Gods, Mortals, and the Turning Points of an Era (Continued)

"You've lost, brother. You're even weaker than I expected." The Goddess of the Ringed City gazed at her blood relative, her eyes and expression equally complex.

"You've grown up, Filianore." The God of War stood up, watching his little sister descend from the sky to the ground. His gaze held both pride and a touch of melancholy. "The victor has the right to decide everything, Filianore. Take whatever you want from me."

On one side, a deep purple Storm Dragon let out a mournful cry. But it was firmly pinned down by the Goddess's pet, the last ancient dragon Midir, and could not move.

The Goddess simply observed her brother quietly. Her complex expression ultimately settled on sorrow and anger.

"You..." There was a faint sadness in her voice. "... The kindled the First Flame, wasn't it?"

"..." She was silent for a few seconds. Because in her eyes, the veil that the God of War used to cover his face disappeared along with the divine power that concealed it. Then, his face, which already showed signs of becoming a zombie, was revealed.

The First Flame will burn away the vast majority of the souls and power of the firewood. Even if some remnants remain, the remaining vessel can no longer be classified as a living thing.

There may be exceptions in this world.

But there will only be one exception, that incredible person who brings miracles and surpasses miracles.

Besides her, and besides that foreign visitor named Surtr, even the most powerful deity, Gwyn the Sun King first inherited the First Flame before the First Lord of Cinder, would be reduced to nothing more than undead creatures driven only by their obsessions after being burned by the First Flame.

The God of War, the Sun, is dead.

What exists here now is merely the remains of a former war god, retaining his intellect, memories, and a portion of his power. And even this tiny remnant will likely soon dissipate into the wind as his obsession fades and time passes.

"This is the duty of a god." With the secret revealed, the remains of the God of War showed a relaxed expression. "This world is no longer the world of gods, but the world of humans. Humans govern this land, bearing the responsibility of passing on the First Flame and maintaining the operation of the world. However, humans always make mistakes, and the linking of the flame always fails. And when that happens, it is time for us gods to fulfill our duty."

"...I understand." Filianore lowered her eyes. "So, you can't leave this mountain?"

"Divine General banished me from the Divine Court, I had already fulfilled my duty to the gods. After entering the First Flame, I fulfilled my duty to the world. And the last thing I have not finished is the covenant I made with the dragons." The God of War raised his hand, and the Storm Dragon, freed from Midir's claws, obediently extended its head for him to stroke.

In the early days of the Age of Fire, the gods defeated the ancient dragons and gained dominion over the land.

In the ancient Age of Fire, the sun god of war, pitying the tragic fate of dragons, befriended them and was banished from the ranks of the gods by the Sun King Gwyn.

"This mountain is called Dragon's Peak, the last place where all the bloodlines of the ancient dragons, except for you, Midir, remain. The obsession that keeps me alive as a living corpse is to protect this Ancient Dragon Peak—I can no longer leave this place. I am destined to stay here until the Age of Fire ends, or until this bloodline of the ancient dragons is completely extinguished."

Filianore looked away—she didn't ask the foolish question, 'There are dragons in Lothric too, would you like to come with me to Lothric?'—the undead are the undead, even those who were corrupted from gods, their only pillar of reason is their obsession.

Obsession allows no room for self-deception or exploitation.

She remained silent for a few seconds.

"I need an army—my husband has awakened, and she will decide the ultimate fate of this world. I will be the crucible for her on her path of trials. I also sense that she needs a powerful army to fight for her."

She received a reply.

"Ornstein can help you; he will lead my personal guards to fight for you."

On the other side of the mountain, a Lion-helmed Knight spear, bowed to her.

So she nodded and climbed onto Midir's back.

"I will..." The Goddess of the Ringed City hesitated, choosing her words carefully. "...give my regards to Gwyndolin. It seems to be in some trouble. Perhaps the humans he sheltered have abandoned him."

After speaking, the black Ancient Dragon raised its giant wings.

"Filianore," her brother suddenly called out to her. "If your husband, Miss Surtr, ultimately chooses the same path she took last time, what do you intend to do?"

The Goddess did not hesitate.

"I will enter the First Flame with her. In this way, my feelings and my duties, whether as a god or as a wife, will be fulfilled to the very end."

The next moment, her dragon wings flapped. Just as she had arrived, she vanished without a trace amidst a series of sonic booms.

The remains of the God of War watched her depart, seeing her chase the Twilight sun like a tiny bird.

"And so, the Gwyn lineage fell into decline," the Nameless King murmured to himself. "The age of the gods has come to a complete end."

"Indeed, the Profaned Flame can indeed burn firewood—this brings my research to another step forward."

In the ruins of the Sunken Church, the life core of Aldrich, the thing known as the Lord of Cinder, burned to ashes in the crimson and black Profaned Flame —it had become part of the Profaned Flame, allowing them to grow stronger without being worn down.

The energy conversion rate is incredibly high.

However, the nature of the Profaned Flame did not change as a result.

Miss Surtr let out a soft breath.

—The Profaned Flame can be fueled by darkness.

—So, the next thing to verify is whether a material that goes even further than the Deep Abyss... can also burn in this Alien Flame.

—If only... tsk, if only I could directly channel the Abyss into the First Flame. Unfortunately, the Abyss itself is a byproduct of the flame's decline. It can't even get close to the First Flame before being corrected by the surrounding order. But if the Profaned Flame could serve as a medium between the two...

Miss Surtr gently gritted her teeth.

It's irrational to have overly high expectations for something before everything has settled down. Too much hope only leads to disappointment. And excessive disappointment can cloud my thinking.

—It's a pity that Persephone had come with me this time, perhaps I wouldn't have had to use my brain.

The process of thinking and the operation of the experiment have come to an end. From the time Kal'tsit returned with the gift, a total of about three hours have passed.

Three hours isn't a long time. The hostages placed in the purification chapel showed no signs of waking up.

She looked at her companions—

To her surprise, since Kal'tsit rejoined the team, she had been remarkably well-behaved, without a single instance of unreasonable behavior—no baseless accusations, no sudden hysteria, and no harsh words. From beginning to end, she had been remarkably obedient.

No, "well-behaved" might not be the most accurate word—it should be described as calm and focused. When she needed to take action, she performed her tasks admirably. When she was asked to offer her opinions, she provided concise insights—without unnecessary embellishments or emotional outbursts. Everything was excellent.

—And she did indeed play a role.

Miss Surtr felt her opinion of Kal'tsit had changed somewhat—from 'it's best to avoid each other since we both loathe each other' to 'this girl can actually be of some help when things are normal'. She didn't know if the lynx's behavior was just a rare, fleeting phenomenon. But she felt that perhaps she could hold onto a little bit of hope for Kal'tsit.

After all, this is not like linking the fire; the whole world is responsible for it, so there is no room for error.

—If she can keep this up, then maybe my life will be easier when I get back to Terra.

Miss Surtr thought to herself, and looked toward one of them—well, she couldn't see them, because she had just been subconsciously looking at them, and they weren't there.

The sky had already darkened. Twilight was approaching, and this journey wasn't so urgent that even dinner and sleep had to be skipped— the Fire Keeper had left while he focused on his research to prepare the campsite. Kal'tsit had volunteered to follow, perhaps wanting to offer some assistance while learning about the people of this world.

—I hope they can get along well.

—At least it should be like when Yelena came last time... The Fire Keeper should give way to Kal'tsit, right? After all, my sister seems much gentler than that lynx.

Her feet touched the ground, and she turned her head. At the edge of her vision, the commoners in the purification chapel were gradually waking up and making various sounds, some panicked and some expectant.