Chapter 481: Ch 481: Will of the System – Part 4
Under the firm and steady guidance of Grand Duchess Amana, the restless crowd that had gathered over the strange marks on their bodies began to calm down.
Her voice carried weight, and her promises of order soothed the fears of those who had nearly erupted into chaos.
Within days, the rumors that might have destabilized the kingdom were tempered by her authority.
The nobles who had been frightened into secrecy began to cooperate, and even the common folk who bore the divine mark found comfort in the thought that they were not forgotten.
Kyle, however, did not allow himself the comfort of their fleeting calm. He had seen too much to believe that reassurance alone could shield them from what was to co.
The divine passage was opening, and once it did, there would be no more barriers between mortals and the gods. War was inevitable.
Gathering his closest allies in the war room, Kyle spoke bluntly, his voice devoid of any pretense.
“Settle your affairs within the week. This is the last assault against divinity. If you fail… I won’t be able to save you. None of us may return alive. The chief god is not the kind of enemy you imagine—it is sothing far more dangerous.”
He said, eyes glinting with quiet resolve.
The room fell silent. lissa’s hands tightened around her sword hilt, her knuckles pale. Bruce leaned back, crossing his arms, jaw clenched but expression unreadable.
Silvy lowered her gaze, lost in thought, while Amana’s eyes flickered with hesitation. Damian, however, broke the silence first.
The young warrior leaned forward, a grin sharp and wild spreading across his face.
“Good. I’ve had enough of running from shadows. If this is the end, then let it be glorious. I’ll tear down the gods themselves and bring peace to our people.”
Kyle looked at him with an unreadable expression before speaking.
“If we win, Damian, there may be no peace to bring ho. Do you understand what I’m saying? If we beco gods… there may be no path back to our world. We might never return.”
The boy faltered for just a second but quickly set his jaw.
“Then I’ll carve a new ho in the heavens if I have to. I’m not turning back now.”
lissa took a step forward, her voice calm but unwavering.
“You don’t need to scare , young master. My loyalty and life were yours from the start. No god will change that. Whether we live or die—or rise higher than that—I’m already with you.”
Bruce exhaled heavily through his nose and finally nodded.
“Sa here. I’d rather follow you into the flas than stand still and rot. You’ve led us this far, Kyle. I won’t start doubting you now.”
Silvy raised her head, cheeks slightly flushed, but her tone steady.
“I told you once… my path is tied to yours. If this is where you go, then so will I. Even if it ans never returning to the forests of my people.”
Amana, however, did not answer imdiately.
She stared at the table, the weight of her responsibilities pressing heavily upon her shoulders.
Her people depended on her, and unlike the others, she bore a kingdom’s fate within her na. Finally, after a long pause, she lifted her eyes, sharp and resolute.
“I carry my people’s future in my heart. And for that, I hesitate. But… I also know this: if the gods are not stopped, there will be no future for them at all. The greatest sacrifice I can make for my people is to walk into the fire and ensure they never have to face it themselves. So, Kyle, I will follow you—even if it ans I leave everything behind.”
She said softly.
Kyle nodded once, a flicker of respect in his gaze.
“Then it’s decided. Rest while you can. Prepare yourselves—not just your weapons, but your hearts. This battle will test more than just our strength.”
The group dispersed with heavy thoughts weighing on them. lissa lingered only a mont, eyes tracing Kyle’s back before turning away silently.
Bruce muttered sothing about sharpening his blade until it could cut the heavens themselves. Silvy stood still at the doorway, hesitating as if she wanted to say sothing more, but then quietly left.
Amana’s steps were steady, though the tension in her shoulders betrayed the burden she carried.
Damian, on the other hand, seed restless with anticipation, already itching for the coming war.
As the chamber grew quiet, Kyle finally sat alone, gazing into the flickering candlelight.
His thoughts drifted back to Lucia’s fading voice, her final words echoing like a ghost in the corners of his mind.
‘For the sake of the world you want, this is the least I could do.’
Her sacrifice weighed on him as much as the lives of those who now chose to follow him into the abyss.
And so the week passed.
The kingdom moved with an uneasy stillness, as if all its people sensed that sothing greater was looming just beyond the horizon.
Rumors of the divine passage spread, but under Amana’s guidance and Mikalius’s orders, panic was tempered into quiet vigilance.
Kyle’s chosen allies each prepared in their own way, honing body and spirit for the coming storm.
When the seventh day arrived, the air itself felt heavy, charged with an invisible force that pulled at their very souls.
The ti had co.
______
The week passed in a blur of final preparations, silent goodbyes, and steeled hearts.
When the seventh dawn arrived, Kyle and the chosen stood together at the place he had designated, a barren plateau overlooking the valley.
The air felt unnaturally heavy, thick with divine pressure, and every heartbeat carried the weight of inevitability.
Kyle’s eyes swept over the group—lissa, Bruce, Silvy, Amana, and Damian. Each of them bore their own burden, yet none faltered.
Still, he would not allow them to walk into this abyss without choice.
“This is the last mont. Once the portal opens, there’s no turning back. If anyone here wishes to remain behind, speak now. I will not think less of you.”
He said, voice steady, carrying over the silence of the plateau.
The words hung in the air, heavy and dangerous. For a brief mont, the wind whistled across the plateau, carrying with it the scent of ozone, of sothing otherworldly already stirring.
But no one moved.
lissa stepped forward first, her chin raised with defiance.
“You already have my answer, young master. I stand with you until the end.”
Bruce gave a sharp nod.
“I’ve no desire to grow old and useless. Better to die swinging at gods.”
Silvy placed a hand over her chest, her eyes locked on Kyle.
“Where you go, I go. I won’t leave you.”
Amana’s lips pressed into a thin line, but she straightened her back.
“My choice was made the mont I stepped into this circle. My people’s future lies here, not in retreat.”
Finally, Damian grinned, eyes burning with a warrior’s fire.
“I told you, Kyle—let’s end this. No fear. No hesitation.”
Kyle studied them all for a long mont, the faintest trace of pride flashing in his eyes. He gave a small nod.
“Then be ready. The portal will open at any second.”
As if on cue, the air split with a deafening crack. A rift of pure light tore open before them, radiating divine power that pressed down like a storm.
The gateway shimred, vast and endless—an open maw to the realm of gods.
Their last chance to back out had co.
None of them moved.
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