Chapter 522: Four Pillars Cult, Your Reckoning is At Hand!

When people speak of history, they always call us the most tragic of the in-between generations.

The Eternal Flame Grand Laws have already faded away, while no new Grand Law has yet been kindled. Forget the legendary Fire Cat Age. Even the banner of the Eternal Flame has yet to be raised again. I grew up listening to tales of the Temple of Eternal Flame's glory, yet I have spent my entire life living in darkness.

In times like these, countless sects lose their faith, their ideals, and eventually everything else. Many people have left. I do not blame them. When a person can no longer see their ideals, losing their way is inevitable. A Grand Law is more than a source of power. It is our destination. Only when a person knows where they wish to go will the world make way for them.

Will a new flame ever truly be lit? Will anyone continue pursuing the glory of the Fire Cat Age? Wouldn't we be better off joining another sect and placing our faith in a different Grand Law?

When people asked me those questions, I gave no answer. Nor did I try to stop them from seeking a better life. After all, nobody can say what the future holds. Perhaps the Eternal Flame will be extinguished forever in our generation, and no one will remember the greatness of the Fire Cat Age again.

Their choice to give up was perfectly understandable.

When other sects drove us away, the Eternal Flame could not burn them. When we wandered homeless and hungry, the Eternal Flame could not shelter us. When we were attacked and plundered, the Eternal Flame offered no reply to fate's mockery.

But I will never give up.

It is true that we have no Grand Law left with which to perform Divine Possession. We cannot receive a Grand Law's protection, nor borrow its strength. Still, ideals and faith were never bargaining chips to begin with.

We cannot choose our birth. We cannot choose our past. We cannot choose our death. Fate has never shown us the slightest kindness. The only thing we truly possess is our own will.

Perhaps faith and ideals will never bring me any tangible reward.

Still, because of them, I shall fear nothing.

Some say faith lies at the destination. I believe faith lies beneath our feet.

Some say people living before dawn are the most pitiable. Yet watching the sky slowly brighten has its own kind of beauty.

Some say I belong to the most tragic of the in-between generations. I believe... I will become the greatest beginning.

***

By the time Ashe came back to his senses, the Blazing White Tiger had already transformed into a cloak draped around his shoulders. The majestic beast of blazing white flames had shrunk into a tiny tiger, lazily resting on his shoulder with sleepy eyes.

The red-robed priests knelt reverently upon the wooden floor.

Iger stared blankly at Ashe, his eyes filled with equal parts astonishment and apprehension. He managed to utter a single "You..." before the scorching steam immediately choked him, turning his face bright red.

Ashe casually flicked a finger, sending a tiny gust of force toward him. In an instant, the suffocating heat no longer affected Iger, replaced by a refreshing coolness spreading throughout his body.

I haven't lost my mind to the Eternal Calamity Flame, Ashe signaled with his eyes, reassuring the fraudster.

Then he looked at the red-robed priests. "Let's go. It's time to settle our score with the Four Pillars Cult."

The priests were overjoyed, their voices brimming with reverence. "Please follow me, Gospel's First."

"Call me Ashe."

"Yes, Your Highness Ashe!"

Harvey was sitting beside the cold plunge pool when Ashe and the others emerged. He glanced at the cloak of white flames draped over Ashe's shoulders. Before he could say anything, Ashe beckoned him over. "Hurry up and keep up. I'm about to stand above the heavens, and I won't wait for you."

Harvey stared blankly at Ashe's unbearably smug retreating figure before turning to Iger.

"Success has gone to his head," Iger said with a shrug and a smile. "Looks like he really drew the winning hand this time."

He was right. Ashe had truly hit the jackpot. The moment he learned that a sorcerer's second fate after death was to become a Grand Law, one question immediately occurred to him. Where did those sorcerers' Sorcerer's Handbooks go?

Then, when the priests explained that the greatest obstacle to the Divine Possession Ritual was sharing the same convictions as the Grand Law, realization struck him. Was that not the exact same requirement for reading a Sorcerer's Handbook?

For reasons Ashe himself could not explain, whether due to his remarkably flexible moral compass or something else entirely, he had always been able to read any Sorcerer's Handbook without restriction. The Witch could read most Sorcerer's Handbooks as well, which explained why Ashe had not read many across the Continent of Time. Still, even the Sorcerer's Handbooks the Witch refused to touch, Ashe could devour with relish.

So he decided to gamble on it.

As it turned out, the Divine Possession Ritual was almost identical to reading a Sorcerer's Handbook. Because he could completely comprehend Senior Blazing White Tiger's Sorcerer's Handbook, achieving Perfect Divine Possession came naturally. He now possessed complete command over the divine might of the Five-Tailed Blazing White Tiger.

Ashe had never imagined that his peculiar gift for reading Sorcerer's Handbooks would turn out to be the highest-tier talent in all of Myriad Continent. The red-robed priest had said it himself. At its peak, Myriad Continent once possessed eight hundred Grand Laws. Discounting that figure drastically, there still had to be at least a hundred remaining today.

That meant there were potentially a hundred near-divine powers in this land for Ashe to freely claim. Forget the Four Pillars Cult. He might even conquer the Myriad Continent itself before marching back to the Gospel.

Ashe hurriedly changed into fresh clothes. Surrounded by the red-robed priests, he strode out of the Temple of Calamity Flame's bathhouse with his head held high, only to find a city of ruins waiting outside.

It was not the Four Pillars Cult's doing. The city had already been a ruin to begin with.

The sun blazed overhead. The Earth Class sorcerers' defensive fortifications had been completely breached, forcing the Calamity Flame sorcerers to retreat step by step. In contrast, the more numerous black-robed sorcerers rampaged freely through the ruined city, reducing everything in their path to rubble. Firearms were rarely used by either side. Instead, spellcraft clashed head-on in an unrelenting barrage.

"It's over."

As the calm declaration echoed across the battlefield, Ashe raised one hand and made a pulling motion toward the sky.

An instant later, everyone felt the sunlight grow noticeably more intense. When they looked up, they saw an enormous fireball, so vast it rivaled the size of an entire city, plunging toward the black-robed sorcerers' formation. The searing heat was so overwhelming it seemed ready to evaporate every drop of moisture from their faces.

Eternal Calamity Flamefall!

The Grand Law of Eternal Calamity Flame undoubtedly possessed countless more refined and sophisticated applications, but Ashe had only just gained control of it. There had been no time to explore its true potential, so he could only unleash its raw destructive power.

Bigger means better. Bigger means beautiful!

The Calamity Flame sorcerers erupted in excitement.

"It's the Grand Law of Eternal Calamity Flame! We're saved!"

"Praise be to the Grand Law of Eternal Calamity Flame!"

"The Calamity Flame shall never be extinguished!"

Completely unafraid of the scorching inferno descending from the heavens, they watched the Divine Miracle consume their enemies with eager anticipation.

The black-robed sorcerers reacted quite differently. They looked up at the descending fireball as well, but there was little fear in their eyes. Only indifference.

A woman's curious voice drifted across the battlefield. "So that's Eternal Calamity Flame at its peak?"

The colossal fireball suddenly began to shrink. It kept getting smaller and smaller, until it was no larger than a piece of chocolate. Then a rabbit swallowed it whole.

The rabbit was made entirely of orange flames and rested lazily upon the shoulder of a black-robed female sorcerer. Unlike the other members of the Four Pillars Cult, she was not dressed in standard black robes. Instead, she wore a tailored black dress and a black headpiece adorned with butterfly patterns, leaving only her mouth exposed. A notebook rested in her hands. Apparently, she had not participated in the fighting at all, choosing instead to remain at the rear, quietly reading.

At first glance, there seemed to be nothing particularly remarkable about her. Considering the state of local craftsmanship, however, clothing of such distinctive quality alone was enough to reveal her extraordinary status.

The moment the red-robed priests saw her, they gnashed their teeth in fury.

"The traitor!"

"Your Highness Ashe, she is the one who betrayed the temple and stole the other Grand Laws! We have already stripped her of her Divine Name. Please, you must kill her and reclaim our Grand Laws!"

Able to perform Divine Possession with so many Grand Laws... Could she also have a remarkably flexible moral compass? The strange thought flashed through Ashe's mind.

Outwardly, however, he merely nodded calmly and descended the steps at an unhurried pace, leisurely making his way toward her. He would have preferred to spread his wings and fly over. Unfortunately, he had never practiced flying. Walking would have to do.

With every step he took, the power of Eternal Calamity Flame seeped deeper into his body until, at last, Ashe himself became an incarnation of flame.

Power. So this is power. This... is the might of a Divine Spirit.

The traitor stepped forward to stand before the black-robed sorcerers, regarding Ashe with obvious curiosity. "So you're the Gospel's First the Temple of Calamity Flame prayed for? I heard you came from another kingdom. Is it very different from Myriad Continent?"

Ashe replied calmly, "First off, my name is Ashe. Secondly, you still have time to surrender."

As his words fell, another fireball, far larger than the first, descended from the heavens, as if the sun itself had come crashing down.

"Why are you in such a hurry?" the traitor said with a faint smile. "I was hoping we could chat a little longer."

New flame beasts emerged from her shoulders, elbows, and thighs. They were a blue squirrel, a crimson lizard, and a green snake, respectively. Together with the orange rabbit from before, she now carried four Grand Laws upon her.

Ashe let out a quiet sigh of relief. No matter how powerful they were, she could only perform Divine Possession with one Grand Law at a time. Judging by their appearances, none of hers could possibly match the Blazing White Tiger. This was in the bag.

His era would begin by crushing the Four Pillars Cult. Thinking of everything he had suffered because of them, Ashe nearly shed tears of emotion. Four Pillars Cult... Your reckoning is upon you!

Or so he thought.

The traitor lightly uttered, "Strength."

The crimson lizard transformed into a tiny five-winged angel clad in crimson armor and wielding a spear. It raised its weapon high, bestowing upon the traitor the divine authority of Strength.

"Wisdom."

The blue squirrel became a tiny five-winged angel wearing a blue cap and carrying a notebook. Opening its book, it granted her the divine authority of Wisdom.

"Life."

The green snake transformed into a tiny five-winged angel wearing a jade-green cap and holding a flute. As it played, it bestowed upon her the divine authority of Life.

"Joy."

The orange rabbit became a graceful, pink, adorable five-winged angel. It gently kissed the traitor's cheek, granting her the divine authority of Joy.

In the blink of an eye, countless halos flared to life around her. The overwhelming divine might shattered Ashe's descending Eternal Calamity Flame before it could even land.

Ashe rubbed his eyes. Wait... This plot feels awfully familiar. I remember now. The next scene is where you get arrested! Anyone worshipping the Four Pillars is bound to get betrayed eventually!

"Stubborn fool!"

Without the slightest hesitation, Ashe roared and transformed into a blazing meteor, charging straight at her.

BOOM!

A thunderous collision erupted. An immense shockwave of scorching air swept outward like a hurricane, making the earth tremble violently. The aftermath of that single exchange nearly knocked everyone present off their feet.

The plaza before the Temple of Calamity Flame split apart in a vast web of cracks.

Ashe had been smashed into the ground so hard that a human-shaped crater marked the impact site. His body had already reverted to normal. As for the Blazing White Tiger, or more precisely, his freshly acquired Eternal Calamity Flame that he had not even had time to properly enjoy, it had reverted to the form of a tiny tiger cub.

The traitor was holding it by the scruff of its neck. She casually placed the little tiger atop her head, then sat down squarely on top of Ashe.

Crossing her black stocking-clad legs, she opened her notebook and began writing.

"There," she said, the corners of her lips curling into a faint smile. "Ashe, I've caught you now. You're not in such a hurry anymore, are you? So, let's continue our conversation. I'd like to learn a little more about you.