Sure enough, in the very next moment, golden-red flames erupted from Tiamat's abdomen, and the Black Mud that had been churning within her was completely evaporated.
"What is that!?"
Yet the figure that appeared before everyone utterly exceeded all expectations.
It was not a form they recognized. Her formerly gray hair had turned white, while her forehead and the tips of her hair were red like burning flames. Her eyes were no longer the cool, gentle pale blue they had been, but a scorching crimson matching the color of her hair.
The white combat outfit on her body had been burned away by the heat that made it impossible to keep one's eyes open even from afar, leaving behind only enough fabric to cover her body.
But what drew the most attention was her inhuman appearance.
Red feathers grew on both sides of her head and from her chest down her left arm, while her hands and feet were covered in hexagonal scales like gemstones. Her fingers and toes had transformed into golden, claw-like bones.
"What in the world is..."
Ritsuka and Mash stared wide-eyed.
"Without question... a god..."
Roman said those words for the second time, but this time, he was far more shocked than before.
If Tiamat had reclaimed the form of her former goddess self through a Beast Spirit Base, then Fu Hua had reached the domain of gods with the body of a mortal—an ordinary Spirit Base. Just like Tiamat moments ago, that overwhelming divine aura was no longer merely Divinity. It was a pure divine body.
Fu Hua merely swept her gaze over the others before turning back to Tiamat.
She casually tossed the Holy Grail toward Ritsuka. It was not that she did not wish to approach them, but that she could not.
Although Divine Sound had shattered, leaving her mind unaffected, this was also her first time wielding such power. Even Fu Hua, who possessed extraordinarily refined control over power, was somewhat startled by her current condition.
The power seemed inexhaustible, and the unprecedented vitality gave her the illusion that she had transcended mortality.
But this power could not stir any joy in her... because all she felt now was lingering fear and fury.
Though she also felt sorrow for Tiamat's experiences, harming her disciple was another matter entirely.
At that thought, Fu Hua had only one thing on her mind: quickly defeat Tiamat, then help Amber restore her consciousness.
As heat exploded in Fu Hua's hand once more, the Fu Hua standing in midair punched Tiamat in the side of her abdomen. Driven by her fist and arm, a firebird far more powerful than Amber's Sword God appeared out of thin air. The firebird, nearly half the size of Tiamat's body, crashed violently into Tiamat and made her howl again.
"Get out of here, now!"
Merlin's pupils contracted sharply. He used magecraft to block the heat rolling in from afar, but even though it was nothing more than pure temperature, it felt more taxing than the Tide of Chaos.
Still, that was only natural. Tiamat was no longer a god now, while this heat was the spillover from a true god—no, an Immortal's attack. When gods fought, mortals suffered. Merlin understood the meaning of those words as never before.
"Leave it to me!"
The pterosaur had long since developed a fever from the heat, its body dehydrated and its consciousness hazy. Ereshkigal could only use the authority of the Underworld to carry Ritsuka and Mash away.
Watching Fu Hua carbonize half of Tiamat's body with a single blow, Ereshkigal could not help swallowing.
She had said earlier that Fu Hua had held back, but looking at things now, if Fu Hua had truly intended to kill her back then, even her Underworld might not have survived...
"Everyone, move toward the ground! This is no longer a battle we can interfere in!"
Merlin shamelessly grabbed Ritsuka's arm and floated upward with Ereshkigal while shouting at Ishtar and Anna.
"I know already!"
Ishtar frantically dodged Baal Lahmu's attacks and rose rapidly.
Anna used her chains like grappling hooks to climb upward.
"Aaaaaa--!"
Having lost most of her body, Tiamat seemed to realize that her end had come. She let out a mournful cry, and upon sensing their mother's condition, the Baal Lahmu flew madly toward Fu Hua.
"Life and death are ever-changing..."
Fu Hua sighed inwardly, yet she felt not the slightest pity. She raised her left hand slightly. Without Sword Heart, she simply used her body to draw blazing flames from every direction, flames hot enough to rival the sun.
"Birth and extinction have their time!"
The violently rising heat ignited the Underworld along with terrifying wind pressure. As everyone moved toward the entrance of the Underworld, all they could see was a dreadful, blazing light rising beneath their feet.
"Tiamat's Spirit Base... has fallen silent..."
Afterword to Chapter Sixty-One.
"Old Antique!? What's going on!?"
When Fu Hua returned to the ground, before anyone else could even speak to her or share in the joy of victory, they first heard Herrscher of Reason's voice, filled with confusion and anger.
As the Herrscher of Reason, she naturally knew what Fu Hua's condition meant. If Amber were present, the consciousness controlling the body could not possibly be Fu Hua's. And now, it was no longer a matter of who was in control—Amber's consciousness had vanished entirely.
She and Amber had only known each other for a few days, but friendship was not something that could be measured by time. That was what it meant to hit it off at first sight. How two people would get along afterward could, to a great extent, be seen from their first meeting.
For Fu Hua, someone who understood her and trusted her unconditionally was more than enough to make her feel comfortable around them. That was even more true for the Herrscher of Reason.
Amber's personality and temperament suited her quite well. Although she did not particularly like Amber calling her Shi Bao, as the great Herrscher of Reason, she could still forgive a brat's willfulness. In fact, Amber's ability to interact with her so freely and without reservation made the Herrscher of Reason rather happy.
She had never regarded Tiamat as a threat, so she had not taken this so-called decisive battle seriously at all. Yet she had not expected that Amber would run into such a serious problem after being out of her sight for only a short while.
"...It was my mistake."
Fu Hua had nothing to explain, because this was the result of her own carelessness.
The others were somewhat confused by the two of them. Gilgamesh looked at Fu Hua, who was clearly no longer human, and frowned as well.
(Stop dwelling on why there is Divinity. I already explained in the story that Mesopotamia is different from other places. You cannot become a god just because you want to, nor can you refuse to be one just because you want to. Fu Hua would not have Divinity anywhere else, but on this land, she has no choice. Neither Xiao Shi nor Fu Hua has any interest in becoming a god, but those are simply the rules.)
The situation between the two made the joy of victory fade at once.
"Sorry, Amb... I still have other things to do, so I might not be able to say goodbye."
Fu Hua had originally wanted to explain that they were not the same person, but remembering Amber's role-playing all this time, she ultimately did not say it.
She felt that Amber ought to leave behind her own name, but if that would only make Amber feel disappointed, then it was better not to do it.
The Herrscher of Reason gave Fu Hua a puzzled look.
The Old Antique had actually not said it? Normally, she would probably have made it clear outright.
But seeing her suddenly become so cautious, the Herrscher of Reason found it somewhat amusing. Once the anger in her heart had faded considerably, she also understood that while something had happened to Amber, it should not be too serious. Since Amber could be saved, she naturally had to help.
"I'll go with the Old Antique. You all can hold a cheerful victory feast while being grateful to the great Lady Herrscher of Reason!"
The Herrscher of Reason waved her hand grandly and followed Fu Hua.
"...?"
Three of the greatest contributors had left—Fu Hua and the Herrscher of Reason had gone somewhere unknown, while the Old Man of the Mountain had departed without a word.
Everyone's excitement cooled somewhat, but... never mind. They would meet again someday. For now, the most important thing was to celebrate this hard-won victory.
Meanwhile, Fu Hua and the Herrscher of Reason arrived at a barren mountain peak in a valley with little life. With Fu Hua's permission, the two entered the space within Feathered Dust together.
"Was she corrupted by that Black Mud?"
The moment she saw Amber's actual condition, the Herrscher of Reason immediately understood what had happened.
"Amber's condition is not that bad, but it cannot be called good either."
Fu Hua frowned as she explained, "Both of us are skilled in matters of consciousness. First, we will help Amber stabilize her Spirit Platform and try to awaken her consciousness."
The Herrscher of Reason looked into the depths of Feathered Dust. There was a black, formless consciousness there, filled with violent and dark energy. Simply looking at it was enough to make one uneasy. She frowned. "You did not get rid of this thing?"
"...The situation was urgent at the time. I had to eliminate the threat quickly and make time to restore Amber's consciousness. Besides, this consciousness is not easy to deal with."
Simply put, she had not had time to deal with it.
But now that there was nothing else to worry about, she said, "Amber's condition is not urgent. Let us deal with this consciousness first, otherwise it may become a hidden danger."
"Not so fast."
However, the usually aggressive Herrscher of Reason suddenly rolled her eyes. She then looked at Amber lying on the ground before turning an amused gaze toward Fu Hua. "Come to think of it, Old Antique, I had this thought the moment I came out. Don't you think our Amber resembles someone?"
"?"
Fu Hua thought about it for a moment but found no answer. Logically, her memories were nearly identical to those of the Herrscher of Reason, with only the year or two after the Herrscher of Reason's birth being different. Since she could not find anyone in her memories, she simply asked, "Who?"
"Shier!"
The Herrscher of Reason wore an expression that said, How could you not notice that? "I've wanted to say it for a long time. Don't you think that if her hair color were changed to blue, her eyes were changed to blue too, and she cut her hair short, she would look exactly like Shier?"
"This..."
Fu Hua had little room to comment on that. "I have never met Shier herself. I have only seen... the two-dimensional Shier in Amber's memories. So I cannot really say whether they look alike."
"Ah, right."
The Herrscher of Reason remembered that point as well and nodded helplessly. "Fine."
But she quickly brought up another matter. "So, since she already looks so much like Shier, wouldn't it be pretty interesting for her to have an amusing second personality too?"
"..."
The Herrscher of Reason's words made Fu Hua recall a term from Amber's mind, so she said, "Do not treat that consciousness as a substitute for another Shier. They are ultimately not the same."
"What substitute!? What do you take me for?"
The Herrscher of Reason could not hold it in anymore. "I just think that Shier is interesting. What are you thinking? Besides, that consciousness has not even taken shape yet. In other words, she has not even been born. Are you really going to erase her just like that?"
Only then did Fu Hua understand.
The Herrscher of Reason had taken pity on it.
Indeed, although that consciousness was a factor in Amber's injury, it was not the true culprit. Moreover, it had been stained with Amber's colors. Calling it another consciousness born from Amber would not be inaccurate. That was different from the Herrscher of Reason, but there were similarities.
"If it can be ensured that it will not affect Amber, then I have no objections."
Fu Hua nodded.
"You still don't trust me? The two of us are experts at dealing with consciousness. If something really happens, could we not suppress it?"
The Herrscher of Reason smiled and confidently patted her chest.
Thus, the two began dividing their work within Feathered Dust, tending to the two consciousnesses.
Draw First, Ask Questions Later! (Interlude)
Her head felt hazy and heavy. Though she had spent a long time in this state in her memories, ever since dying once, she had never experienced it again.
"Mm..."
As her consciousness gradually returned, Amber could feel the splitting headache in her head. Her last memory was of being swallowed by Tiamat's Black Mud. What had happened now? Without her, had the others defeated Tiamat?
"Amber?"
Seeing the girl slowly regain consciousness, Fu Hua was both shocked and delighted. She reached out and covered Amber's forehead, the location of her Spirit Platform, increasing the power of Sword God.
"Ah...?"
It instantly felt as though someone had thrown cold water over her head. Amber abruptly opened her eyes.
"Master?"
Looking at the pure white space before her, the girl froze. "What happened to Tiamat? How is everyone?"
"The battle has ended."
Fu Hua gently brushed aside the girl's bangs, revealing her smooth forehead. "Ritsuka and Mash returned to Chaldea with Jaguar Man. Ereshkigal, Ishtar, and the others' Spirit Bases have also faded away with time... Gilgamesh has reached the end of his life as well."
"We won..."
Amber first sighed with emotion, but she quickly realized she had not even had the chance to say goodbye to them. Her heart immediately filled with sadness and frustration.
But she soon noticed something was wrong. "Wait? Master? How long was I unconscious?"
"In a few more years... it will make a full 4,900 years."
Fu Hua spoke calmly, as though she had said something entirely ordinary.
"Oh, so it was only... 4,900 years?"
Amber had assumed it had not been long, but she had not expected to hear such a terrifying number. Panicked and anxious, she asked, "Master and Shi Bao waited for me in this world for 4,900 years!?"
Never mind 4,900 years—even four years and ninety days would have been an incredibly long time to Amber.
"It was not just the two of us."
Fu Hua smiled. "This world did not have Honkai. Although several terrible disasters occurred, they were far from us and did not affect this place."
"Uh... where is this?"
Before you continue