft caress from an invisible hand. “So alike… Truly alike… You and little Mirror are almost identical… Are you and Moonlit Night…?” The murmured voice drifted around Dorothy, curiosity and wonder in its tone. Startled slightly, Dorothy paused her thoughts and replied. “I am the divine descendant of the Mirror Moon Goddess. Selene is my mother.” She placed a hand on her chest as she spoke earnestly. Upon hearing this, Astarte let out a sigh of understanding and emotion. “I see… So you are little Mirror’s daughter… I never would have imagined… that the one who came to rescue me would be the child of Mirror… Hyperion’s divine lineage has not faltered after His fall… and now, a new Lord God is soon to be born… What a wondrous fate…” Her voice brought Dorothy back to the present. She looked once again at the sky full of petals and asked with renewed clarity. “Before I came here, I found what appeared to be a message from my grandfather Hyperion in this domain. In it, he called you his beloved… Were you two… married?” Dorothy asked frankly. At that, Astarte’s voice took on a brighter tone. “Married… Heh… I had longed to formally become His divine consort… He once promised that one day He would place the crown upon me with His own hands… But sadly, before that day could come… He fell during the Eclipse… and so, we were only ever lovers…” “This domain… was it a gift from Him?” “Yes… This place was originally Hyperion’s secret base… even before He fully ascended, He was already using it to prepare for various great wars… plan His many schemes… “After we fell in love… this became our private meeting place… He continued His grand plans here… and we met here again and again… Until just before the Eclipse… when He finally gave it to me as a refuge…” Astarte spoke gently, and as Dorothy listened closely, her spirit stirred again and she pressed further. “He made plans here… then do you know why Hyperion wanted to perform the Eclipse Ritual? He must have prepared it here, right?” Though she asked, Dorothy didn’t expect to gain much from Astarte on this matter. But the answer caught her off guard. “The reason for the Eclipse Ritual… yes, I did hear Him speak of it once…” “He told you? What was it? Why go to such lengths for this ritual?” Dorothy asked quickly. She hadn’t expected to find the answer Beverly couldn’t provide from Astarte instead. And Astarte softly replied. “According to Hyperion… the purpose of the Eclipse Ritual was summoning… Summoning a powerful force from beyond this world and time… to intervene in this realm… to introduce sufficient variables… to rescue a universe slowly decaying into annihilation…” “Summoning power from another world?” Dorothy frowned again, then asked in confusion. “But… don’t the Lord Gods of each cycle already perform summoning rituals at the beginning of every reincarnation? To bring in an outsider to traverse this world? Why did He perform another summoning ritual? What’s the difference between the two?” Dorothy looked to Astarte with a puzzled expression and asked, and the latter promptly replied. “The difference lies… in the target of the summoning… “According to Hyperion… the ritual at the beginning of each cycle… is essentially this world producing a momentary pull toward the outside… drawing some unknown entity from beyond… and allowing it to enter this world… Though the ritual is very stable and safe… it cannot specify which external being will be drawn… It’s entirely random who ends up being summoned… “Hyperion said… the worlds beyond are vast as the starry sea… with countless intelligent beings… The summoning at the start of a cycle merely draws one at random from this endless multitude… It’s like drawing straws—you’ll rarely get someone truly powerful… Instead, you get the mediocre… And such mediocrity can never bring real change to this world…” Astarte continued in her airy voice, sharing the hidden truth she knew. Dorothy, after hearing her, responded thoughtfully. “So Hyperion believed… that the summoning rituals performed by the Lord Gods at the beginning of each cycle were too much like fishing in the ocean blindfolded… That they couldn’t summon anyone truly powerful? And that only a being already strong in the outer world could bring real change?” “Exactly.” Astarte affirmed her words and continued. “Through countless cycles… countless people from beyond have entered this world, and yet none could stop its descent into chaos. Hyperion believed the key reason was that these outsiders were simply too weak. Even after receiving supplementary powers, they were still limited… The inherently weak could not generate enough of a variable to influence this world. To truly alter the fate of this world… what was needed was a greater force… “Because… after each cycle… the summoned outsiders would ultimately integrate into this world… making their tiny variables unable to accumulate… Therefore, in Hyperion’s view… the only way to introduce a massive variable… was to summon an extremely powerful being from beyond… To put it plainly—an outer god.” Astarte whispered the details of Hyperion’s plan. After hearing this, Dorothy paused, her eyes widening slightly in surprise, and asked. “You mean… Hyperion wasn’t trying to summon a transmigrator… but to summon a god from beyond?! He wanted to directly bring in an external god to introduce a massive variable into this world?” “Precisely… When the mundane are no longer useful… only divine power from beyond can stir the tides of change… That was the true goal of Hyperion’s plan. But in this cage forged by Chaos… executing that plan required immense power… power beyond the limits of His status as Lord of Lantern. To acquire that power… He took the risk of attempting to fuse the opposing divinity of Shadow… in pursuit of an ancient, primordial divinity…” Astarte continued explaining. Dorothy nodded with growing understanding. “So that’s it… Hyperion performed the Eclipse Ritual to acquire primordial divinity, all so He could conduct another summoning—not of humans, but of gods… If an external god could descend, it really would create a colossal variable…” Indeed, since each cycle integrates the summoned traveler into the world, each brings only a tiny variable—and those can’t accumulate. The best solution, then, was to introduce a massive variable all at once—beyond the Six Lord Gods and Twenty Subordinate Deities, a new outer god, directly into the world. “The idea… does have its logic. But it’s a pity the Eclipse Ritual ultimately failed. Not only did Hyperion fail to summon an outer god… He also inflicted serious damage on this world…” Dorothy sighed, but Astarte’s next response caught her off guard once again. “No… strictly speaking… Hyperion’s Eclipse Ritual didn’t completely fail… Though His divine body collapsed and fell… in that final instant… He did reach the realm of the primordial god… He obtained power that surpassed the Lord Gods… And in that moment… He began His summoning…” “What? Hyperion really tried to summon an outer god?” “Yes… Hyperion, with only a fleeting grasp of the power of the Primordial, launched an attempt to break through… Unlike the summoning ritual at the start of the cycle, which attracts an unknown from beyond… Hyperion’s ritual wasn’t passive… it was active. He tried to cross the boundary himself… to perceive and contact the divinity beyond this world… and to invite it in…” Astarte explained. Dorothy, listening intently, asked urgently. “So… did Hyperion succeed? Did He make contact with an outer god?” She asked, hopeful. Since the Eclipse Ritual had briefly succeeded, surely there was a chance. But Astarte’s answer was negative. “Sadly… no… The Egg of Chaos is bound to all things in this world… and nothing in this world can escape its grip… “When Hyperion attempted to cross into the beyond… He immediately felt the pull of the Egg of Chaos… It seized Him… forcibly dragged Him back… And the further He pushed into the outer world… the stronger the pull became… “When He finally broke through into the outer world… the force pulling Him back was already immense… Yet He had only just begun His journey there… far from reaching the level needed to contact divine beings… “Had He continued… He risked being torn apart by the pull… “But in the end… Hyperion chose to press on… to continue His journey beyond… And so His body was torn apart… the fragments falling back into the world… “The farther He ventured… the more severe the tearing… In the end, His body… His divinity… even His spirit and memories were shredded and pulled back into this world… He reached the outer world… but ultimately, all of Him was dragged back…” Astarte’s ethereal voice carried clear sorrow. Dorothy, hearing this, felt her heart grow heavier, her brows furrowed deeply. “The Egg of Chaos pulled Hyperion back… So in the end, He sent nothing into the outer world? He never truly contacted an outer god?” “No… On every level, Hyperion failed to escape… He tried to leave the world… but was entirely pulled back… According to His plan… even if He couldn’t make contact, He’d at least broadcast this world’s situation into the beyond… so that an outer god, upon receiving the signal, might become interested and intervene… “But He still underestimated the power of the Egg of Chaos… If it could bind the Three Primordial Gods together, there was no way it would let Him escape… Not only was Hyperion Himself pulled back… all the information He tried to send out was dragged back too… Not a single fragment reached the outer world… “In the final moments before His fall… He sent me one last message… filled with despair…” Astarte paused in somber silence. When she spoke again, her tone turned grave. “Nothing born of this world can escape it… Not matter… not energy… not information… Anything that originates here… must return here… Hyperion gave everything… but because He belonged to this world… even total self-sacrifice couldn’t sever His ties to the Egg of Chaos… and He was dragged back… and perished…” With that, Astarte finally fell into silence. Dorothy, after hearing her words, also remained quiet for a long moment, sinking into deep thought. She now understood more of Hyperion’s secrets—and the brutal truth they unveiled. “So… the flaw in Hyperion’s plan was… that He was of this world?” “Perhaps… This world itself is a cage forged by the Egg of Chaos… Everything is built for the hatching of chaos… What is born in the cage… cannot escape it…” “Then… if someone not born within the cage were to carry out Hyperion’s plan… might it actually succeed?” Dorothy shifted the topic, and Astarte—after a short pause—replied with interest. “Someone not born of the cage… Ah… So you are this cycle’s outsider… No wonder you could inherit the Arbiter’s divine throne as the daughter of Little Mirror… “Indeed… according to Hyperion’s final words… If He had been an outsider, not a native of this world… perhaps the plan would have succeeded… But even so, I must advise you… do not attempt to walk His path… The final outcome is completely unknown… As the Arbiter, you are key to ensuring the smooth transition of this world’s cycle… You cannot afford any accidents… If you must experiment with such ideas… wait for the next cycle, and let another outsider carry them out…” Astarte’s words echoed those of Beverly—both were trying to dissuade Dorothy from acting rashly in this cycle. Dorothy merely smiled and shook her head. “I thought, since you once supported Hyperion’s madness, you might understand my thoughts…” “It is precisely because I witnessed His fate… that I cannot bear to see His descendants repeat it… Please, listen… young Arbiter… I understand how you feel… but don’t act on impulse… The hope of this world surviving this cycle rests on your shoulders…” Astarte’s plea was sincere. Dorothy didn’t answer directly—instead, she shifted the topic. “Enough… Let’s leave that for now. This domain is no longer safe. Let me take you out. The war with the Mother of Chalice will begin in full soon… I hope you’ll be able to lend us your aid when the time comes…” “If it means granting my mother true release… I shall give everything I have…” Astarte replied softly. Dorothy, hearing this, prepared to act—to help Astarte escape in her current state—but then paused as if something else occurred to her. “Oh… right… I have one last question. Since you and Hyperion were lovers… then my mother—Selene—is she your daughter? Are you… my grandmother?” Dorothy asked curiously. A delicate laugh echoed from the drifting petals. “Hehe… If only I truly had such a clever granddaughter… and such a considerate daughter like Little Mirror… Sadly, while I did regard her as a daughter… she is not my child… She is Hyperion’s daughter… but not mine.” “What?!” Dorothy was stunned, frozen in place at Astarte’s unexpected response. … Central Mainland, Holy Mount. Atop the towering Holy Mount, beneath a radiant divine halo, the grand and magnificent Holy Mount Cathedral stood at the most critical point of the mountaintop. Within its vast interior, a solemn meeting was underway. Beneath the immense dome that pierced the skies, six of the seven sacred thrones were already occupied. Among the seated figures, a beautiful woman dressed in a plain robe stood, presenting her report to the assembly. “As I have explained, the book titled The Crimson Holy Mother contains a significant number of essential rites and secret ceremonies from the Second Epoch’s Church of Abundance… If the Afterbirth Cult were to use it as a reference, they would undoubtedly make major advances in their ritual practices related to the Mother of Chalice. Combined with the information just received from Her Excellency, it appears that the Afterbirth Cult has now acquired the final component for their prepared ritual implements… We don’t have much time left…” Stepping slowly across a massive white stone slab, Shepsuna looked around at the gathered church cardinals. With her words, each face visibly grew heavier with concern. “According to you, Lady Shepsuna… the Afterbirth Cult is preparing a powerful ritual to channel the Mother of Chalice’s power?” Amanda, the Cardinal of Redemption, asked with a grave expression after listening to Shepsuna. The latter raised her hand and responded bluntly. “No, not merely a summoning of Her power. Based on what Her Excellency has uncovered… the Afterbirth Cult is very likely preparing to summon the Mother of Chalice herself… They now have the means to bypass layer upon layer of seals—to allow a truly evil Lord God to descend into this timeline. Such a descent would bring upon this world the most devastating catastrophe of the current epoch…” As Shepsuna spoke these alarming words, the expressions of the six cardinals grew even grimmer. They exchanged glances, all clearly shaken by the news. “The Mother of Chalice descending? Is that really possible? Madam, though you are an envoy of the Divine Child, one should not speak so recklessly…” Cardinal Marco, visibly anxious, expressed his concern. But Shepsuna responded with solemn assurance. “Not a word I’ve said is false… The situation in this world has reached a tipping point. We must act at once. I suggest the Holy Church immediately initiate your Great Holy War and launch a full assault against the Afterbirth Cult in the south. If we let them strike first, we may find ourselves on the defensive. Your Church’s forces should already be prepared, yes?” As Dorothy’s envoy, Shepsuna calmly put forth her recommendation before the Council of Cardinals. Her words had barely faded when Hilbert spoke, face stern. “Indeed, the Holy Church has deployed numerous forces in North Ufiga and across the Conquest Sea. Basic preparations are complete—but they were primarily for defensive engagements, to guard against a sudden attack from the Afterbirth Cult… If we’re to go on the offensive, there may be some issues…” Their current mobilization had been intended for defense—especially in the absence of the Pope—to guard against a large-scale attack, particularly by Unina. But now they were being called to strike first... After all, even preparing for war was already a step toward overreach. And to now move from readiness to the actual declaration of a Great Holy War—such authority traditionally belonged to the Pope alone. To declare such a war without papal consent was far more serious than preparing for one. While all the cardinals present recognized the danger facing the world, some still hesitated at the idea of crossing that final threshold. “Declaring a Holy War in the Pope’s absence—such power is beyond even the combined authority of the six of us. I hope you understand this, Envoy of the Divine Child…” said Cardinal Kramar, frowning. At the same time, Artecheri spoke up, her voice solemn. “It may be a grave transgression, but given the crisis we face, perhaps we can’t afford to be so cautious…” “Indeed… Her Excellency has already helped us avert great disasters more than once. She has earned our deepest trust. Not once has Her foresight ever failed…” Alberto added respectfully. And so, the Council of Cardinals began to discuss the matter more heatedly. Unlike the matter of borrowing the Sacred Staff, initiating a Great Holy War would involve the entirety of the Radiance Church—millions of lives. Even with Dorothy’s guidance, it was not a decision easily made. Yet just as the council’s debate was growing intense, a violent tremor suddenly rocked the entire Holy Mount Cathedral. A wave of evil energy spread through the grand hall, causing the cardinals to halt their discussion and immediately enter a state of heightened alert. “What? What’s happening?!” “An earthquake? That’s impossible—Holy Mount can’t quake… Is this an inner realm tremor? How could that affect this place?!” “This sensation… It’s Chalice power… such malevolent Chalice power, could it be—?” As Amanda frowned and tried to sense the anomaly, the most sacred object in the cathedral began to tremble—the Tri-Sanctum Altar behind the high seat, blessed with holy and extraordinary force, began to tilt. The Altar of the Holy Mother crashed down with a deafening sound, shattering many exquisite ritual vessels on the floor and leaving the area in utter disarray. A single tremor had toppled the sacred altar—something that had not happened once in the thousand-year history of Holy Mount Cathedral. The cardinals stood frozen in shock, while Shepsuna, gazing down at the shattered statue of the Holy Mother, murmured. “Truly… a most ominous omen…” She shook her head as she spoke. Meanwhile, Hilbert, witnessing this unprecedented event, turned to look at the empty Papal Throne. There, he seemed to glimpse a faint ripple of light coalescing—some kind of message manifesting. Seeing this, Hilbert whispered softly. “My friends… given the circumstances, the Great Holy War must commence immediately… “Let us purge the southern evils that fester upon this land…” Hilbert spoke decisively. And at that moment, not a single cardinal voiced objection. Thus, after a long period of preparation, the war machine of the Radiance Church finally stirred—unleashing the flames of purification upon the southern Afterbirth Cult. After more than four hundred years, another Great Holy War between Radiance Church and the Afterbirth Cult was about to begin. And this time, its scale would be unprecedented.