Sovereign of the Ashes

Fifty years later...

Deep within the law node beneath the Verdant Flame Range, Sein opened his eyes.

Rumble!

After decades of silence, the volcanoes of the Verdant Flame Range suddenly erupted.

Columns of molten lava blasted skyward, and the thick black smoke rolling westward made it seem like an apocalypse had descended upon the world.

Sein spread his elemental wings and soared from the depths of the volcano.

The wings on his back resembled a demon's—fleshy, grotesque, and imposing.

After spending decades breaking through there, Sein felt almost reluctant to leave the Verdant Flame Range

The pure pyro elemental environment had made him feel like he had been curled up in his mother's womb the entire time.

The intense elemental energy had tempered his body to its limits, pushing his constitution to match the passive evolution expected of a true Rank Four being.

Unbeknownst to Sein, Gregory and Bernice felt much the same. They, too, missed Feylis' territory that was saturated with law power.

"I'd love to own such a pyro elemental planar node this pure one day," Sein murmured enviously, stroking his chin as he gazed at the volcanoes erupting below.

Smoke surged across the sky, and Flame Herons scattered in all directions.

Looking at the scene, Sein realized that the Magus Alliance's fine of just 1.2 million magicoins had been fair.

Over those fifty years, Sein had not only completed his transformation on a life level but had also elevated his understanding of the laws to new heights.

Standing at Rank Four now, the laws he had once grasped during his demigod stage revealed deeper layers of meaning he had not been able to perceive before.

Demigods merely touched the surface of laws, only those at Rank Four could begin to truly master them.

Sein raised both hands. A ball of cold, gray flame flickered to life in his right, while a speck of light hovered above his left.

These were the manifestations of the ash and light laws he wielded.

The light law was still raw and undeveloped, but the ash law had already taken form and was far more mature.

The gray flame radiated a bone-chilling cold that could consume everything in its path.

Despite being a form of pyro elemental law, it sent a shiver down the spine rather than warmth.

Sein's path of ashes was indeed very different from typical pyro elemental laws.

Beyond gaining deeper insight into the laws of various elements after his advancement, Sein had also begun to sense a faint rhythm pulsing through the planar node.

It was the consciousness of the world itself.

He had first heard of this from his mentor, back when he took part in his first interplanar war.

As a top-tier plane, Magus World possessed a highly developed and complete consciousness.

If the will of a low-level plane could be likened to that of a toddler, then the Magus World's will had undoubtedly reached the maturity of a fully grown adult—one capable of manifesting in physical form.

Years ago, Sein had acquired a wisp of planar light. This was a sign that the will of Magus World had taken notice of him.

Now that he had reached Rank Four, his connection to that wisp had deepened.

It turned out that any native lifeform of Magus World who ascended to Rank Four or higher would naturally attract the attention of the world's will.

If all living beings within Magus World were considered its children, then those who reached Rank Four and beyond were its most exceptional offspring.

Even black mages were counted among them—though they were more like the problematic children.

The comfort and warmth that Sein felt within the planar node could be seen as a quiet reward from the will of Magus World for his advancement.

The ache of missing his own mother had long been buried in a quiet corner of his heart... but the steady rhythm of the motherplane's consciousness reminded him of maternal love.

The tempering and nourishment he received from the planar node had been the real gifts from the world itself.

In that moment of resonance, Sein realized what he wanted to do next.

In truth, the will of Magus World was not an inherently aggressive or expansionist force.

"She" had only reached this vast and powerful state because the children born within her were too "exceptional" and "devoted". They were the ones who had carried her to such heights.

Sein also wanted to give something back to that gentle, nurturing will.

There were different ways to do so.

One was to dedicate himself in quiet service to the world, like the guardians and overseers.

The more common path, however, was conquest: invading foreign planes and plundering their resources to sustain and strengthen his homeworld.

Of course, "plundering resources" did not mean extracting raw materials from other planes and burying them in Magus World's soil.

That would be nonsense.

In reality, conquest primarily served to fuel the knights' and mages' own pursuit of power, research, and cultivation.

Raising higher-level lifeforms without excessively consuming the Magus World's native resources was the proper way to love and protect one's homeplane.

It was a pity that Sein did not currently have any suitable targets to invade or conquer.

Otherwise, he would have gladly done something for his homeplane right away.

As Sein emerged from the depths of the volcano, he took a moment to examine his newly evolved state.

At that very moment, Feylis—who had remained at the Divine Tower of Verdant Flame to quietly monitor Sein's progress—appeared before him without delay.

"Fifty years in total? Not bad," she said, appraising him.

"Judging by your current aura, you're already far beyond the average newly promoted Rank Four mage. Well, I expected no less from the heir of the Faceless Mask."

Feylis looked his lawful body up and down, nodding approvingly.

Sein dared not act disrespectfully in front of his grandmaster.

He quickly undid his lawful form, reverting to his human appearance, and bowed respectfully. "Thank you, Grandmaster, for your help over these past decades."

He knew very well that without Feylis's support, he would never have gained access to such an incredibly pure concentration of pyro elemental law energy in the Verdant Flame Range.

On top of that, many of the complex issues he had faced during his cultivation had only been resolved thanks to her insight.

In truth, Feylis was far more suited to be his mentor than Lorianne.

"I'm just doing what I should for my grand apprentice," Feylis replied.

"The war in Eversurge isn't over yet. Your mentor went off to make arrangements with the Magus Alliance not long ago on your behalf. As her apprentice, you should head to Eversurge and help manage her legion. This will also be a good chance for you to adapt to the combat rhythm of Rank Four creatures," she added with a smile.

"Eversurge?" Sein echoed, then gave a firm nod.

"Understood."

He extended his right hand, and from deep within the volcano, his world-class secret treasure—the Faceless Mask—flew into his grasp, followed closely by the Radiant Heart Rod.

Over the years, the weapon had undergone subtle transformations, tempered by the planar node and volcanic laws.

As for the Faceless Mask, Sein had unlocked more of its functions.

Sein placed the mask back over his face, gave Feylis one final bow, and took to the skies. He flew straight toward the Divine Tower of Verdant Flame's teleportation array, wielding his magic rod.

Feylis watched him go, her eyes briefly lingering on the weapon in his hand.

"That little guy... just where did he get so many divine relics?" she murmured to herself.