The build-up of power continued to intensify as the three of them and a small red rock appeared above the expeditionary fleet. The allied force had been forced to halt some time ago, long before they could even arrive within firing range. Considering that Gemini and the others had been beaten back by the enemy, it was probably the best choice to make.

Liamar’s crumbling body definitely helped the War Council in making this decision, though. Unfortunately, it also had the nasty side-effect of demoralising just about everyone onboard, since the great god had seemingly passed away.

Gemini glanced at the red stone in Hereward’s hands. “So…is he ever going to get better? Or will he be stuck in this form for a million years or so?”

“That is a question I wish I could answer,” Hereward replied, his words shaking slightly. “It’s good that he’s still alive, though. It’s good. Better than a cessation of existence.”

Thasvia floated over to him a moment later. “Here. Let me take care of him. My Divine Kingdom’s a better choice; there’s more people around. And…well, maybe Lila and Aria’s presence might do something.”

“You’re just grasping at straws here,” Gemini muttered. “I assure you that they’re very normal people, albeit really adorable.”

“That’s what you say,” Thasvia shot back.

“Why not just place him back in his Divine Kingdom? We’re not going to move it here anyway, right? His godkith and familiar spirits can take better care of him, since they share some commonalities.” Gemini bobbed his head.

“I don’t think there’s really much of a difference,” said Thasvia. “Besides—”

“It’s starting,” Hereward interrupted. “Pay attention. This is our one and only chance to see what the Abyss Sovereign’s goals truly are, and how his will is like. By now, it should be evident that he is truly the Abyss Sovereign, in both name and form, and we must treat him as such. Why does he do what he does? With this sublimation he is undergoing, we will obtain the answer to these questions.”

“What will that do?” Gemini asked, curious. “In fact, you’ve been steering the conversation to his motives every time we talk about the Abyss Sovereign. What’s the point of doing that?”

“Best if you see it for yourself,” Hereward replied. “Hush.”

A formless shockwave erupted outwards, and the roiling waters calmed down. An enormous rift materialised in the skies above the Central Circle, a shape that was somehow two-dimensional and three-dimensional at the same time. Dyed in absolute shadow and yet translucent, it seemed like something that didn’t exactly exist in Orb.

That rift could only be the Crying Abyss, and as Gemini gazed into it, a cold shiver ran up his spine. He could hear some odd song in his mind, a lament that sung of a world now ruined. A melody for the days long past, for a populace that was once alive.

Gemini clenched his hands, only to shiver as a black star appeared underneath the Abyss itself. Once again, they were too far to make out the details of the person clad in dark light, but somehow, Gemini just knew that the Abyss Sovereign had just raised his right hand.

Black lightning split the skies soundlessly, and a primal howl shattered the silence of Orb. The enormous rift began to deform, turning into wisps of dense energy that streamed towards the black star.

“What’s going on?”

“The Crying Abyss is being subsumed,” said Hereward, staring up at the shrinking rift. The awesome presence it was giving off weakened rapidly as the black star’s light grew denser and denser, warping the very air around it. “He’s turning borrowed power into his own. An unprecedented advancement in the hierarchy of life.”

“What does you mean by that?” Gemini asked.

“The Abyss Sovereign, up until now, has been serving as a conduit for the Crying Abyss. Whatever feats that he had done so far, the ones that truly awed us, were based upon this borrowed power, which has…inherent limitations.” Hereward stared at the shrinking rift and trembled, his face lined with both sorrow and bitterness. “But all that will no longer hold true.”

The Demon Sovereign examined Hereward carefully, his eyes scrutinising the latter’s face. The bitterness on his face seemed a lot more personal than just a military defeat, but before he could divert some thought strands to this issue, something odd happened to the troops below.

Gemini frowned as he stared at the Knights and Lords, whose presences had bloomed for a millisecond, only to deflate rapidly. There weren’t any Paragons around here, but his instincts told him that they too were likely to be suffering from the same debilitation.

“What’s going on?”

“For Knights and beyond, ascending in the hierarchy of life involved the discarding of certain freedoms, in order to form a channel between oneself and the Crying Abyss,” Hereward stated calmly. “From the abrupt weakening of Knights and Lords, it would seem that this trade has now been cancelled. Permanently.”

“What’s going to happen next?” Gemini asked.

“You’ve seen it for yourself. No new Knights and semi-divinities have appeared for the past three months. The path of ascension has been completely cut off now,” said Hereward.

“We’ve been blindsided,” Thasvia muttered. “Furthermore, I have the sinking feeling that even defeating the Abyss Sovereign will not restore this path. In his quest for indiscriminate equality and fairness, he has achieved one of his major milestones.”

She gestured at the huge rift above. The rate at which it was shrinking at had abruptly doubled down, only stopping when it was at one-third of its original size. The nerve-chilling presence it was giving off initially had drastically weakened, while the black star beneath it now seemed to suck all light where it went.

Gemini watched as the Abyss Sovereign raised his hands, and time itself seemed to freeze. Light seemed to gather around him, creating a prismatic backdrop against the all-encompassing darkness.

“People of Orb, I speak to all who chafe under the oppression of might.” A sonorous voice echoed through the world, and the black sun began to rise. “I present to you Celestia, a boundless world of peace, where your needs are met. A transcendent world for those with little dreams. And a world, above all, where personal might will not reign.”

Black lightning tore through the skies once more, and the vague shadow of a globe appeared high above the black star, beyond the red sky itself. Simply staring at it would bring up visions, and Gemini forced himself to tear his gaze away. The Abyss Sovereign was an insidious foe; it was possible that there was a trap embedded in those visions.

“This is my present to the whole of Orb.” The black star pulsed once, and an icy tone infused its next words. “To those that would oppose this new world, may you find peace in your choices. I will personally show you the errors of your ways — gods or not.”

The suffocating might of the Abyss Sovereign vanished as the projection of the Abyss winked out, leaving behind the shadow of his new utopia.

[End of Book 14: Abyss Ascendant]