On the mountaintop.
Reneedol's body dissolved into the light, leaving no trace that she had ever existed.
Oldest stood motionless, quietly waiting for all the light to drift away on the wind.
Everything settled.
There was no one around.
Yet Oldest's expression gradually turned cold.
Suddenly—
A beam of dark purple light shot down from beyond the sky and landed before him, gathering into a humanoid shape.
The being was dozens of meters tall. It hovered above the mountaintop, looking down at Oldest.
"You got in my way."
The dark purple shadow revealed itself as a giant and spoke.
Oldest said calmly, "In any case, she's dead."
The dark purple giant chuckled. "You deceived the woman you loved, then killed her and cast her soul into the depths of the River of Death in the River of Life and Death. You really are a cruel fellow."
"I've always been this way," Oldest said.
The shadow seemed surprised. "...A being like you is very much to my liking. Why not join us?"
Oldest replied evenly, "Without her as a medium, you're about to be forced out of here. You won't even get the chance to act, and yet you dare provoke me?"
He beckoned.
Seven strands of hair, each as long as a person and shaped like a tentacle, appeared in the void. He grabbed them and put them away.
They were the strands of hair Reneedol had stolen from the Eternal Abyss. Now they had returned to their rightful owner once more.
Throughout all of this, the dark purple giant merely watched in silence, making no move.
Just as Oldest had said, it couldn't do anything right now.
But then the giant bent down and waved, sending out an object.
A layer of dark purple light condensed into a strange