Chapter Summaries

Rayne visited Dragon Valley and confronted Borchi over his lack of progress, then freed him from the Soul Binding Collar and demanded a voluntary Slave Blood Contract if he wanted to remain at Rayne’s side. Borchi swore lifelong loyalty, and Rayne accepted his service, promising to grant him strength and glory.

• Rayne criticized Borchi for spending more than two years in Dragon Valley without becoming stronger, while Osiria appeared and revealed her rapid progress toward Legendary Peak.
• Rayne threatened to replace Borchi as his mount, removed the Soul Binding Collar, and declared Borchi free to leave.
• Borchi pleaded to stay with Rayne and agreed to swear a Soul Contract of subordination despite its permanent consequences.
• Borchi offered his life, glory, soul, and possessions to Rayne Augustus in Dragon Language, and Rayne accepted his service and promised him strength and renown.

Rayne began preparing a Rune Array based on the Dragon Blood Soul Transformation Technique to help Dragons advance, then brought Elotisia, Borchi, and Athina together in Dragon Valley. The two women clashed over Athina's presence, and Rayne stopped them and revealed Soul Diamonds.

• Rayne brought Elotisia and Borchi to Dragon Valley, where they cleared and leveled a lakeside plaza for a Rune Array.
• Rayne and ten Mirror Images built an enormous alloy floor inscribed with Dragon Language Runes, and he identified the array as the Dragon Blood Soul Transformation Technique.
• Elotisia studied the technique and learned that it could stimulate a Dragon Soul's transformation; Rayne explained that he had modified it to use Dragon Soul energy as well as Dragon blood.
• Elotisia questioned how the technique could help Dragons who were not close to a breakthrough, and Rayne prepared to answer before sensing arrivals nearby.
• Reslin arrived with Athina, whose presence angered Elotisia; the two women confronted each other until Rayne restrained them and said he had invited Athina to attempt to reach Saint Tier.
• Rayne took out several Soul Diamonds, drawing the attention of Elotisia, Athina, and Borchi.

Rayne introduced Soul Diamonds, which rapidly strengthened the souls of those who absorbed them, and used them to advance Borchi, Osiria, and Athina. As he worked on a Rune Array, Osiria and Athina reached Legendary Peak, and Rayne revealed that they could now choose new shared elements.

• Rayne gave Borchi, Osiria, and Athina Soul Diamonds and explained how to absorb their Soul Power.
• Borchi absorbed a Soul Diamond, underwent his sixth Soul Transformation, and advanced to Legendary High Tier.
• Rayne gave Borchi more Soul Diamonds and divided dozens between Osiria and Athina so they could reach Legendary Peak.
• Rayne continued building the Rune Array while Osiria and Athina cultivated nearby; Athina reflected that her chosen shared elements had disappointed her.
• On the third day, Osiria and Athina both reached Legendary Peak, and Osiria began helping Rayne with the Rune Array.
• Rayne told Athina that she could choose new shared elements, surprising both her and Osiria.

Rayne prepared a Rune Array to help Borchi undergo the Dragon Blood Soul Transformation and advance toward becoming an Ancient Dragon, using Deep Azure’s blood and powerful Legendary Elements. As the ritual began, Athina and Osiria watched with envy, knowing Rayne planned to replace their shared elements as well.

• Rayne told Athina and Osiria that he could replace their shared elements, but ordered them not to fight over what they received.
• Rayne and Osiria completed the Rune Array, which could also make spells and Ability Elements permanent.
• Borchi returned after reaching Legendary Peak, and Rayne prepared to use Deep Azure’s Dragon blood for Borchi’s advancement.
• Rayne warned Borchi to remain conscious during the painful transformation, while Reslin prepared a True Mirror Image Spell.
• Rayne gave Borchi the Blazing Dragon Crown and Ultimate Dark Domain Spell Seals and prepared to bless his Golden Dragon head with Sacred Blood Amber.
• Borchi steadied himself, and Rayne activated the Rune Array.

Rayne used the Dragon Blood Soul Transformation Technique, Legendary Elements, and Soul Diamonds to advance Borchi from an Elder Dragon to an Ancient Dragon and push him through an Eighth Soul Transformation. Borchi reached more than a hundred meters long, but Rayne stopped his attempt at the Ninth Soul Transformation when Deep Azure’s dragon blood ran low and Borchi struggled to continue.

• Rayne and the two Reslins anchored Dawn’s Holy Favor, Infernal Crown, and Ultimate Dark Domain into Borchi, triggering his transformation into an Ancient Dragon.
• Rayne granted Borchi Divine Arts and spells, then fed him more than a hundred Soul Diamonds, increasing his size to ninety meters and bringing his soul to the Eighth Soul Transformation bottleneck.
• Rayne restarted the Rune Array, and Borchi endured the Dragon Blood Soul Transformation Technique long enough to complete his Eighth Soul Transformation.
• Rayne fed Borchi another batch of Soul Diamonds and tried to trigger his Ninth Soul Transformation, but stopped after a few minutes because Deep Azure’s dragon blood was running low and Borchi was struggling.

Rayne used the Wish Spell and shared new Elements with Athina and Osiria, helping both soul companions grow dramatically stronger. Osiria mastered the Ogulvi Creation Technique and used the Heart of the Overmind to create a Rainbow Dragon body, then placed a soul clone inside it.

• Borchi completed his transformation into a Golden Three-Headed Dragon and pledged to protect Rayne before vanishing to train.
• Rayne used the Wish Spell to erase Athina’s five shared Elements, then guided her to copy five Legendary Elements, triggering her seventh Soul Metamorphosis and making her the second Titan Elder.
• Athina absorbed more than a hundred Soul Diamonds but failed to trigger her eighth Soul Metamorphosis, then stayed to watch Osiria’s advancement.
• Rayne erased Osiria’s Body of Steel and Living Metal, then helped her choose Phase Walker, Immortal Body, and Heart of the Overmind.
• Osiria underwent Soul Metamorphosis with the Dragon Blood Soul Transformation Technique, became an Archmage, and grew to roughly a hundred meters before absorbing Soul Diamonds.
• Osiria learned the Ogulvi Creation Technique through the Key of the Gate, created a Rainbow Dragon body, and used the Heart of the Overmind to place a soul clone inside it.

Osiria used the Creation Technique and Heart of the Overmind to make powerful Rainbow Dragon clones, while Rayne revealed that he commanded over ten thousand Legendary Heavenly Soldiers. The chapter left Athina receiving an offer of her own force as Rayne opened a Wormhole and summoned golden-armored Heavenly Soldiers.

• Osiria created a juvenile Rainbow Dragon clone and discovered that it possessed the race’s innate talents and shared her senses through a split soul.
• At Rayne’s urging, Osiria used Soul Diamonds to create adult Rainbow Dragon Mage clones, eventually producing ten and preparing to make one hundred adults and ten juveniles.
• Osiria and Athina realized that Rayne’s Heavenly Soldiers were his clones, and Rayne revealed that he had created a little over ten thousand of them.
• Athina grew jealous of Osiria’s new legion, so Rayne promised her an equal number of Heavenly Soldiers who would obey her commands.
• Rayne opened a Wormhole, and a group of golden-armored Rayne’s Heavenly Soldiers walked through it.

Rayne and Osiria agreed to create a Rainbow Dragon Knight Legion, with Osiria’s clones training as Wizards while Rayne helped them grow. After Athina declined to keep a hundred Rayne’s Heavenly Soldiers, Rayne restricted Osiria and her clones to Dragon Valley to avoid drawing Master Ogulvi’s attention; the chapter ended with the first hundred Rainbow Dragon mounts flying with golden-armored knights.

• Rayne offered Athina one hundred Rayne’s Heavenly Soldiers, but she refused to keep them and asked to borrow his army when needed for the Storm Giants’ war.
• Rayne proposed a Dragon Knight Legion, and Osiria agreed to create Rainbow Dragon mounts in exchange for his help raising her juvenile clones as Wizards.
• Rayne planned to provide Soul Diamonds so Osiria’s clones could advance, and he told her not to announce her Archmage status or enter the Underdark.
• Rayne asked Osiria to keep herself and her clones in Dragon Valley, where the Rayne’s Heavenly Soldiers would help train the Rainbow Dragon Knights.
• Osiria created one hundred young adult Rainbow Dragons, and Rayne developed their training plan before leaving Dragon Valley with Borchi.

Rayne scouted the undead around Loboster and launched a campaign to reclaim the city, using the fighting to harvest electricity and strengthen his forces. After a month of grinding advances and upgrades, the undead army suddenly withdrew, leaving the campaign’s next turn uncertain.

• Rayne surveyed Loboster with Borchi and found more than a million undead, including an Apocalypse Knight, then returned to Gotham City to prepare an attack.
• Rayne announced the plan to reclaim Loboster, and Gotham City’s forces began advancing north three days later with the Duke’s Guard leading and the Saint Gun Knights supporting.
• The undead increased their numbers and dug trenches, halting the army’s advance as Rayne recognized the Death Lord was waging a war of attrition.
• Rayne refused to commit the Extreme Legion, letting the Duke’s Guard continue fighting while he converted the undead casualties into Soul Diamonds and electricity to expand Pixel World and upgrade his forces.
• After a month of combat and rapid growth in Rayne’s forces, the endless undead army suddenly withdrew.

Rayne's forces reclaimed Loboster and expanded their control across the northeastern New Continent, while he worried over his sister Kacy's marriage to Garrison Hapbi. At Kacy's wedding, Rayne accepted the Hapbi family's toast, then learned Viola envied the newlyweds and wanted a child of her own.

• Rayne sent scouts to confirm the undead had retreated to the Kanord Icefield, then ordered the Duke's Guard to clear Loboster and nearby undead tombs.
• Rayne chose Albany as the site for a Magic Torchlight tower and had the Duke's Guard secure the city while his Heavenly Soldiers began construction.
• Kacy married Garrison Hapbi, whose pregnancy and calculated courtship Rayne had uncovered, though Old Bard and Malinda approved of the match.
• At the wedding banquet, Taylor Hapbi nervously toasted Rayne, who called the families kin and eased the tension by drinking with them.
• Viola admitted she wished she could give Rayne a child, and Rayne told her he could get her pregnant.

Rayne used the Wish Spell while trying to conceive a son with Viola, and Lady of Long Hair descended into Viola to bless them. Lady of Long Hair offered to make Rayne her Chosen One, but Rayne refused in his heart, wary of the risks and his ties to Vejestri.

• Rayne reassured Viola that he could safely use the Wish Spell to help her become pregnant, then carried her to the Lotus-Viewing Terrace at He Palace.
• Rayne wished for Viola to become pregnant with his son, and the spell consumed about five hundred units of Soul Power without visibly affecting them.
• Viola used her Seraphic Divine Envoy Primary Soul to renew her strength, and she and Rayne continued through the night.
• Lady of Long Hair descended into Viola before dawn, praised Rayne's growth and contributions, and said she had come to bless them.
• Lady of Long Hair offered to grant Rayne's wish if he became her Chosen One, but Rayne rejected the idea internally because he feared entering her Divine Kingdom and knew Vejestri would oppose it.

Lady of Long Hair blessed Rayne and Viola’s unborn son as a Divine Child, prompting Rayne to worry that the boy might become her chosen one. As Viola neared childbirth, Master Mayov’s advancement threatened Rayne’s control of the High Council, so Rayne revealed that he had another candidate in mind.

• Lady of Long Hair blessed Viola’s unborn son with divine power, immunity to evil influences, and rapid growth before his ninth Soul Transformation.
• Rayne decided to personally raise his son as a Combat Wizard and keep him from becoming Lady of Long Hair’s chosen one.
• Rayne stayed close to Viola through her pregnancy, and the Empire sent congratulations after news of the Divine Child spread.
• Rayne told nine-months-pregnant Viola to rest before giving birth, then learned that Master Mayov had advanced and might join the High Council.
• Rayne rejected Ansiwodoss’s suggestion to put Reslin on the High Council and presented Osiria, who had advanced to Archmage, as his candidate.

Rayne explained how he helped Osiria become an Archmage and revealed that he had traded the Hess Magic Array to Master Kainan for political support and money. He persuaded Ansiwodoss to work with him on modifying the array, then introduced his powerful Mage clone Brais to assist.

• Ansiwodoss learned that Osiria had become an Archmage a year earlier, and Rayne explained the Dragon Valley methods that enabled her advancement.
• Osiria said she had mastered five Ninth Circle Spells, while Rayne kept his Mage clones’ advancements secret.
• Rayne revealed that Mayov had used the Hess Magic Array and that he had given the array to Master Kainan in exchange for support, a High Council vote, and ten million Gold Shields.
• Rayne told Ansiwodoss that modifying the Hess Magic Array could help Wizards become Soul Saint Wizards, then offered to help complete the research within ten years.
• Ansiwodoss agreed to research the Hess Magic Array with Rayne, who opened a Portal and introduced his Level 19 Mage clone Brais.

Rayne arranged for Osiria to relinquish a ducal territory in exchange for a future Star Destroyer, while persuading Ansiwodoss to support a rule limiting new High Council dukes to titular titles. At the High Council meeting, Mayov joined as its fourteenth member, and Ansiwodoss announced that Osiria had also become an Archmage, interrupting Tim Kainan’s plans to grant Mayov a territory.

• Rayne told Ansiwodoss that Brais was his magic clone, though Brais kept the method secret.
• Osiria agreed to give up a ducal territory in return for Rayne’s promise of a Star Destroyer within twenty years, and Rayne offered Ansiwodoss ten million Gold Shields to support his proposal.
• Rayne and Ansiwodoss discussed changing High Council rules so new members would receive titular dukedoms without territories.
• Tim Kainan introduced Mayov at the High Council, and the members approved his entry as its fourteenth member without opposition.
• Tim Kainan began discussing Mayov’s ducal title and territory, but Ansiwodoss interrupted to announce that Osiria had also been promoted to Archmage.

Rayne challenged the High Council’s practice of granting fiefs to its members, arguing that the policy weakened the Empire and could eventually lead to its fragmentation. He proposed replacing future territories with financial compensation, leaving the council to consider the plan.

• Ansiwodoss revealed that Osiria was a Dragon and presented her as a newly advanced Archmage, while Tim Kainan and Kailstone questioned her admission.
• Osiria offered to prove her strength, and the Great Sage accepted her advancement; the High Council voted to make her its fifteenth member.
• Tim Kainan tried to move on to assigning Mayov’s ducal title and territory, but Rayne interrupted to raise the issue of the Empire’s expanding fiefs.
• Rayne argued that the High Council’s land grants contradicted its policy of reclaiming noble territories and warned that fiefs could weaken the Empire and fuel its division.
• Rayne proposed that new members receive titular dukedoms but no territories, in exchange for a total of thirty million Gold Shields, and offered the same compensation to current or former fief holders under specified terms.

Rayne proposed ending the High Council’s territorial grants and offering members fifty million Gold Shields in special funds instead. The resolution passed by a wide majority, leaving Rayne with greater influence over the High Council and its factions.

• Rayne negotiated the subsidy with the Soul Saint Wizards, and they settled on fifty million Gold Shields paid in five installments.
• Kailstone accused Rayne of using the reform to suppress rivals, so Rayne announced that he would surrender Osian Dukedom and its subsidy and incorporate Thane Plateau into the Empire.
• Rayne called for a vote, and Sabra, Oruoin, Medif, Huo Huai, Magna, Tuzray, Mayov, and Kongjielade supported the resolution; Kongjielade also gave up Sunset City and its subsidy.
• Ansiwodoss, Duke Silverstar, and the Storm Queen raised their hands in favor, while Silverstar kept the Grand Duchy of Longsand and Tim Kainan and Kailstone opposed the measure.
• Rayne declared the resolution passed after thirteen of the fifteen High Council members voted in favor.

After the High Council’s reforms rattled the Empire, Rayne used his influence and resources to secure allies by financing new Floating Cities. His intelligence network tracked the public reaction and the Storm Queen’s moves, while Rayne turned his attention to Viola, who was about to give birth.

• The Goddess of Magic granted Master Mayov the title Duke of White Raven and Osiria the title Duke of Azure Rainbow, and Tim Kainan adjourned the meeting.
• Rayne offered loans and construction services to Soul Saint Wizards planning Floating Cities, prompting Prophet Medif, Dean Sabra, and Master Oruoin to seek his help.
• Rayne ordered the meeting’s resolutions circulated across the Empire, where the reforms sparked widespread discussion and increased support for him.
• Rayne listened through his network of Rayne's Heavenly Soldiers and considered how further gains might eventually prepare the Empire to accept him as emperor.
• Prophet Medif borrowed fifty million Gold Shields and hired Rayne to organize his Floating City’s construction, while Dean Sabra and Master Oruoin also obtained Rayne’s assistance.
• Rayne’s intelligence network revealed that the Storm Queen was helping Master Huai build a Floating City in Shadow Valley, and Rayne learned that Viola was about to give birth.

Rayne welcomed his son, Octavius Augustus, a Divine Child whose birth and naming established him as Rayne’s heir. After the infant’s public celebration, Rayne returned to the Thane Plateau, where he prepared to expand his fleet and launched the newly completed Star Destroyer Kalanos.

• Rayne reassured Moserio that he would remain governor of Osian and that the Modu School would protect his position after Rayne’s term ended.
• Viola safely gave birth to a boy whose divine aura and sacred emblem revealed him to be a Divine Child, and Rayne named him Octavius Augustus and declared him his heir.
• Rayne and Viola kept Octavius away from outsiders while he grew rapidly, and Rayne later announced him as heir at a grand month celebration attended by prominent guests and their representatives.
• Rayne assigned Heavenly Soldiers to protect Octavius, then traveled to the Thane Plateau and inspected the completed fourth Imperial Class Star Destroyer.
• Rayne named the new ship Kalanos and sent it into the Void.

Three years later, Rayne’s children’s rivalry over who would inherit his position surfaced when Elizabeth beat Octavius in a fight, and Viola learned that Elizabeth had inherited extraordinary talents through a Mirage Clam Pearl. After Viola took Octavius to seek a swordsmanship teacher, Rayne detected a crisis at Alber Bay on the West Coast.

• Rayne defeated Viola and the others at Myriad Spirits Card before Octavius arrived with a complaint about Elizabeth.
• Elizabeth claimed she should be the heir because she was stronger, and Rayne sent Franciska and the other women home after learning that Octavius had lost their fight.
• Rayne explained that Elizabeth had inherited several powerful Elements because Franciska had used a Mirage Clam Pearl before conceiving her.
• Viola decided Octavius should begin close-quarters combat and swordsmanship training, then left with him to visit Master Roger.
• Rayne traveled aboard the Kalanos to the West Coast and saw that Alber Bay was under attack and its Great Wall had collapsed.

The Demonfolk launched a surprise assault on Alber Bay after the Great Wall collapsed, and Rayne suspected that City Lord Bruce had fallen under the influence of the Eye of Silian. Rayne deployed the Extreme Legion to defend the city, while Akerman rallied the Sea Tribe to join the fight.

• A ten-mile section of Alber Bay's Great Wall collapsed, and hidden Portals opened across the city as Abyssal Knights attacked its residents.
• Rayne suspected Bruce was behind the breach and might have fallen to the Eye of Silian, then prepared to fight alongside Reslin and Borchi.
• Rayne met Athina and the Thunder Mercenary Group, confirmed the danger, and offered to evacuate them or help save Alber Bay; Athina chose to defend the city.
• Rayne summoned five companies of the Extreme Legion, whose squads pushed back the Abyssal Knights but were hindered by civilians, overwhelming enemy numbers, and newly opened Portals.
• Akerman called on his followers, the children of the sea, to attack the Demonfolk and join the battle.