Rita had never seen Lord Artemis before today. Having been born and raised in the Eastern Settlement, she had no idea what the Western Settlement looked like or how House Artemis and the government ruled that side of the world. She was also not curious about the other continents, especially those that rarely involved themselves with House Feng.

  However, she was familiar with the great houses and their symbols. Also, she knew a Sorcerer when she saw one. And...Lord Artemis was one of the most powerful ones she had seen in a while. She could tell this from just his presence alone. He had a pale complexion and dark eyes that seemed to siphon out coldness. On his head, he wore an enchanted crown with intricate runes. The rest of his face was not particurly handsome, but its sharpness and wellness could draw some attention.

  “Please, tell us what happened while inside the dungeon.”

  Lord Astrid’s voice suddenly snapped Rita back to her senses. She had been staring at the man for so long that she had forgotten the silent audience before her.

  “Umm…well….the tower is already a dungeon as…you all know…” Rita found herself in a ck of words before the powerful ascenders.

  Luckily, Shin swooped to save her from embarrassing herself. “The Crimson Tower is indeed a dungeon, my lords. In there, we encountered the undead king and the Master of Nothing. We lost most of our forces fighting against the Undead King who happened to have the ability to control every cursed creature as the guardian of the level we were on.”

  “He was a cursed general, my lords.”

  Shin continued to speak as the rest of the lords and government officials listened to his version of a report. As he reported his experience, he made sure he didn’t leave out any details. He talked about the Shrines, the cryptic message left behind in ancient Mandarin, and the cursed emperor that only appeared at night. And the statue of a deity called Everlight.

  Everyone in the room was shocked by what they heard. The existence of a real deity was uncanny and terrifying considering humans were bugs in the face of the deities’s powers. Sovereigns were currently the strongest enemies humanity had faced up to date. These corrupted deities were already stronger than humans by leaps with only Fourth Gate users being the only thing that came close to them in power.

  “Did you learn anything about this deity?” Mao Feng finally spoke after Shin paused. Her gaze was as sharp as a double-edged sword and her voice filled with so much authority it could crush an army.

  Shin didn’t waver under her gaze though. The Seer nodded and said, tentatively:

  “We learned that they are a lesser deity compared to the gods. Everlight was originally a servant to the god of the sun before his death. They had a whole religion and people who built shrines out of Styx stone in their name.”

  “Styx stone?” Lord Astrid cut in. “The beings of the divine realm must have been quite strong to create shrines using that tough rock.”

  “I see.” Mao Feng didn’t mind her cousin’s words. “Tell us about the Master of Nothing?”

  “There isn’t much to say about him, my lord. The deity had already descended into madness by the time we unleashed him. It could cancel out concepts like our Auras and zenshi itself.”

  “Cancel?” Mao Feng frowned. “That’s impossible. Zenshi is divine, are you sure that’s what happened?”

  Shin nodded with a solemn expression. He remembered losing an arm in that fight. “Yes. Everyone’s ability stopped working and we all lost our summons the moment it did so. We were powerless.”

  “Then how did you defeat it then?” Kaigen leaned forward while the others stayed silent. He was intrigued by this report. Hearing it from these two gave him a bigger picture in this case, unlike the written reports he was going through earlier.

  “Lord Valentine and Lady Lunaris pyed a huge role in defeating it. They figured out that the Master was incapable of canceling out two things at the same things. So we gave it a bigger threat to worry about,” Shin expined. “It canceled out that threat and we were able to use our Auras for a brief moment. Snow decapitated it and used his ability on it.”

  “What about the Sword Guardian Mira Hong encountered? In her reports, she says they fought one.” Mao Feng asked, her tone indifferent.

  Rita’s heart raced as she felt the weight of Lord Artemis’s gaze. Every instinct screamed at her to shrink away, yet she knew the room would not allow weakness. These were the rulers of humanity, the arbiters of its fate—and she, a mere cirvoyant, was expected to speak.

  “Yes…they encountered a sword guardian. And the process of fighting it, Lunaris Feng was injured terribly while trying to protect her sister.” Shin replied.

  Mao Feng sighed and crossed her arms. She turned to Lord Artemis who technically had the same level of authority as her in this room. They ruled the world after all.

  Artemis shifted in his seat and nded his fierce gaze on Rita. “And you, young dy. Why are you so quiet?” he asked. “I’ve heard you’re a gifted cirvoyant who is also gifted in enchanting.”

  Rita fell into a rushed bow. “Thank you, my Lord.”

  “Please, tell me about the Master of Nothing and the undead king.” He said in a calm and collected tone. “Was the term Mildrith mentioned anywhere?”

  Rita shook her head. “No…no my lord. The undead king only chose to speak with Captain Snow. I was also occupied with the Master of Nothing while they had an exchange." she paused and remembered something important. “The Master of Nothing did speak with Lady Lunaris though. As a cirvoyant, I was able to feel the change she experienced when her mind was taken for a brief moment.”

  A faint smile appeared on Lord Artemis’s face after hearing that. “So the deity was interested in an unblessed. What an interesting detail. Thank you for that information, Ascender Rita.”

  After that, Lord Artemis turned to Mao Feng and said, this time carrying more resolve and authority.

  “The Generals will be joining the conquering of the crimson tower. I will be joining as well.”

  “This not a conquer, Lord Artemis. This is a subjugation. If we don’t destroy this tower humanity…”

  “We are humanity, Mao Feng.” Lord Artemis cut her off. “ If we conquer that thing, imagine the citadel we can construct around it. A city of ascenders, right here in the southern reach of your continent. Think about the things we could learn from studying about this dungeon.”

  “Maybe you’re right, Kronor. But I have no such goals. This tower is a problem, the bck ether has killed so many people in this state. I can't risk letting the structure stand when there are chances that it might grow and destroy my continent someday.”

  Lord Artemis scoffed and let out a soft chuckle.

  “Destroy it? You sound like your dead husband, naive and childish. Always trying to be the saviors. In case you didn't know, Mao Feng, the world is already destroyed. It’s why more and more people are being born with divine traits in their blood. This is a sign that it's about time we try to conquer the divine realm.”

  “And we start with the tower.”

  There was a dead silence in the room. Mao Feng lingered, looked at the rest of the war council, and gritted her teeth. Their silence angered her. “What makes you think we can? Technology? Or have you gotten cocky after mastering your Aura? Cocky enough to call my te husband naive.”

  There was a hint of anger in Mao Feng’s voice. But aside from that, she was doing an incredible job at bottling her emotions.

  “Power, Mao Feng. My continent has enough power. I have an army of the next generation ready to conquer the other realm.” Lord Artemis spoke with pride. But nothing he had spoken was a lie. Their world was sick and it was dying even faster with more cursed creatures walking into their world. Humanity needed to survive somehow.

  Mao Feng’s voice sharpened. "You speak of power, but power without knowledge is a bde without a hilt. The divine realm is an enigma—its rules, its dangers, its guardians. We can’t risk humanity on blind ambition."

  Artemis leaned back in his chair, his gaze unwavering. He repeated his statement. "The world is dying, Mao Feng. Your hesitation only deys the inevitable."

  Mao Feng’s fingers tightened into fists, her voice cold as ice. "And your arrogance accelerates it. We’ve seen what unchecked power does—it corrupts, it destroys. I won’t gamble my continent for your delusions of grandeur."

  “I am not asking you to gamble, Mao Feng. I'm asking you to risk this continent for the greater good. This Tower is the key to something big, I can feel it! It might be an opportunity for us to understand the mechanics of the divine realm. Build an empire!"

  “I refuse.” Mao Feng hissed out a cold response that silenced Lord Artemis.

  “Fools.” he scoffed in his mind and let the meeting go on without saying any more. He had said enough to get his vision into the mind of everyone else in this room. If they were smart enough, they would agree to this...agree to the evolution of mankind.