Chapter 22: Victory
"Yes." Adam spoke slowly. "But not for the reasons you think." His voice grew deep, containing something otherworldly and mythical, as if he were reciting a prophecy. "The Balam Empire and all its allies successfully invaded the Northern Continent under the leadership of the fallen angel, causing the red of war to spread throughout the world, affecting everything, including the anchors, which ultimately induced the Gods to descend into the world with their true bodies to put an end to it."
'The Gods descending into the world with their true bodies?!' Lucien groaned inwardly: 'This changes everything.'
After all, what was the point of all those efforts if a God could simply descend into the world and destroy everything? And there was nothing they could do in the face of them because the power of Gods was too immense for anybody or anything less than divine to bear, let alone resist.
Actually, Lucien had considered the descent of Gods while formulating his plans, but it was in the event where the Gods went down through vessels, where their powers and abilities would have been limited, rather than the prospect of them descending with their true bodies.
Don't get him wrong, he knew he'd have to personally confront Evernight Goddess and God of Combat when he began his apotheosis, but this was not at all what he was anticipating...
This truly changed everything!
'Is this their move, huh?' To say Lucien was frustrated would be an understatement—his emotions had escaped his control and spilled on his face. 'Well, played!'
Nonetheless, he gathered himself, took a deep breath, and then offered a guess to Adam in an attempt to gain a complete picture of the situation. "How, though?"
"Don't the gods need to support the broken barrier?"
Adam retorted. "That was not what kept them from descending into the world; rather, it was a contract they signed at the end of the fourth epoch, considering the devastation left behind by the War of Four Emperors. They wanted to let the earth heal and thrive without their direct intervention, and it did, flourishing into what you see now; therefore, they always upheld the contract until..."
"Me." Lucien abruptly cut in.
"Yes, you." Adam gently nodded. "You broke the trend at times, destroying not only my plans but also theirs, forcing them to admit at last that it was sometimes better to act than to direct."
'Okay, hearing those words from Adam sure sounds strange.' Lucien chuckled inwardly, attempting to calm his chaotic heart.
Adam continued. "As a result, they broke the contract, freely themselves from the restrictions imposed on them."
"But, surely, they can't just come down here whenever they want?" Lucien refused to give up hope. "Considering the barrier and all,"
"Lucien, you just need to understand." Adam peered at Lucien with his limpid eyes. "That they can now descend into the world with their true bodies." He paused. "Yes, they must continue to support the barrier, but it will be no problem for them to descend to earth if they believe the situation requires it."
"So, what are you going to do now?" The Angel of Imagination inquired, clearly not wanting to pass up another chance to put Lucien to the test. Honestly, he still didn't understand why Adam always tended to do this.
'Of course, what else is there to do but die!' Lucien thought pessimistically, despite the fact that his thinking had already begun to devise strategies to deal with this almost hopeless situation since Adam revealed his prophecy.
After all, giving up was not an option in his books.
"Advance my plans to become a God." The Reaper revealed his on-the-spot plan to the Angel of Imagination. "And keep the attention of the gods on me and my situation, for if they are ultimately going to descend on the world, they might as well come down during my apotheosis."
What an apocalyptic plan—the War of Gods was bound to happen when his apotheosis began, so it might as well happen on Earth.
Oh, Gods, he had changed.
"That is a good plan." Adam stated. If Lucien didn't know any better, he'd think the Angel of Imagination was impressed with his proposal.
The Son of Creator continued warmly. "The coming world war is entirely dependent on your existence; if you perish, everything perishes with you. So by following this plan, the Gods could indeed focus on you when the war reaches its peak, but it is still based on too many suppositions and uncertainties."
"Hey." Lucien shrugged dismally. "It's better than nothing."
"Your plan actually has potential." Adam gently corrected. "And a lot of work needs to be done for it to be conceivable."
"I know." Lucien sighed tiredly, then continued, bringing up the problem that led him here. "Speaking of the plan, there is still the problem with the artificial death."
"You want to meet your father." Adam immediately deduced.
"Yes." Lucien admitted and explained the situation. "I must obtain the uniqueness as soon as possible. My father is needed for this; a part of his soul still exists within the artificial death, supporting its consciousness; therefore, if I wish to eliminate it, I must either destroy or remove part of his soul."
"You have the option of destroying it." Adam pointed out. "Yet you still haven't taken it."
Lucien was silent for a moment, then replied, looking away. "I don't want to deprive my father of his choice. After everything he's been through, he deserves it."
"Humanity…" Adam whispered under his breath, his lipid eyes shining ever so slightly.
"What was that?" Lucien pressed, his brow creasing.
Adam obviously didn't answer his question; rather he said about the situation of his father. "Azik Eggers is in the Northern Continent; as for his exact location, I can try to find it, but Amanises will probably find out my prying and conceal him entirely."
Lucien contemplated his words, and then he asked offhandedly. "Suppose I meet my father; is it possible for Evernight Goddess to try to deal with me then and there?"
"Amanises is never the one to take a direct approach." Adam chastised. "And if she does want to confront you, she will do so on her terms, not yours."
'On her terms, huh? That's fantastic.' Lucien reflected wryly. "I want to bring my father back to the southern continent." He declared his intention after restraining his thoughts.
"The best time for you to do that is December 28. Your father will arrive in Backlund to help Klein." Adam advised, after a moment of thought.
"But won't the Evernight Goddess also be in Backlund that day?" Lucien retorted.
Adam didn't respond; instead, he rose from his seat and went ahead, and Lucien soon followed.
The Angel of Imagination came to a halt in front of a pillar encrusted with demonic wolf bones. "Do you know who these bones belong to?"
When Lucien gazed at the bones, information about them flowed into his head, including when and where they died as well as who they were while they were alive—he called this skill "Death Sight."
"Annihilation Demonic Wolf Flegrea." Lucien took a deep breath and responded solemnly as images from the past ran through his head.
The Reaper witnessed the fall of Flegrea and how Lilith, the Sanguine Ancestor, dragged down the demonic wolf with her to their graves. The apocalyptic darkness and harrowing crimson filled everything for a moment before dying out together into a reckoning silence.
As the terrible picture faded, Lucien realised what Adam was trying to express by showing him this: as long as the Evernight Goddess didn't descend in her true form, Adam would have no trouble keeping her busy with his cathedral filled with the corpses of gods.
"What is the price?" Lucien did not overlook the crucial question.
"By the time I go after the Quill of Alzuhod, the war would have started, and the world would be in chaos." Adam said faintly. "The Quill may try to take advantage of the chaos, and there is even a chance it may try to attract the attention of the three betrayers, so I want you to participate in that event and restrain the chaos to the greatest extent possible."
'All right, let's consider this: a sadistic quill, a deranged demigod, a band of avengers, a company of kings of angels, and the probable involvement of other angels, even divine intervention.' Lucien considered his proposal for a moment, 'Woah, what a recipe for calamity.'
Nevertheless, the Reaper declared firmly. "I agree."
Adam gently nodded, then warned. "When entering the Northern Continent, don't do so with your true body."
Lucien nodded, knowing he'd probably be blasted by lightning the moment he took his first step onto the Northern Continent with his true body. Even if he wanted to, he couldn't because he was going to directly join in the assault on Loen and Intis, along with his angels and allies. "I'll make arrangements for that." He finally said, thinking of a specific ability that came with his soul authority.
Adam stated. "Now for the assault." He met his silver eyes. "Remember, speed is the key to the coming event. You must completely destroy the hold the Northern Continent has on the Southern Continent before they could respond."
Lucien hummed compliantly, comprehending the stacks at hand. If they fail to do so, George Augustus III will most likely use his authority to literally support the hold of the Northern Continent, putting all of their efforts to waste.
"So about your chapter of World War.." the Reaper tentatively brought back the conversation to the pressing matter at hand. "Has anything changed?"
Adam took an unnerving moment to respond, his golden eyes shining lightly. "The ending remains the same—the Gods will descend into the world in their true bodies to end the war, but how that will happen has become unclear."
"That's good." Lucien exhaled a sigh of relief, as if a weight had been removed from his shoulders. "That's good."
"Go and prepare for the assault." Adam instructed lightly. "Once you've completed this, we'll talk about more about the chapter of the world war."
"So I'll be victorious?" Lucien asked tersely.
"What do you think?" Adam asked back.
"Victory is in my veins." Lucien declared dauntlessly, gradually regaining his spirits. A smile began at the corner of his lips, illuminated by the unreal light of the mind world.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Lucien_Morningstar
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