She took a deep breath, and in that instant, exhaustion and sorrow seemed to fill her face.
Rebuilding was arduous.
It was far harder than even a bloody war.
To restore the First Plane to its former glory, she spent centuries rebuilding it little by little, until it returned to its greatest prewar strength-and grew stronger still. The legions under their command had expanded to several times their prewar size.
And to prevent another war that dragged on endlessly, once everything reached its peak, she led the armies of the First Plane and, for the first time, broke its prohibition against intervening in other planes. To establish lasting stability, she brazenly launched a war of vengeance against the great Abyss Planes.
She conquered them one plane at a time.
Infiltrating them relentlessly, dividing them relentlessly.
With the armies of order, she spent another several centuries finally wiping out every power in the Abyss capable of threatening the First Plane again.
By then, her own power had long since reached the Abyss's ceiling. Had its rules not restricted her, she could have become a god long ago.
"Did you... wipe out all the Monarchs?"
Lynn asked urgently.
The Self-Binding Angel lowered her eyes slightly. "Yes. At least, those of that generation could no longer cause any trouble. The Abyss might be terrifying, but only to ordinary living beings. To a true deity-to me, who was only one step away at the time-they could scarcely keep pace anymore."
And after doing all of this, after clearing every obstacle from her sisters' path.
She knew.
She could no longer suppress her longing to leave.
And so, on that very day.
For the first time, she stood before the great doors they had always guarded. With all her faith in him gone, she could