The divine ritual ended in a blaze of celestial light. Vaelion's body collapsed, his consciousness slipping deep into a dreamless void. Or so he thought.
He awoke—or perhaps, simply was—within a vast, cosmic realm. Stars shimmered in impossible patterns across a midnight sky that never ended. The ground beneath his feet pulsed like living obsidian, cracked with veins of divine energy.
And standing at the center of it all, as if the universe bent around his presence, was him.
White hair like starlight. Eyes sharper than death. Clad in a divine coat of black and white that shimmered with symbols no mortal could read.
Lucius.
He stood with one hand resting casually on the hilt of a curved black blade — the corrupted evolution of the Judgement Daggers.
"Don't get full of yourself, brat," Lucius said coldly, his voice echoing with ancient weight. "My wives are only with you because they're drawn to me."
Vaelion's brows furrowed. "But... Lunaria isn't your wife."
Lucius smirked, his voice laced with bittersweet irony. "She's the reincarnation of Luna. My wife. Her soul knows. That's why she's so drawn to you."
A sharp laugh followed. "And Caelia... the Goddess of War? The one who killed you in your past life? Yeah, she's one of mine too."
As if summoned by the mere mention, golden screens of divine memory bloomed around them. Kurumi, Mai, Lunaria, and now even Caelia—all watching from the outside. Their connection to Lucius couldn't be severed, not truly.
Lucius raised his free hand. Weapons of myth hovered before Vaelion.
"Now amuse me. You want power? Choose. But don't even think about using those again."
The Judgement Daggers shimmered beside Lucius.
"I'm using them now. Or rather, something better. The Final Judgment Katana."
Vaelion narrowed his eyes. "It has a second release?"
Lucius rolled his eyes. "Of course it does, idiot. Now pick
The Staff of Sun Wukong,
The Twin Daggers of Caelia,
Or stay and rot in here."
Vaelion looked at the weapons. Then at Lucius.
"I'll fight. I'll amuse you. Divine Judge."
A silence fell over the domain.
Lucius's expression changed.
His presence warped. Divine rage flared.
"Don't ever call me that. I'm no pawn of those scum."
Lightning cracked. Time warped.
The battle began.
Lucius moved like a blur, blade drawn, its edge singing with divine destruction. Vaelion twisted aside, grabbing the Twin Daggers of Caelia mid-motion. The moment his hands touched them, they sang in harmony.
He blocked the first strike—barely. The force sent him skidding back, boots tearing cosmic trails through the obsidian.
Lucius didn't wait. He was on him again, katana clashing with the twin daggers. Sparks erupted like falling stars.
Vaelion gritted his teeth. "You forget something. I said I'd use all of them."
He lunged, fluidly combining his Skill Gift with Flickerstep, vanishing and reappearing behind Lucius with an upward strike. Lucius deflected it, but his eyes gleamed.
"Heh... Not bad."
Vaelion spun mid-air, hand now gripping the Staff of Sun Wukong. It extended, forcing Lucius to duck. The next moment, he swapped back to the daggers—throwing one, using the opening to close in.
Lucius parried, laughing. "Creative. You're starting to get it."
Suddenly—a gunshot.
A divine bullet clipped Lucius's hair, cutting a strand mid-motion.
He froze.
Vaelion stood several meters away, holding Kurumi's Chaos Requiem.
"So... I can borrow their weapons too? Resonance exercises are more useful than I thought."
Lucius's eyes flared with a golden-red fury. He vanished.
Then
A whisper behind Vaelion.
"You did well, brat... for your level. But I'm not just above you... I'm above heaven and hell."
A punch to Vaelion's gut launched him backward.
Lucius stood tall, coat billowing, katana resting on his shoulder.
The divine domain trembled.
And the battle had only just begun.