In another wing of the palace, Lilith lay on a healing bed, her wounds being tended ticulously by Nefertiti. The violet-haired swordswoman's body was filled with injuries— burns from her mana overdrive, cuts from debris, and deep muscle tears from pushing well beyond her limits to enact techniques and enlightennts she only gained in the fight itself.
Her old body would have been destroyed. The new one was already close to destruction. However, it was nothing if not resilient, a trait granted to her by Sol.
"You should have co to imdiately," Nefertiti chided gently, her hands glowing with healing light as they moved over Lilith's lacerated arm.
"There were others who needed urgent and imdiate attention, far more than I did," Lilith replied, wincing slightly as Nefertiti healed her.
Lilin and Isis had been working since the first teor shower, flying all over the country and healing whoever they could witness. Even now, Isis was moving toward the frontier of Greed Dike to provide relief and aid to the ruined settlents.
The door opened quietly, and Calia entered, her blind eyes sohow finding Lilith without hesitation.
"I thought I might find you here," she said, her voice carrying that familiar mix of warmth and steel. "Still avoiding proper dical care until the last minute, I see."
Lilith managed a weak smirk for her old friend. "Old habits die hard, and what can a blind woman even see?"
"Hahah.” Calia gave a sarcastic laugh at the la joke thrown her way by her friend.
“So habits should be broken," She then replied, taking a seat beside the bed. "Especially when they involve nearly getting yourself killed."
Nefertiti worked in silence, her focus entirely on the healing as the two older won spoke and bickered. Though Nefertiti's faith in Sol was undeniable, there remained a professional distance between her and Lilith— respect, certainly, but not the easy familiarity that Calia shared with the swordswoman. It was only warranted; the pair of won knew each other for far too long not to be anything but close.
"I did what was necessary," Lilith said, her voice steady despite the pain. "The teor had to be stopped."
"By cutting it yourself?" Calia's tone was incredulous, but there was unmistakable pride beneath it. "You never do things by half asures, do you?"
"Would you have preferred I let it fall?"
"I would have preferred you not damage yourself beyond repair." Calia's hand found Lilith's, giving it a gentle squeeze filled with her concern and affection for her friend. "Mars isn't here to scold you anymore, so soone has to do it in his stead."
At the ntion of Mars, a shadow passed over Lilith's face before her features schooled. "He would have done the sa."
"He would have," Calia agreed softly. "And I would have been here to scold his ears off, too."
Nefertiti completed her work on Lilith's arm and moved to the burns across her shoulders. "The damage to your mana channels are severe," she reported. "You'll need at least a week of rest to recover fully."
Lilith scoffed at the ti ntioned. "I don't have a week."
"You'll make ti," Calia said firmly. "Or I'll have Sol order it."
"That's fighting dirty."
"It's fighting smart," Calia corrected with a smile. "Sothing you seem to have forgotten in your quest to sever the heavens themselves."
Lilith went quiet, her eyes distant, almost glassy. "I saw sothing when I cut that teor, Calia. A truth about my concept." Her voice dropped to nearly a whisper. "There's nothing I can't sever. Nothing. Until now, those words were more bravado than anything. But now, I believe I can realize this truth and sublimate it.”
Calia stilled, her blind eyes widening slightly. "That's a powerful revelation."
"And a frightening one," Lilith admitted. "The line between what should be cut and what should remain whole... it blurs sotis for ."
The full concept of Severance she grasped was heavily intertwined with the power of the End, and while faint, its power was definitely affecting her.
Nefertiti finished her healing work in silence, then stepped back. "The physical damage is repaired," she announced, "but your mana channels need ti to recover naturally. I've done what I can."
She twirled her shoulder. “I could instantly heal you with Nirvana, but it would deny you the growth that would co along with healing your wounds normally.”
"Thank you," Lilith said, testing her arm with a careful flex that only served to twinge her mana channels, making her grit her teeth.
As Nefertiti gathered her supplies, Calia stood as well. "Rest," she ordered, her tone leaving no room for argunt. "The world will still need saving tomorrow."
Taken from , this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
After they left, Lilith sat alone in the quiet room, her mind replaying the mont her blade had severed through the very heavens themselves.
Not using mana did not an she could not ditate and contemplate over her enlightennt and her concept.
* * *
In a specially secured laboratory beneath the Tower of Babel, Nuwa's body hunched over a crystalline containnt chamber, but the eyes that glead with fascination were unmistakably Echidna's. Inside the vaulted chamber, suspended in a field of pulsing energy, floated the severed arm of the Goddess of Love and Hatred, now only Hatred, with her concept of Love stolen by Dawn.
"Incredible," she whispered, adjusting the arcane lenses of her examination equipnt. "The cellular structure defies conventional understanding. It's neither matter nor energy, but sothing beyond."
Divine Beasts were half-energy beings, so Echidna had always deduced that gods were simply beings entirely made of energy. It seed like they went a step beyond her estimations.
Nuwa's normally silver hair now shimred with streaks of gold, and white scales glimred across her skin in geotric patterns. This was the result of increasing the synchronization rate between them. At this rate, Nuwa would beco truly Blessed even without Echidna.
But Echidna herself had no care for this. Though she appeared outwardly calm, there was a manic energy to her movents that betrayed her current excitent. With increasing clarity and perception, she considered it a sha that she could not retrieve the arm Anubis took for himself.
"The concept is literally woven into the matrix," Echidna muttered to herself, fascinated. "Hatred isn't just an idea the goddess embodied— it's physically integrated into her very being."
The laboratory door slid open, and Sol entered, now dressed once again in his wedding suit.
"What are you doing?" he asked, nodding toward the severed limb.
"Studying," Echidna answered without turning and gracing his presence. "Your timing is excellent. I've just isolated sothing fascinating. The goddess's divinity is still active, even separated from her body."
"Is that dangerous?" Sol asked.
"Potentially. But contained for now." She finally looked up, Nuwa's soft features transford by Echidna's manic glee. "More importantly, it supports my theory about the nature of conceptual embodint."
Sol approached the containnt chamber, studying the divine flesh with narrowed eyes. "What theory?"
"Those concepts aren't rely taphysical constructs adopted by beings of sufficient power. They're actual fundantal forces – like gravity or electromagnetism – that can be isolated, transferred, and potentially synthesized." She gestured excitedly toward another chamber, where a smaller fragnt pulsed with dark energy. "This is why Dawn was able to steal the concept of Love. Unlike Hatred, Love was not fully integrated within her body. She was not born with it; she only wielded and made it for herself over countless eons. It's not just an abstract idea— it's a fully tangible force. It could even be integrated into technology.”
She was already bursting with ideas. What if they used this to mass-produce Dukes and King levels? If the overall power of the world increased, then there would be a higher chance of gods being born.
At the sa ti, she rembered the Ranger armors created by Theresa. One of the greatest weaknesses of that armor was that, while it could provide physical specs comparable to a Duke, it could not grant individuals Domains or Zones, manifestations of their beliefs and truths.
But with this?
Sol's expression darkened at the ntion of Dawn. "That's what you took from today's events? A confirmation of your theories?"
Echidna finally registered his mood and straightened Nuwa's body. "Not just that. But you must admit, the scientific implications are revolutionary."
"More than twelve thousand dead is what I see, Echidna. Death caused by our own fight.”
She waved a dismissive hand. "Most of them were Chiras. They're designed to be expendable."
"They're people," Sol's eyes flashed, rainbow hues bleeding into blue.
"They're experints," Echidna countered, then, seeing his expression, quickly added, "But yes, people too, I suppose. A regrettable loss."
There was absolutely no sincerity in her voice. But what could she do? The only reason she had been worried about her Kingdom was mainly because of her secret underground facilities.
Sol shook his head. He knew that there was no need to continue this conversation, not with a maniac and insane woman like Echidna. She had no empathy at all. "You're using Nuwa's body too much."
"I still have ti. I need to finish observing this experintal object, please." Echidna insisted, turning back to her examination.
"No," Sol's voice hardened. "You're done for today. I need to speak with her."
Echidna opened her mouth to protest, then thought better of it. "Fine. But I expect unrestricted access to this specin tomorrow."
"We'll discuss terms later." Sol's tone made it clear she was not negotiating with the demigod; she was ordering her.
Echidna sighed theatrically, then closed her eyes. The air around Nuwa's body shimred, and when her eyes opened again, they were softer, confused.
"Sol?" Nuwa blinked, looking around as if waking from a dream. "Did we win?"
Sol's expression softened imdiately. "We did. How do you feel?"
Nuwa flexed her fingers experintally. "Strange. Like I was... everywhere at once." She looked down at her arms, where faint scale patterns were still visible beneath her skin. "I rember things. Knowledge that isn't mine."
"That's normal," Sol reassured her. "Echidna's consciousness left an imprint. It will fade with ti. Don’t worry."
Nuwa touched her face, feeling the lingering changes. "Will I... Will I change completely?"
Sol stepped forward, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Only if you choose to. The power you experienced— it's yours now, if you want it. But it doesn't have to define you."
"I felt so strong," she whispered. "Like I could do anything."
"You could," Sol agreed. "But such power always cos with a price. In fact, all power cos with it. The only difference is if you are willing to pay it."
Nuwa looked up at him, eyes suddenly sharp with a clarity that seed beyond her usual self. "Like the price you're paying?"
Sol went still. "What do you an?"
"I saw things while she was in control. mories, impressions." Nuwa hesitated. "You're changing too, aren't you? Becoming sothing else."
For a long mont, Sol said nothing. Then, "Get so rest, Nuwa. We'll talk more tomorrow."
As he turned to leave, she called after him. "Sol? Be careful."
He paused at the door. "I will." Then he was gone, his thoughts a mystery, even to himself.
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