【 THE CHILDREN WHO HAD RETURNED HOME 】

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Dazzling radiance blossomed across the land, bathing the landscape with a warm and sacred glow.

At this very moment, the goddess in the sky was like a golden sun suspended above the world, her divine brilliance cascading downward, slanting from the heavens in boundless streams of light.

That radiance seemed to carry magical properties as it shone upon everything, before slowly spreading outward from the center in widening waves.

Golden particles began to dance and swirl above the Cliff of Sorrows.

Amidst the chants of ethereal hymns, the sacred light swept gently across the whole battlefield, passing over the weathered undead elven legions, the mutated Frost Elves, the battle-driven players, and the malevolent abyssal creatures.

All demons and monsters touched by the light began to convulse in agony.

Under the elves’ fervent gazes, and the players’ regretful stares, all these abyssal creatures immediately ceased attacking as black smoke continuously rose from their bodies.

Gradually, that smoke was replaced by countless golden particles.

With a muted, explosive sound, these demons then burst apart, transforming much like clusters of golden fireworks in which blossomed briefly before fading away.

Immediately afterward, the black tide began to dissipate rapidly, retreating from the center outward.

Firework after firework bloomed across the field, following the sweeping path of the holy light. The sacred radiance continued to expand without end, and more and more of such “fireworks” blossomed within the black tide, erupting again and again as corruption was purified.

Soon, the entire land was engulfed.

In a single instant, the whole world seemed to be submerged in a vast ocean of light, leaving behind a breathtaking scenery filled with countless golden particles which rose unceasingly.

Even the sky itself was illuminated as brightly as day.

Watching all this unfold, the Frost Elves stared blankly at the miraculous scene before them, weapons still clenched in their hands as black and green blood dripped slowly from their blades. One by one, their grips slackened, and the weapons were lowered in stunned silence.

Then, they suddenly felt waves of warmth surge into their bodies.

It was the Goddess’s light.

Vigorous life force erupted within every Frost Elf, as a faint tingling sensation, much like countless tiny bites, rippled across their bodies.

They looked at one another’s changing appearances, eyes widening in disbelief, before instinctively reaching up to touch their own faces.

To their shock, all those hideous tumors, those festering lesions, black blotches and other mutations which marred their bodies were rapidly fading away, dissolving under the cleansing light as though they had never existed at all.

In its place, fair, delicate skin reappeared upon their cheeks, and their withered yellow hair gradually regained its original luster and color.

The countless wounds covering their bodies also slowly healed, flesh knitting together before their very eyes.

Even those who had lost arms in battle or lived with permanent disabilities for many years found that their conditions were now fully restored.

The power within their bodies grew ever stronger, just as the aura of life within each Frost Elf grew richer.

It was as though they were shedding their old selves, and were in the process of being born anew.

Gradually, any grotesque deformities in their bodies vanished completely, replaced by tall, gorgeous, and elegant forms.

Azure-blue hair flowed behind them like liquid crystal, and their icy-blue eyes now shone with resolute clarity.

Yet at this moment, those eyes were veiled, as tears slid down their cheeks.

“It’s gone… our lifelong curse is gone! I can’t believe the corruption has finally disappeared.”

“This is the Matriarch’s power… Only our Divine Matriarch could wield such strength.”

“Her Majesty has returned. She has truly returned!”

Every Frost Elf turned in unison, gazing toward the radiant figure in the sky, hearts swelling with reverence and awe.

The light their basking upon was warm and gentle as though they had returned to their mother’s embrace.

Their expressions grew ever more devout, ever more fervent.

Tears filled their eyes—not of sorrow or pain, but of happiness and astonished joy.

Slowly, they knelt, bowing deeply toward the figure in the heavens, their movements solemn yet filled with uncontainable relief.

Their clan guardian, Aurora, watched on with equal delight.

As she looked upon her fellow clansmen, now healed and free of their deformities, her gaze brimmed with emotion, pride, and unspoken gratitude.

Soon, however, she saw countless golden particles surging toward her.

In that instant, Aurora felt a blazing current of life force pour into her body.

That divine power repaired her form and purified the corruption upon her.

The hideous demonic scales and layers of grotesque tumors covering her body began to fall away on their own. Before long, her sacred body, radiating gentle light like that of a Demigod, was completely renewed.

She extended her hands, gazing at a body once more filled with pure divine power, sensing the abundant strength within it.

Aurora parted her lips, then raised her head to look toward the great figure in the sky.

The beautiful figure seemed to cast down a gentle gaze, revealing a faint smile.

Upon seeing that warm smile, Aurora felt herself instantly filled with a profound sense of happiness and fulfillment, as if the heavy burden for which she had carried and lonely waiting of several thousand years felt entirely worthwhile.

She respectfully lowered her head, her gentle voice trembling with unprecedented excitement and sincerity, yet steady with devotion.

“Great and benevolent Divine Matriarch.”

“Your faithful servant, Aurora, the Star of Dawn, humbly welcomes Your Majesty’s return.”

The Frost Elves also lowered their heads in unison, and their orderly, impassioned voices rang out together.

“Great and benevolent Divine Matriarch.”

“We humbly welcome Your Majesty’s return.”

Here’s a slightly extrapolated version, keeping the solemn, awe-inspiring tone while enhancing atmosphere and emotional weight:

The Frost Elves also lowered their heads in unison, and their orderly, impassioned voices rang out together, a chorus of reverence that resonated across the battlefield.

“Great and benevolent Divine Matriarch.”

“We humbly welcome Your Majesty’s return.”

Their voices were vast and resounding.

At that very moment, countless creaking sounds—the grinding of bones colliding—slowly rose from all corners of the battlefield.

The Frost Elves turned back and saw the tattered skeletal undead also approaching.

This undead elven army, formed from the departed souls of the Rocksand Clan, likewise came to a halt. They mechanically raised their skulls and gazed toward the majestic figure in the sky.

The soul flames within their eye sockets flickered like embers awakened after centuries of slumber.

“Uria” looked toward that divine figure.

This former guardian of the Rocksand Clan, whose body had long since decayed into rot and corruption, slowly withdrew his enormous, tumor-ridden hand and knelt on one knee.

He then raised his nearly rotted right hand and slowly pressed it against his chest.

With his movement, the undead legion on the ground also cast aside their broken weapons, as they too knelt on one knee, facing the divine figure in the sky, motionless and solemn.

There were no words.

Nor did they utter any sound at all.

Only the unceasing flicker of soul flames, and the gaze of “Uria,” which had suddenly gained a faint spark of life, betrayed their suppressed emotion.

“Mat…ri…arch… Your… Ma…jes…ty.”

His voice was still stiff and mechanical, yet beneath the cadence lay a subtle trace of release, as if a weight he had carried for ages was finally loosening.

“Mat…ri… arch… Your… Ma…jes…ty.”

Countless dull, mechanical voices echoed slowly as every undead elf uttered the same words.

The undead giant rose slowly, and “Uria” struggled to trace a tree-shaped symbol across his chest.

A stiff smile gradually appeared upon his grotesque features.

Light then began to envelop him, and his massive body disintegrated gradually, fragment by fragment.

Brilliant gold spread outward, eventually transforming into drifting particles of light.

In that moment, the collective souls that formed the giant “Uria” coalesced into pure light, and a smaller, illusory figure slowly separated from the rest, faintly discernible as a handsome male elf.

He wore spectral armor, and his gaze was clear and pure, conveying both affection and warmth as he looked toward the divine figure in the sky.

“Uria!”

Aurora cried out from the ground.

The ethereal figure slowly turned to face her, looking at the beautiful female demigod with eyes filled with emotion.

Uria’s lips moved, forming a smile of release, as though silently speaking. Then, his illusory body suddenly ignited, blooming with dazzling radiance.

Aurora trembled slightly, eyes widening as though understanding something.

“Uria!”

She cried out again, stretching her right hand toward him in the sky.

In midair, the illusory figure of Uria shattered abruptly, before transforming into countless brilliant rays of light.

These radiant beams then soared upward, drifting through the sky much like ethereal spirits.

For a time, the entire sky was filled with streams of luminous light, which continued to whirl and weave around the entire Cliff of Sorrows.

It seemed as though they were bidding farewell to something…

Or perhaps commemorating something.

After circling again and again, the streams of radiant light suddenly shot upward, then plunged toward the ground like falling meteors streaking through the sky.

In the next instant, they poured into the bodies of the countless elven undead kneeling on the ground.

The soul flames in their empty eye sockets flared brightly as their movements gradually ceased to be stiff and mechanical, becoming lively and natural once more.

At this moment, Uria, the Child of the Earth, paid the ultimate price, completely sacrificing his own divine soul to restore the lost souls of all the Rocksand Clan members.

Moments later, each undead elves seemed to have finally regained their sense of self.

One by one, they raised their hands, gazing at their skeletal arms and at the bodies that had long since been rendered unrecognizable.

“I… what happened to me? I remember that I… seem to have already died…”

Similar bewildered voices resounded among the Rocksand elves. They looked around in confusion, particularly at the Frost Elves and the players.

“Our fellow kin from the Azurefrost Clan? And I see some kin from other clans as well!”

“That person?! Is he from the Galewind Clan? No, not only him, but there are people from Shadowshade and Rageblaze Clan too!”

“Everyone is here?! Why is everyone here?!”

Amidst their confusion, gentle radiance poured down them.

The undead of the Rocksand Clan slowly raised their heads.

When they saw the divine figure in the sky, the soul flames within their eye sockets suddenly burst forth with dazzling brilliance, and excited voices rang out clearly.

“Matriarch, Your Majesty…?”

“It really is Your Majesty!”

“The Matriarch has returned! I can’t believe Her Divine Majesty has returned!”

The sounds produced by trembling bones were no longer mechanical, but filled with sincerity and fervent devotion.

Soon after, much like the members of the Azurefrost Clan, they too knelt one after another, their voices trembling as they cried out in unison:

“Great and benevolent Divine Matriarch, Your Majesty…”

“We humbly welcome Your return!”

Looking down at the kneeling undead elves, the holy goddess in the sky gently opened her arms and within the consciousness of these resurrected souls, an ethereal voice resounded, clear and soothing:

“Come home, my children.”

“You have suffered greatly…”

Upon hearing it, their bodies trembled slightly, awe and relief mingling with lingering weariness. Slowly, they lifted their heads, as if drawn by an invisible force.

A faint halo of light bloomed above them, and one by one, illusory figures began to rise from their skeletal forms.

These were the souls of the Rocksand Clan members: the men and women, the young and the old. The priests clad in ceremonial robes, hunters and warriors wearing leather armor, all were called forth from the remnants of their mortal shells.

More and more spectral forms ascended, filling the entire sky with shimmering presence.

They bowed respectfully toward the goddess and all these illusory figures transformed into streams of blue light.

They spiraled upward in dazzling arcs, rushing into the heavens before vanishing into the resplendent cosmic sky, becoming Einherjars in the Garden of Eden.

Having lost the soul which anchor them, the undead skeleton collapsed one after another, like machines that had lost all power.

In the end, amid a surge of light, these skeletal remains too turned into ashes.

Across the battlefield, only the Frost Elves remained, still kneeling with tears streaming down their faces.

The players, seemingly moved by the atmosphere also bowed in reverence.

At the same time, a staircase formed of radiant light poured down from the shimmering golden arch gate in the sky, extending straight to the peak of the Cliff of Sorrows.

It was the road leading home.

It was the path the Frost Elves had awaited for thousands of years, a bridge between this dark world and the homeland for which they had long dreamed of.

A glowing staircase reaching the skies took shape, and the players moved into position, standing solemnly along both sides, much like guards welcoming the Frost Elves back to the home.

Standing at the top of the cliff, Cypher wiped away the tears at the corners of his eyes as he too joined the other players, taking his place at one side of the staircase.

Seeing the staircase bathed in divine light, and witnessing their fellow kin standing as guardians along its sides, the Frost Elves were overwhelmed with emotion.

Their guardian, Aurora, slowly rose to her feet.

With her eyes still glistening with tears, the beautiful Demigod took a deep breath and declared in a resounding voice:

“My fellow clansmen, at long last, we are finally going back home!”

Every Frost Elf cried out excitedly in unison:

“Finally back home!”

Then, with hearts soaring, they began to move once more.

Hand in hand, they formed a long, solemn procession and advanced toward the golden staircase atop the cliff.

Eventually, someone—no one knew who—began to sing that elven song once again.

It was the same gentle, familiar melody echoing across the landscape, yet this time, unlike its usual melancholic tone, it was now filled with joy, relief, and the promise of a long-awaited homecoming.

“The sky grows alight, the night fades to bright,

Daybreak wakes the sleeping world in gentle light…”

“This soft music rises, flowing melodiously,

Through fields of flowers and every tree…”

“The sun shall rise, and the sun shall set,

Each new day brings hope we won’t forget…”

Within this touching melody, the long procession moved forward, step by step.

The Frost Elves walked hand in hand, shoulder to shoulder, ascending the staircase, before vanishing into the golden arch of light.

Only after the last Frost Elf passed through the golden arch gate did the light over the Cliff of Sorrows slowly begin to fade.

By this point, Cypher was already sobbing uncontrollably.

These were not tears of sorrow, but of overwhelming emotion. However, in the next instant, that emotion nearly froze on his face.

The other players paused briefly, their gazes turning toward the ruins of the elven city below.

They remained silent for a few seconds, then, like unleashed huskies sensing prey, rushed headlong toward the equipment strewn across the battlefield.

Cypher: “…”

Seeing this scene, Evé—still shrouded in holy light—twitched slightly at the corner of her lips.

She gently shook her head in exasperation and looked toward the distance.

That was the direction in which the three mythical dragons had flown.

Light flickered around her, and in an instant, her figure vanished from the sky, leaving only a lingering glow that slowly faded into the horizon.

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