Never had Elinor felt so at peace; the anxiety of Baxter, the Blood Sun, Sari’aél, and Iris melted away upon touching the golden portal. The next moment, she was standing in an endless expanse of nothingness—everything was white.

A female angelic figure with ten glorious wings stood before her; this was not the Blood Sun, and she knew it in an instant. It was as if she’d been connected to some vast cosmic network that had taken her to this location and was sustaining her.

“Ana'uél,” Elinor whispered, knowing the woman the moment she looked at her; she was the governing angel that acted as the intermediary between the Children of the Sun and the Blood Sun.

This angel was of a higher status than a Seraph, yet it had no earthly comparison she could use to describe it; she was beyond perfect. In every sense of the word, from her proportions, skin, eyes … Ana'uél transcended her imagination, and the flaming crown-like halo over her head illustrated her dominion.

She spoke in a similar harmonious fashion as Sari’aél. “Elinor, I have been instructed to aid your ascension.”

Elinor’s eyes fell to her breast as she pressed a hand against it; her black fingernails became pure, skin illuminating with the sensation filling her entire soul. A melody, playing across an endless expanse of realities, worlds, and creatures, resonated in every fiber of her being, praying for the same thing—the Blood Sun’s deliverance and receiving his comforting hand.

It was like nothing she’d ever experienced; could her Nexus ever become like this?

Looking up at the celestial figure hovering above her, Elinor smiled. “How long until I am able to meet with the Blood Sun?”

Ana'uél directed her attention to a golden road that stretched out before them. “As we proceed, things will become clear. You may ask me whatever you wish, and I will answer. However, if you were to meet the Blood Sun as you are, everything that makes you who you are would be consumed by his mere presence—even with my empowering light.”

“I see…” Elinor went forward; the gentle voices wove through her entire being and uplifting her with every step she took as the angel hovered beside her; the path seemed endless, yet that didn’t affect her determination. “... Who is the Blood Sun … Why is he doing this for me?”

“You misunderstand,” Ana'uél stated, motioning to an image of Sari’aél that appeared before them, floating backward. “The Blood Sun is not doing this for you—it is for his daughter and her alone. He will answer those questions personally. I cannot tell you who the Blood Sun is, as I do not know how to properly articulate it.”

She nodded, watching the Seraph vanish in wisps of yellow flame. “... What of this place?”

The endless expanse of white held a weight to it that increased with every step she took; the soft songs were less sound and more a part of her than anything else.

“This?” Ana'uél’s golden irises swept the field. “We are in what some term the Oltera Nexus—specifically, your Oltera Nexus. It is the subtle network within your very Core, and every living being has one, including plants, and the very energy that fills an ‘existence’ has its own to a lesser degree. The human Oltera Nexus is more complex than the entire operation of a universe.”

“Hmm…”

Elinor fell silent, taking in the raw energy that spread across her entire body; this wasn’t her artificial body, and it suddenly clicked in her mind. The portal she’d taken hadn’t actually moved her anywhere but acted as a means to bring her to a state to meet the Blood Sun.

Her brow furrowed, vision tracing the gold path cutting through the white. “So … what do you call this … What you’re doing to me, and what is happening back on…” She didn’t know how to articulate her thoughts. “... wherever I came from?”

“It is called ‘quickening.’” Ana'uél created an image of her artificial body, then a transitionary copy of herself, going through various stages. “The Blood Sun provided a means by which I could guide your progress. Had I tried myself, your body and spirit would have been incinerated from my presence. It is by his grace that you may even walk this path.”

She watched her normal body slowly transform, becoming more glorious and energy-like as the process continued. Her lovely yet lich-like features were being replaced by a vision of perfection.

“... Because you are divine … Am I becoming divine?” Elinor asked, searching the serene woman’s face.

A soft giggle shook her frame, golden eyes shifting to her. “No, Elinor. You are being ‘transfigured’ through this process—a temporary ‘quickening’ to commune in person with the Blood Sun. You are not being ‘translated.’”

Elinor had no clue what all of that meant.

“In addition,” she looked up with a small smile, “I am not divine—perhaps to you. I am simply a servant of that which is divine, acting as a tool in His holy hands.”

Figuring she wouldn’t entirely understand most of what Ana'uél said, she ceased her questions. Time seemed meaningless in this space, and eventually, she came to a golden gate.

Ana'uél stopped beside it, motioning for her to continue. “Beyond is what you truly seek, Elinor. I am not allowed beyond this point; it is simply too much for me.”

It was a little unnerving to know that something so perfect as this celestial, ten-winged angel couldn’t go where she was meant to step, yet knowing it was only by the enabling power that the Blood Sun extended to her that it was possible.

Elinor returned the warm smile the woman gave her. “Thank you for your guidance…” Everything within her had changed, including how she perceived reality around her, yet she couldn’t put it into words—she was a guest inside divinity, not a resident.

Taking a deep breath, she entered the shimmering light emitting from the illustrious gateway.

Her vision cleared, breast stilling at the new quintessence that was lifted from her eyes; it was as if a veil had fallen from around her very essence, freedom embracing her with the choir of an innumerable host of heavenly voices.

Galaxies and supernovae were insignificant; the vast cosmos of eternity were infinitesimal yet permeated with precious souls more immense than the imagination could fathom; there wasn’t a thing she could compare to a single spot in the emptiness before her.

To her right was a handsome man, but she knew what she saw was just her mind’s trick to conceptualize the creature. He stood in front of a brilliant white tree that made the Life Fruit look drab and rotten.

Hands tightening around her front, Elinor’s lips pulled together as he turned to look at her; the paradise around them was a symbol of glory; it wasn’t the golden hues but the emotion itself that penetrated her very core.

“Elinor,” his tone was something else entirely in this state, and he was so gorgeous that she couldn’t even think he’d ever be within reach. “I’ve been waiting for you.” He turned back to his tree, cupping a fruit unlike any other on the radiant branches with tender care. “... You wish to take my daughter through a difficult path.”

Unable to really move from the overwhelming presence that encompassed her, Elinor took a few minutes to form her words, yet he patiently waited with a charming smile.

“... What … are you?”

She didn’t know why she asked the question or why that would be so important—but she had to know what he was because her brain couldn’t process it, even after being quickened.

He grasped his hands behind his back, turning to face her. “To understand the answer, you would need to become like me. However, as Founders and Primordials have a classification they’ve given to themselves, so too have the Transcendent. In a manner, you can understand this…”

Dozens of globes surrounded her as he walked to Elinor’s side and pointed to each one. “These spheres are an ‘existence’ that operates within a set framework called ‘The Law of Existence,’ and that is Truth, Order, and Equity. The depth of those words goes far beyond your capacity to grasp, yet they exist like air and water—there must be a foundation.”

One of the orbs expanded, shoving the others away, and inside, Elinor could sense infinity—something so vast she couldn’t picture it in the smallest degree.

“Each existence holds what you could not comprehend … omniverses without number, and between these existences is the ‘vacuum’ or the base material that these spheres feed upon in a truly endless cycle … That is where we are,” his finger drew her attention to one particular area within the expanded globe, “and this is where you’ve come from.”

The globes vanished as his lips lifted. “Your next question?”

“Heh,” Elinor’s fingers tightened around each other; she felt like less than a child, “can I ask more?”

“Of course,” he responded, motioning for her to join him by the tree. “Questions expand the Intelligence and direct your path. It is doubt that damns and lies that hamper progression.”

Following him, she took a deep breath. “Should I call you by a name?”

He chuckled, pulling up the image of a show she’d seen in the past; it was unreal, watching this god-like creature bring up an anime character. “Apollo was the first name that crossed your Intelligence when you saw me. That is simple enough.”

“Apollo, then…” she whispered as the figure vanished. “You’re beyond everything—even Demon?” The question seemed silly once she voiced it, comparing this divine entity to something like her archnemesis.

A sly smile lifted his cheeks as he directed her attention to their left, creating images of phenomenal beings. “Every existence has its hierarchy of strength when it comes to powerful creatures. In some of those adjacent to yours are entities such as her, Gloria, First Generation Founder of the Fairies…”

The radiant, multi-hued woman in a liquid-like gown suddenly crossed her arms under her ample bosom with a light glare. “... Honestly, why would you annoy me by creating an image—because you knew it would bring my attention? Did you miss my voice this much … Oh, going by Apollo at this moment, are we? You have become rather bold as of late.”

Elinor was speechless; the fairy held an entirely different demeanor and presence as Apollo but was by no means weaker than him by her attitude.

Gloria turned her exotic celestial gaze upon her with a soft hum. “I am a very busy person, Apollo, and am observing a rather significant change within my own existence. If you have to bother someone, you should call Frankenstein. Humph—stay in your lane.”

With that, shimmering lights surrounded the fairy as she vanished to Apollo’s apologetic bow. “Always a pleasure, Gloria.”

The charged atmosphere put a forced smile on Elinor’s face. “She didn’t seem that pleased to see you.”

“Sadly,” he sighed. “Once you have obtained a state to not only observe various existences but mold them, your perspective changes by a great deal. A creature such as Gloria can sense when others so much as think of her, much less generate an image of their countenance, and depending on its authenticity, the more it draws her eye.”

“He-he-he,” Elinor gave him an incredulous look. “Are you saying you were lonely, so you provoked her? Her response sounded like a threat.”

He shook his head. “I did that for a variety of reasons, one of which was to show you there are a vast number of various beings that exist besides me, and I am not a part of your existence.”

Elinor’s brow furrowed. “If … you’re not a part of my existence, then … then why is Sari’aél in it—Isn’t she your child?”

Apollo created the spheres again, drawing her eye to small lines between each of them. “There are tunnels generated within the vacuum—areas that make it possible to travel between existences. They are rare and require an incredible amount of power and knowledge to access—they are also constantly in flux, and your existence has something the others don’t…”

“The Crystals…” Elinor growled, connecting the dots. “The Searing Concord went through a gateway that transported them through one of those tunnels and into your own existence?”

“No,” Apollo stated, opening her eyes to a vision of a vast, celestial plane—not a planet, but a sort of dimensional boundary. “Knowing where those places are, I set safeguards to keep them from spreading to my own, as have the other creatures like myself, to isolate your existence from ours, and The Children of the Sun act as one of my guardians.”

Elinor was speechless at the Seraph’s radiant home dimension. Why would she ever want to come to me…

“Ah,” Apollo nodded with a short chuckle, looking back at the single shriveled fruit on the glorious tree, “and that is the question.”

Knowing her time with the Transcendent was drawing to an end, Elinor asked what was really on her mind. “... Apollo, you know who did this to me—Was there someone that did this to me? Did they take my parents away…” She looked up at him with hopeful eyes, finally getting to the core of her emotional turmoil. “Can you make everything right?”

His smile fell a tad, turning away from her to stare at the tree. “... I did not stop time, Elinor … I quickened you beyond it. Can I return your family to you? Yes. Do I know who is pulling the strings behind what some on your previous planet call The Oscillation? Yes. Could I reverse it? Yes. Could I pluck that seed out of your Oltera Nexus and return you to normal? Yes.”

Apollo’s soft expression hardened as he turned to her. “Will I? No.”

“Why?” Elinor mumbled, shoulders slumping at the blocked path, yet she’d expected the answer in her heart. “You could save so many lives from suffering.”

“Simple.” He reached up to caringly hold the withered fruit in his hands. “It is because it will not benefit my daughter, and I care nothing for your existence. Why should I? It functions off its own rules, and as Gloria warned—I will stay in my lane.”

The realization that the Fairy Founder’s appearance was to illustrate this very point told her he saw past everything. It didn’t hurt any less, though, yet Apollo went on regardless.

“However … even though my darling daughter returned to me, and is awaiting rebirth,” his vision darkened, and a fervent heat radiated off his form that threatened to consume Elinor, “the things she saw within the Crystal and across countless worlds changed her—Sari’aél is still very young, and malleable.”

The hate in Apollo’s eyes wasn’t directed at the Searing Concord but something else that he saw as harming his child. His radiant golden eyes turned to her, rage quelling.

“I care nothing for you, Elinor—it is the truth, and I care nothing for your existence. However, I care deeply for my daughter, and you can provide her with something she desires. Look…”

A lump dropped down Elinor’s throat as she examined the parched fruit in his cradling hands. “... This is Sari’aél…”

“... What’s wrong with her?” Elinor worried, vision darting between the healthy pome and the Seraph she was courting the previous day.

He gave the angel’s fruit a tender smile. “Nothing … Sari’aél is perfect. Just because my daughter has changed does not mean she is defective.”

Elinor’s throat constricted. “... Ahem … I didn’t mean to insult her.”

Apollo stepped back to appraise her. “Sari’aél needs more care than her brothers and sisters—she has moved into a new stage of growth. I did not tamper with your life in the slightest until the moment you called upon my daughter’s spirit. Had I not aided you, the results would have been the same as when you tried to resurrect her.”

“I see…” she kept her focus on the fruit that represented the Seraph’s soul. “I need your daughter to stabilize my nation, fight the enemies at my gate, and rescue a precious follower of mine. So, I guess what I should have asked from the start is … What do you want from me, Apollo?”

The smile that moved the Transcendent’s lips was more sinister than Demon’s and far more threatening given the vast difference in power. “Elinor, I want you to be exactly who you are. Everything I’ve shown and told you has been for a purpose—everything I do is for those that know me and call upon my name for aid across my existence—everything is for the blood—the binding force that connects my children.”

Elinor shivered as the hair on her neck stood on end; Apollo cared nothing for her but what she would accomplish in the future that somehow benefited his daughter. There was something that hurt Sari’aél in a way that drastically changed her, and judging the answer the Seraph gave her, she’d possibly blocked it out herself, but her father wouldn’t overlook it.

“... I’m a weapon, then,” Elinor mumbled, vision falling to the radiant floor, and when she met his brilliant eyes again, her emerald irises had hardened. “I can accept that. Sari’aél is your daughter, and she told me I had to somehow convince you to let me have her—If you think my goals will achieve her’s, then I see no better outcome. I will give her everything she seeks.”

Apollo reached up and carefully plucked the withered fruit from the branch, offering it to her. “... My eye will always be on you, Elinor, yet I will not intervene again. Ana'uél will guide you through the transition.”

Hot electricity passed through Elinor’s entire being as her hands closed around Sari’aél’s spirit; it was hard to breathe, but she worked through it. “W-What do you mean … by transition?”

The golden gate had returned without her notice as Apollo directed her toward it. “Did you honestly believe you’d be able to resurrect my daughter the way you are? No. Your seed is nowhere near strong enough to reforge or restrict Sari’aél—had you succeeded, the entire galaxy your planet is situated in would have been vaporized by her mere presence.”

Elinor’s lip tucked under at the news. “Then … The Searing Concord weren’t the ones that did that to your daughter … They only took the opportunity the other thing presented?”

“You aren’t dumb,” Apollo stated. “Be warned, in going through this process, you will be unlocking something within that seed that shouldn’t be for some time—in short, you will draw more attention than just the entity you call Demon, and my daughter will be heavily sealed from her true strength as to not overwhelm you.”

Even though he refused to help her recover what she’d lost, Apollo was giving her another gift that she couldn’t fully understand—he was giving her his daughter, and she couldn’t see him doing that without the foreknowledge that she’d accomplish her goals. Although, that didn’t mean it would come without sacrifice. She had to remain vigilant.

She nodded. “Thank you, Apollo. I will cherish your daughter and do my best to seek the vengeance she sought and you require.”

He chuckled, giving her a cryptic smile. “Oh, my little human, there is something far more satisfying than vengeance … In time. Now, return and execute exactly what you hoped.”

Elinor wasn’t sure what he meant by something more satisfying than vengeance; she’d probably have to experience it herself to truly understand, but the way ahead was clear—victory was at hand. Baxter and his friends would feel the weight of her Seraph and the fire her judgment brought.

Bowing to the Transcendent was natural before leaving; out of everyone she’d met, Apollo was a being worth worshiping—she could feel it through the holy network she’d been connected to, and the support he offered to those that trusted him, and even more baffling was the fact he gained nothing from his followers—unlike her. It gave her a new perspective of divinity and having met an entity so far beyond Demon or anything her imagination could comprehend, it was more than a little eye-opening.

She passed through the gate to feel a sharp loss of divinity—words couldn’t describe the infinite strength and reassurance that left her weak, yet Ana'uél was there to help her through it, providing some kind of intermediary assistance.

Elinor had one hand on the prickly grass of the Life Room, Sari’aél’s pome clutched protectively against her breast as she panted on the ground. Baxter and everyone else was still frozen with the ten-winged angel quickening her beyond this universal barrier of time.

“T-Thank you, Ana'uél.”

“It is my pleasure, Elinor,” she happily responded, motioning to the statue of Sari’aél; she was floating in the air before her. “You must release Sari’aél’s spirit by tearing the fruit open, which will allow you to reunite her with her body. However, to restrict her, you must unlock what the seed within you terms as divinity.”

“How?” Elinor asked, shakily getting to her feet; it was like she’d gone from a child full of limitless energy to an ancient woman, struggling to even move her decaying bones.

“I must take what remains of the fruit you hold—a piece of divinity that is far beyond what is required, and bring it into your Oltera Nexus. Only when drawing upon its divine influence, can you obtain the needed strength to restrict Sari’aél.”

“... Not reshape like the others?” she asked, trying to straighten her clothes.

Ana'uél chuckled. “No, Elinor. Sari’aél does not need reshaping, nor would you have the requirements to accomplish that with this process. The seed will place restrictions on her already great strength and form around the abilities she possesses.”

“Okay…”

Not wasting any time, Elinor took her two thumbs and inserted them into the fruit, peeling it back to reveal a blinding light; when it passed, it was empty.

The ten-winged angel floated past Edmon, still frozen in place, his barrier useless to the creature. She held out her loving hands like a mother to caress Seraph's frozen face, causing the amber substance to evaporate in an instant.

“Peace be with you, Sari’aél … Awake again, and fear no more the wintertide, nor the misery of the coming war—may understanding come to you.”

Sari’aél expression softened as if asleep, her large six wings falling to the grass as Ana'uél continued the ritual. The woman turned, holding out her hand for the fruit, and Elinor handed it to her.

Her smooth voice echoed around the area from every angle. “Once of lowly birth, now a partaker of royal blood … Forever may you reign.” Elinor’s breath caught in her lungs as Ana'uél pressed the pome against her breast, and it passed into her body, filling her with quivering energy. “Crowned in glory … Forever may you reign.”

An internal instinct took over, and she activated Herald of the Empress to release countless flaming emerald butterflies that surrounded Sari’aél’s sleeping form. Elinor’s black earrings radiated a red light that transferred to her crown, turning various sections blood red, and a radiant golden halo appeared over the Seraph’s flowing platinum blonde hair as her spirit was returned and the seed connected them.

A symphony of voices rang across existence upon her rebirth, resonating through Elinor’s entire being from the network Ana'uél quickened her with, singing praises to the glorious event. It could have lasted for eternity, but Ana'uél eased her influence, swiftly bringing her back to this timeline.

The ten-winged angel gave her a parting smile. “Elinor, I thank you for taking care of my sister; I will wait for you both in Paradise, crowned in glory.”

With a single nod, she vanished as the world returned to normal.

Baxter, Edmon, Aileen, and Quin paused for a moment at her sudden change of position in the Doom Guard’s shield, followed by Sari’aél’s full pink lips, opening to draw in an even breath as her golden irises opened to appraise the world.

“Magnificent,” Baxter whispered, combat-ready body relaxing in awe. “Heh-he-he-he! You are … magnificent! Yes! I feel the radiance!”

“Empress?!” Edmon asked, jumping to her side.

“Empress … Elinor,” Sari’aél’s small smile lifted to her. “I see … You succeeded in convincing my father to aid you.”

“N-No!” Baxter yelled as she pulled back her wings and smoothly dropped to one knee, bowing her head. “No! No! No! It’s wrong! It’s wrong! It’s all wrong!” he soon fell into strange bird-like sounds as his large black claw-like wings trembled in frustration.

Sari’aél ignored him as she rose into the air, focus entirely on Elinor, and the strength she felt from her was phenomenal, yet nothing like it had been; the System had severely limited the Seraph, yet she was still beyond Iris in combat, she was sure, and there had to be some kind of caveat installed after what Apollo said.

“My orders, Empress Elinor,” she asked in a bright tone.

Elinor pointed at the screaming, dangerous blackbird. Force him to take you to Iris and bring her back to me; I don’t care how it’s done.

Several whip-like black flames launched out of thin air, attacking Edmon’s shield, yet at the exact same moment, a golden aura illuminated Sari’aél, and an equal number of holy beams shot out to intercept and consume the flames.

In the next second, the silver gemstone fastened on her breastplate brightened, and a divine war ax appeared in her hand, causing Baxter to jump back in surprise as he tried dodging the beams, spinning around the immense ceiling of the Life Room, still pursuing him.

“As you command, my Empress.”