The Neutral Lands. The Abyss. Mythpoint Reach.

It has been a good decade since the Black Masks had vacated the centre of the world and hid their headquarters within the deepest parts of the Abyss. Many have attempted to dive into the broken realm, hoping to dig up the remnant Black Masks and force them into open combat. The war had been running for long enough. Each day the Allfather and the Black Masks lived, millions will continue to suffer as peace would never return to the broken lands. Unfortunately, none had been successful in luring the Black Masks out.

Not the mighty Alliance that combined all three superpowers together. Not Guardian Sword, the one organisation that was specifically created to target the Black Masks. And not even the strongest Spirit Saints of the mortal plane could force the Allfather out of his hiding.

If anything, it was the Black Masks that had brought their enemies to their knees. The watchtower massacres had sprouted seeds of doubt in all of the common folk’s hearts. None of them wanted their sons, fathers, husbands to die fruitlessly in the war that had been leading to nowhere. Thousands had already abandoned their position, leaving the once fortified Abyss in a state of complete disarray. There weren’t any patrols looking out for the Black Masks’ eventual ascension onto the continent, and neither were there any defensive resources spent to retaliate should they ever arise. It was the perfect opportunity for the Black Masks to make their resurgence on the world, and no surprise… It was precisely what the Allfather was waiting for.

Rumble… Rumble… Rumble…

The Neutral Lands, now a small island that held the New Land of Dreams and the former Mythpoint Reach, was now shaking like a leaf facing an autumn’s breeze. Vibrant fauna, or what little of it was left in this desolate lands, raced away from the dark hole patched in the centre of the world, fearing the aftermath of what’s to come.

It wasn’t just the animals that were affected. Trees, flowers, fungi… Any living creature that had an inkling of what spiritual energies were had swayed their relatively unmoving bodies away from the epicentre of the Abyss. Dark mana swirled into the skies, turning the beautiful afternoon sky into an overcast nightmare. Not a single bird dared to fly as they dived down like arrows towards the safety of the ground.

Though, it wasn’t all that safe either.

Rumble… Rumble… Rumble...

The earthquake continued on, giving rise to hoards of latent spiritual energies that had been hibernating for the past decade. Earth, Fire, Lightning, Wind, Darkness… All of those elements engulfed the roaring Abyss, bringing wave after wave of new elemental superiority to the lands. Currently, the Abyss was no different than a Holy Ground that was used for Spirit Users to accelerate their cultivation.

Darkness fell upon the former Mythpoint Reach, all while all life was rendered void by the newly adjusted spiritual energies. Not a single soul dared to stay near the Abyss at this point as the majority of them would fall to an overdose of spiritual energies.

And then… That happened.

Eight menacing vines erupted from the bottom of the Abyss. Each one of them were at least a hundred metres thick, and God knows how long it really was. There weren’t any leaves on the withered vines, and each time its thorny tip licked the air, a torrent of black energy surged into the atmosphere. If there were any semblance of life left in the area surrounding Mythpoint Reach... there won’t be anymore.

The black smoke eroded all living creatures, sometimes even corroding rocks and metals with its deadly grasp. However, that wasn’t all… The vines coiled up like a spring, giving space for eight colossal, structures to float back into their rightful places. Levitating towers, each one storing the mana of at least a Spirit Saint or Primordial Beast, bordered one another, creating a dense protective net that was ten kilometres wide. The obsidian energy field resembled that of a turtle shell, sturdy and never bending to protect what’s important on the inside.

Speaking of which… It was protecting something. It was protecting something that was far more important than the valuable floating towers that held Paradise Hearts worth millions of gold.

GRRRRRRRRRKKKKKKKKKKKKTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!

A thick vine, one that was at least ten times wider than the vines that erupted just moments earlier, shot up like lava from a spewing volcano. It reached for the heavens but fell shy at just a few kilometres. However, it didn’t want to give up. From the tip of the vines, numerous smaller ones stretched out, trying their hardest to at least touch the upper firmament to achieve the largest vine’s dream. Alas, it was just not long enough to break through that final barrier and was still a few hundred metres from breaking out of the Earth’s gravitational field.

In sadness, the single trunk sent forth a surge of obsidian matter, seemingly weeping in denial and grief. The shed matter quickly turned into falling leaves and petals. Whenever one of them reached the roots of the newly established tree, they turned into angered Umbral Beasts. Some were easily in the upper tiers while the majority were expendable Umbras that knew no fear and death. All that it wanted to do was protect their creator… The withered tree that sprouted out from the centre of the world.

“The Tree of Darkness, final form… One with the World.” A deep, booming voice reverberated through the mayhem, and the chaotic world came to an abrupt standstill.

The Eight Payircis that were summoned quelled their constant vibrations, heeling their authority to the King that had returned. The blackened skies stopped roaring, calming down to hear the shrouded man talk. Everything came to a standstill, except for the one hooded figure that floated at the canopy of the withered Tree of Darkness.

“Finally… I have finally used my tenth spiritual ability...” The Allfather chuckled under his hood. “Who would have thought that I would wait nearly four centuries to use it?”

“Congratulations almighty Allfather!!!” Kuro led the remaining five Noble Beasts to praise their leader and sole Sovereign. They all knelt down in complete reverence and happiness, ready to offer their lives for the newly born Allfather. By their side, the remaining Black Masks were all grovelling, planting their foreheads onto the obsidian branch that was closest to the Allfather’s crown. It didn’t matter if they were helpless Dalits or Rank 80 Brahmins… They were all servants under the Allfather’s eyes.

“Allfather, congratulations...” Saint Heigui wasn’t all that willing to kneel though. He bowed solemnly, giving all the respect that a Spirit Saint would to another. He may have defected, but the former Lantis Republic Spirit Saint did have a morsel of dignity left in his body.

“Mmmm, we’re only halfway there...” The cloaked figure pointed his finger at Shiro, Murasaki and Akai, sending a surge of dark mana into their hefty bodies.

“A-Ah… AHHHH!!!” Murasaki moaned in pure euphoria as wave after wave of energy surged through her veins.

“RARARARARA!!!” On the other hand, Akai was unable to form words, only noises as the power strengthened every single fibre of the Tier 9 Spirit Beast.

“...” Only Shiro was able to keep his mouth shut, but even the most experienced of the three was unable to hide his contorting expressions.

Behind them, the remnant Black Masks were also deforming wildly. They were holding onto their beating chests as heat surged up from their inner cores. Mana was sprouting out from their pores, creating a dense black aura that eclipsed their Spirits and elemental energies. So… What had the Allfather done?

The Allfather had injected into all his subjects what he’d promised them from the very first day they’d joined. The ticket to the Immortal Realm and the power to get there. However, Kuro wasn’t all that thrilled by the Allfather’s sudden movements.

“Allfather! If you use that much energy, your lifespan-!”

“Enough, Kuro...” The shrouded figure raised his hand, silencing the faithful servant. “My days were already numbered. Even if I hold back my powers, I will live for a few more years at most. If I don’t advance during these coming months, the Dream for Eternity will be dead, so...”

The Allfather watched all of his subjects wincing in agony as well as the elemental change surrounding the Tree of Darkness. From the very beginning, this was the final scene that he’d envisioned. All of the world’s elites, torn apart by the constant wars that plagued them for decades… Coming at him all for one, final battle.

“Why not go out with a bang?”