Chapter 348: The Phoenix Arrives

In the Human Hall, several of Divine Province’s Lords were talking in Darian’s Domain when the announcement appeared.

"Someone killed the Lord of the Labyrinth?"

Nessa barely finished reading before she burst out laughing.

"It has to be Cassian! I knew he’d—mmph!"

Darian clapped a hand over her mouth. Too late. Lords in the neighboring Domains had already turned to stare. Nessa waved her arms, trying to finish what she had been saying.

Even Darian felt his face warm under those looks. With his hand over her mouth, he could hardly pretend they had never met.

"She got carried away," he called with an awkward laugh. "Nothing to see here."

He let go, then pinched her cheek.

"Quiet, Nessa. You’re giving them something to laugh at."

Seraphine and the others found reasons to look up at the vaulted ceiling. Laughter spread through the nearby Domains before the spectators turned away. Some of it was good-natured. Some was anything but.

The Humans were far from the only race in shock.

Divines, Demons, Void Insects, Angels, Logicians—even the commanders of their strongest forces could scarcely believe the announcement.

"Our Ancestral Gods’ children have only cleared twenty-eight stages. They have S-grade Aptitude!"

"The Lord of the Labyrinth must be Mythic. Once a Mythic is past Level 100, throwing enough low-Quality troops at it won’t work."

"Was it a whole group of Mythics? Or could there be... an Eternal?"

That last word sent a chill through everyone who heard it.

——

Far down a passage that stretched for tens of thousands of kilometers, a clear voice rang out.

"Damn it! Someone got there first!"

Flames erupted across a kilometer of ground. The heat was so fierce that the surrounding walls began to soften.

"This passage is tens of thousands of kilometers long. It might lead straight to the Core!"

More than a dozen slender shapes moved within the blaze.

"You frightened me," another voice complained. "Must you lose your temper like that, Lord? Where is a Phoenix’s grace?"

"Someone stole my Boss. To hell with grace!"

That brought an immediate chorus of protests.

"Seralyth! Such language!"

"Are you sure you haven’t got some of those barbaric Divine Dragons in your blood?"

"Following her is an embarrassment to our whole race. Sisters, perhaps we should desert."

The Phoenix Lord hurried to make peace.

"All right, all right. I’m sorry. I’ll watch what I say."

She had spent the year working herself to exhaustion with her S-grade Talent skill, Call of the Phoenix. All that effort had brought her these dozen or so sisters. If they left, what would she have to show for it?

"But we still have ten minutes. I want to know who took my Boss."

She became a streak of fire and shot down the passage. The other Phoenixes followed, chattering among themselves. Their Lord’s ambitions did not seem to concern them very much.

——

Cassian had discovered another pleasant surprise.

The Core’s Buildings could be dismantled. Even Vaurak’s palace.

He bought a Legendary Heavenwork Design through the Exchange, paid for it, and used it on the enormous Building.

[Legendary Heavenwork Design consumed. Thousandfold Palace Blueprint ×1 obtained.]

[Dark Prism Tower destroyed. Dark Prism Tower Blueprint ×1 obtained.]

[Dark Prism Tower destroyed...]

"Thousandfold Palace. That’s a name worth having. It can replace the standard palace when I reach Rank XVIII."

The towers were Epic defenses. He had little use for them himself, but other Lords certainly would.

He was thoroughly enjoying the work when Seven interrupted him.

"Lord. A powerful energy signature in one of the passages, more than a thousand kilometers away. It’s approaching the Core at speed. The outline appears to be an avian Lord."

Someone else had found the route?

Cassian’s attention sharpened. An avian Lord with an enormous energy signature brought one recent report immediately to mind: the Veilmist Champion who thought he had encountered a Phoenix.

"Surely not..."

He was curious about the legendary race. Curiosity was no reason to expose the cards he had worked so hard to gather, though.

More than a hundred Dark Prism Towers remained. He abandoned them.

The checkpoint was clear, and the Labyrinth was closing.

"Leave the Labyrinth."

Golden light swept across the plaza. Cassian and his surviving forces vanished.

A few minutes later, a crimson streak burst from the passage and stopped above the Core.

The flames fell away, revealing Seralyth’s true form. Her slender body was more than ten meters long, her wings spanning thirty. Her flowing scarlet tail was more than ten meters long. Faint gold patterns ran through feathers that glowed red as fire.

She looked magnificent.

Then she opened her beak.

"Ha! I knew this was the—"

Her laughter died.

Bodies covered the ground below.

"Oh, hell. All those troops? The lot of us would have died here."

She looked more closely. A sharp breath hissed between her words.

"One sword strike. Someone cut through the whole army with one strike!"

Could it have been Sword Nurturing? No. Even a Mythic version should not have gathered that much power in a sector barely a year old.

"An Eternal? In this newcomer sector?"

Had the Eternal race finally appeared again after ten thousand years?

Seralyth shivered.

An irresistible force closed around her. Slowly, it began pushing her out of the Labyrinth.

The ten minutes were over.

"The Eternals have returned. I have to tell our people..."

Her body faded, leaving the words to echo through the empty Core.

——

Crown Lords gathered around Cassian almost as soon as he returned to his Domain in the Human Hall.

"Don’t worry about the checkpoint," Elara said at once. "If someone hadn’t killed the Boss and ended the contest early, I’m sure you would have cleared twenty-six."

Had he returned on his own under ordinary circumstances, they might have wondered whether he had finally won. Now the Labyrinth was closing and every Lord had to leave. His return told them nothing.

Cassian offered no explanation. He looked around instead.

"Where’s Nessa?"

She was usually the first to greet him.

"Hiding, I imagine." Elara gave a helpless smile. "She’s probably too embarrassed to face you."

"What happened?"

"She announced that you must have killed the Lord of the Labyrinth," Darian said sourly. "The Western Beacon crowd jumped on it. They’ve been spreading it everywhere, adding their own touches. Someone seems to be helping the story along. It’s become a joke all over the Hall."

Cassian was silent for a moment, then gave an awkward laugh.

"Well. You know Nessa. She means well."

"Cassian."

The cool voice came from above.

Ilyse Ardent stood in the air over Divine Province’s Domains, her hands clasped behind her back. Her orb-shaped Mythic artifact circled her, lending weight to an already imposing presence.

"Clearing twenty-five stages alone is no small achievement. Attempting the twenty-sixth shows courage as well."

"What can I do for you?"

He genuinely had no idea why she had come. Their conversation a month ago had hardly ended warmly. He would have thought she had better things to do than try again.

Ilyse smiled faintly.

"Lord Cassian, your abilities are wasted in a place like the Homeworld. I would be willing to bring you into Fivefold Heaven. Would you consider developing your Domain there?"

She tossed down a thin booklet. Its description appeared before him.

[Blank Residency Writ — Tideglass Region.]

[Use to relocate your Domain to Tideglass Region, Tideglass Marches, Fivefold Heaven, Sector 666.]

Western Beacon, Black Banner, and Jade Court Lords went rigid.

If Cassian secured the backing of Fivefold Heaven, how were they supposed to deal with him afterward?

A great Realm offered more than abundant resources. Its Lords could fight stronger alien races and draw on powerful institutions to open special spaces, gathering experience and advancing faster. For anyone who survived, the prospects were extraordinary.

Everyone watched Cassian. Only Elara and the friends who knew him well seemed untroubled.

He was surprised too.

Was she trying to recruit him?

For most Lords from a lesser Realm, an invitation like this would be the chance of a lifetime. He could at least take it as a friendly gesture.

"I’m comfortable on the Homeworld. Thank you for the offer, Ilyse. If you have time to visit us, I’d be glad to show you around."

He kept his tone courteous. There was no reason to make another powerful enemy.

Ilyse’s brows drew together.

She had lowered herself to approach him, offered him a future in Fivefold Heaven, and he had refused her again.

And Ilyse? Just Ilyse, as though they were familiar equals?

Lucan stepped in before she could answer.

"You may not have heard, Lord Cassian. Lady Ardent cleared the twenty-sixth checkpoint. She leads the Human standings and may well receive Humanity’s Paragon. Her future will be remarkable."

He had a favorable impression of Cassian. The reminder was meant to make him reconsider.

Ilyse lifted her chin slightly, pride bright in her eyes. Yet Cassian showed neither amazement nor admiration. If anything, he looked a little resigned.

What was that supposed to mean?

An announcement rang through the Hall.

[The rankings for Phase Three of the Contest of Champions—Race Ascendancy—will now be announced.]