Sitting on her cosy bed, Medoria toyed with an ever-changing crystal formation. She lifted it at her eye level and examined the complexity of the evolving pathways which contained a hint of Divinity. Despite weeks of intensive researches and speculations, she still couldn't grasp the essence of the Authority.

Before long, she put away the formation and stepped down from her bed. As her feet touched the wooden floor, a hint of chill tickled her skin. It jointed her mind awake and prompted her to draw a simple shape in the air, creating a spell which enveloped the room.

The translucent silk curtains slowly parted way and revealed the sunlight from above. The sun hung almost at the peak of the sky, raining its majestic warmth to comfort the lively mortals. Despite living in the middle of the Capital, the foresty breeze remained prominent, drifting into the room and freshened the atmosphere.

Medoria looked passed the cityscape into the fleeting horizon. At a distance greater than she could see, the Holyground of the Origin remained afloat, and on it, the Root Ceremony where Princess promised to go. Medoria closed her eyes and thought about the plan Princess engraved onto the crystal and sighed.

"Mistress, how did you manage to transcend? It is too hard. I'm afraid I'll let you down."

In her mutter, Medoria softly brushed her hair. With her eyes closed, she reminded herself of the past when she used to dress and help Princess. The memory gave her a soothing sensation which dissipated into a bittersweet aftertaste.

Gradually, she placed down the hairbrush and opened her eyes. The expensive and exquisite furniture furnished the room. Her feathery dresses caressed her skin with its silky quality. Compared to when she was with Princess, her status leapt from a maid to a revered Arbiter.

"Mistress, can we really go back to how it used to be?"

Medoria opened the broadcast to view the Root Ceremony. Though the event was grand and well-prepared, Medoria found no excitement under the constant chanting and prayers of the believers. She spent most of her time scrutinizing at every movement of the Gods and the Goddesses, especially the God of Light.

By watching the scene unfolded, Medoria held the crystal formation in front of her. She noticed a resemblance between the Divinity in it and the power of the Goddess of Nature and the Goddess of Winter. Gradually, her concentration shifted towards the evolving strand of Divinity.

As she worked on the complex formation, a surge of nostalgia tucked her mind and pulled her towards the broadcast. Her eyes stared at the half-human-half-machine man at the centre of all attention. She stood up and walked closer to examine his appearance in greater detail.

"So you're still alive," Medoria said as she stared at Venetus, who stood against the God of Light. "Mistress, miracles do exist after all."

Medoria smiled and motioned her hands. Countless formations manifested around her and broke into fragments of imaginary shapes, filling the room with Fons. An isolation field emerged and encompassed the surrounding, disconnecting her mansion from external observation.

As she finished her setup, Medoria put back the crystal formation and held a delicate glasses high above her. She caressed its smooth surface and lamented at its fate for a second before dropping it onto the ground. The impact echoed a screeching noise and shattered the glasses into pieces.

Medoria gazed at the closed door and listened to the orderly footsteps. They magnified before stopping in front of her room. The Royal Guards swung the door open and surveyed the room, perplexed at the carefree expression Medoria made.

"Everyone, this will hurt a little," she said as she snapped her fingers.

...

Venetus stared at the God of Light and smiled. Though the world was watching his every movement, he remained calm.

"God of Light, are you surprised?"

The God of Light shifted his attention from Pallear to Venetus. The pressure he emitted magnified, but he couldn't crush the human in front of him. he glanced at the surrounding before laughing.

"It seems that I've lost," the God of Light said and raised his hands as a gesture of surrender. "I knew the existence of the Fallen Princess and tried to eliminate her, but the Dragon Clan used the Northern Treaty to side with her and forced me back."

A series of whispering and gasps echoed from the crowds. The Elves and the Spirits murmured their thoughts as the nobles and the royalty frowned. The world collectively waited for the God of Light to satisfy their curiosity.

Venetus narrowed his eyes and glanced at the God of Light, who remained motionless. Instead of shifting the blame to the Dragon Clan, the God of Light accepted the villain role. Venetus could feel that he had missed crucial information which led to this strange situation. He peeked at Pallear and received a similarly confused gaze.

"God of Light, why did you attempt to conceal your action?" Akulas the Crown Prince stepped forwards and said. For a split second, he saw a smile on the God of Light's face.

The Goddess of Death gawked at Akulas, but the God of Light interrupted her with a side glance. He shook his head before turning to a floating drone which transmitted the Root Ceremony around the world.

"You mortals and beasts who lack the qualification to become the Arbiters couldn't know the secret of the Authorities. To become an Authority, there exist several extraordinary requirements." The God of Light motioned his hand and created a screen of light.

It enlarged and displayed a record of a strange scene, angling in a distorted perspective. The screen trembled as it fell, descending into the darkness through a series of a spiral staircase. From the corner of the display, Princess's grim expression reflected the ruthlessness in her gaze.

She dragged the corpse towards the core room and performed a special ritual. Little by little, a faint golden light emerged from the corpse and gathered above it, forming a perfect sphere. Princess smiled and grabbed it, abruptly ending the record.

The God of Light clasped his palm and shattered the screen of light, bringing the attention back to him. He swept his gaze across the crowd and landed on Akulas, smiling.

"The scene you witnessed is the process of how an Arbiter becomes an Authority." A surge of burning hatred erupted from the God of Light and exploded into a pillar of flame, shooting into the sky and clearing the clouds. "They steal Heaven's Faith and Divinity."

As soon as the speech ended, a sense of dread permeated the atmosphere. The Elder Dragons instantly conjured layers of invisible barriers around the dragons and Akulas.

A muffled boom rang, and the barriers disintegrated into countless particles. The Elder Dragons knelt on the ground and gripped their chests, coughing blood as their skin split open.

The sky darkened. The world went silent. Innocent believers and officers froze in their place before toppling onto the ground, their heads falling from their bodies. Though their corpses laid motionless, no blood leaked out.

"I thought you are the protectors of the Great Races," the God of Light said. The Goddesses behind him turned serious and preemptively pulled out a strand of Divinity.

A group of Authorities manifested at the entrance of the crystal dome. At the front, Inemas glanced at the Dragon Clan before turning to the God of Light.

"The secret of Divinity is best kept away from the public eyes," Inemas said. "Why do you wish to stir the greed of the Great Races? Your Heaven can't fight against it."

"We can suffer together. I imagine that the turmoil and the crusade will keep you busy for a century or so."

"Then why did you disconnect the broadcasts?"

"Because I know you will come. It is futile to play mind games against you."

"You understand us well."

The God of Light shook his head. "But I don't understand why you wouldn't help her. Instead of fighting against the Arachna, they could prove to be a useful ally."

"I have no faith in artificial lifeform."

"Isn't it the ideal condition of your future? The Great Races shall prosper under your artificial control."

"We control the world, not the lives in it."

The God of Light tilted his head, his expression mocking. "Is there any difference?"

A subtle, vile aura emerged from the Authorities and clashed against the Gods and the Goddesses. They stood their ground and remained unmoving, but their mere presence shook the crystal dome and shifted the weather. The gloomy sky twisted into a violent storm as rays of light penetrated the black clouds and reflected on the icy shards.

The surrounding trees whose tips emerged from the sea of clouds below swayed with the current of the storm. Their leaves rustled and drifted across the sky, forming a verdant whirlpool. The Spirits and the aircrafts patrolling the area crumbled as the weather sunk them beneath the sea of clouds.

A step resounded, and a shadowy silhouette moved out of the darkness and landed beside the God of Light. His ragged black clothes rippled with his motion and revealed his dark, depressing appearance. Despite the light emitted from the God of Light, the darkness around the figure remained all-encompassing.

"Light, she is coming," the God of Darkness said as he pointed towards the horizon.

A dark purple silhouette towered over the world and flashed across the horizon, rushing towards the Holyground and slamming against the violent storm. The impact ruptured a colourful ring of sparks, which branched into swirls of Fons. The powerful gush of wind produced by it shattered the chaotic atmosphere and dissipated the clouds.

The shooting star didn't stop and exploded into six rays of butterfly-like sparks. They danced in a circle and slipped past the Dragon Clan, heading towards the Gods and the Goddesses.

A slash of blinding light flashed, and the butterfly moving towards the God of Light snapped in half, burning into ashes as Divine Fons gushed from its afterimage. A white, non-reflective blade held by the God of Light went through it and broke the space it traversed into a rift of the void.

The ripple created by the strike rumbled the crystal dome, but a gloomy black hand manifested and gripped onto another butterfly and absorbed the light from the surrounding. It purged the crystal dome into momentary darkness and ate all motions into stagnation.

The God of Darkness lowered his hand and glanced at the other Goddesses behind him. They used their power of Nature, Winter, Death, and Spring to counter the butterflies with some effort.

Standing before the God of Darkness, the shooting star morphed into the Arachna Queen cloaked in a tight black dress, holding a crystalized yet beating heart in her hand.

"Arachna Queen, what a warm present you have gifted to us," the God of Light said.

"It is what I should do since you all came to my place and locked me there. I figure it's for the best that I repay the favour."

"It seems that you didn't bring the Arachna with you." The God of Light glanced at Inemas. "Didn't you say you wouldn't trust the artificial race?"

Inemas looked at the Arachna Queen, his eyes melting into bitterness. "She isn't artificial. I trust her."

The Arachna Queen glanced at the Authorities and exchanged eye contact with Inemas, nodding as she continued to exert her pressure against the God of Light.

"Isn't it funny, that despite Lady Fate's absence, all the powerhouses of the world still come together?" The God of Light said and stabbed the white blade onto the ground. "I reckon that the stage we prepared is sufficient . . . . Now, why don't we begin the ritual?"

The sky above creaked as a whirlpool of Divinity seeped out of the rifts from the void. Gradually, an infinitely-expanding vortex descended onto the world, restained only by countless chains which originated from the place unknown and unseen.

The Root Ceremony commenced.