Chapter 100: Chapter 100: The Declaration Of Unification

The violet sky of the Frost-Tide Empire was no longer a sign of spatial instability; it had become the permanent canopy of a new world order.

Within the 50x time-dilation field, the equivalent of months had passed in mere days of outside time. The jagged, disparate landscapes of Iceland’s glaciers and Aquabyss’s coral reefs had been forged into a seamless, terrifyingly efficient machine of war and industry.

​The day of the Great Proclamation arrived not with a whisper, but with the rhythmic, ground-shaking stomp of 250,000 elite boots.

​The Grand Plaza of the Frost-Tide Citadel was a feat of architectural impossibility. Built using Abyssal stone and reinforced by Glacial mana, it stretched for miles, overlooking the merging point where the frozen northern seas met the warm, glowing depths of the original Aquabyss.

​

​Standing in perfect, silent ranks were the soldiers of the new Empire. The Frost Legion, clad in silver-white armor that hummed with sub-zero energy, stood side by side with the Tideguard, whose deep-blue plates were etched with shifting liquid runes.

Behind them stood the “Million-Man” contingent of veteran adventurers—men and women who had abandoned their homelands to follow the man who had killed a God.

​Beyond the soldiers, millions of civilians and curious spectators from across the Eternal Sky Realm watched via massive mana-projections. Every major faction had eyes on this moment.

The Red Crusaders, the Holy Emperor’s agents, and the enigmatic spies of the Celestial Concord all waited for the word that would define the next century.

​Aegis stepped onto the high balcony. He did not wear the ornate robes of a King. He wore his combat shroud, the God-Killer Trident held loosely in his right hand. Beside him stood Bella, her eyes like chips of ancient ice, and Felix, whose sharp gaze swept over the crowd like a hawk counting its prey.

​The silence that fell over the quarter-million soldiers was more deafening than any cheer. It was the silence of absolute, terrifying devotion.

​

​Aegis stepped toward the edge, his voice amplified not just by magic, but by the very atmosphere of the domain.

​”For centuries, Eternia have lived as fragments. We were told that the Eternal Sky was always like this. We were told that floating on isolated rocks, squabbling over scraps of mana and system, was the natural order of things. Eternia were told to look down at the Abyss with fear and up at the Gods with reverence.”

​He paused, the Trident’s base clicking against the stone.

​”But The Gods lied. The system lied. We are not a collection of islands. We are a broken world. We are a planet that forgot how to be whole.”

​A roar began to build in the distance, but Aegis raised a hand, and the sound died instantly.

​”I have seen the Primordial Battlefield. I have seen the roots of the world. And I tell you now, the age of isolation is over. My ambition is not to rule a kingdom, but to end the sky itself. We will not rest until every floating island, every drifting continent, and every hidden sanctuary is brought into the fold.”

​The crowd gasped. The scale of the claim was unprecedented.

​”We are forming a Complete World,” Aegis declared, his eyes burning with a dark, regal light. “A world where the Sea is not a border, but a foundation. A world where the Land is not a fragment, but a continent. A world where the Sky is not a void, but a breath. We will merge the landmasses. We will stitch the ley lines. We will build a world that does not need a System to keep it afloat and be under threats of those Sky Predators.”

​He looked out toward the horizon, where the distant islands of the Red Dragon Emperor and the Holy Emperor lay hidden.

​”The Grand Unification has begun. To those who see the vision of prosperity: my gates are open, and your people will flourish under fifty times the growth of our enemies. But hear this, and hear it well: resistance to the Unification is a crime against the future. Those who choose to stand in the way of a whole world will be treated as the Titans were. They will not be conquered; they will be annihilated.”

​Bella stepped forward, her voice a crystalline ring that cut through the humidity. “The Frost-Tide Empire does not ask for permission. We are the tide that cannot be turned, and the frost that cannot be melted. Choose your side today, for tomorrow, the borders of the world will move.”

​

​As the mana-projections faded, the Global Chat and the private council rooms of the world went into a state of total panic.

​The Red Crusaders: In the Volcanic Spire of the Red Dragon Emperor, the mood was one of murderous rage. The Emperor’s generals, still reeling from the slaughter of their 100,000-man vanguard, watched the speech with trembling hands. For them, Aegis was a virus. A tyrant who sought to erase the authority of the Great Red Dragon. They would never submit. They were already mobilizing the “Old Blood” alliance to strike back.

​The Celestial Concord: In the golden cathedrals of the Holy Emperor, the proclamation was viewed as the ultimate blasphemy. To “merge” the islands was to destroy the divine order established by the Sky Gods.

The Holy Emperor Kael, a young man who claimed to speak for the System itself, declared Aegis an “Anomalous Demon.” He began the Rite of Excommunication, preparing a holy crusade that would bring the “Light” to the “Dark Abyssal King.”

​Ann and Gaia: Deep within the verdant, shifting forests of the Emerald Isles, two figures stood in a clearing. Ann, the Heir of Mountain God, and Gaia, the Heir of the Giant God, looked at each other with somber expressions. They just escaped the Primodial Battlefield. To them, Aegis’s “Unification” was an artificial horror.

​”Ann, He is seeking to play God now,” Gaia whispered. “He wants to force the Sky to bend to his will. The gods will not agree to this.”

​Ann replied, “I know. But he is no longer the Aegis we knew. He has become the Abyss.But we cannot let him stitch the world together with chains of shadow. We must summon the Gods.”

—

​

​Inside the Frost-Tide Citadel, the atmosphere was vastly different. Felix was already looking at the “Core-Merge” schedules.

​”The Red crusaders are the first logical target since the Lord and Lady already have some feud with them,” Felix said, pointing to a map. “Their islands are rich in Crystals, which we need for Stage 12. If we conquer them, we might gain more information on the Red One.”

​”And the Holy_Emperor?” Bella asked.

​”He’s the biggest threat to morale,” Felix admitted. “His ’Holy Light’ can pierce our 50x barrier if he gathers enough priests. We need to silence his temples before we move the main Island.”

​Aegis stood by the window, watching the 250,000 soldiers below begin their new drills. Thanks to the time-dilation, these soldiers would have the experience of thirty-year veterans by the time they reached the first enemy border next week.

​”They think this is a war of ideology,” Aegis said quietly. “But They don’t realize it’s a war of physics. By the time they organize their ’Alliances,’ Aquabyss will have the gravity of a small planet. They won’t have a choice but to fall toward us.”

​He turned back to his generals. “Felix, initiate the ’Chain of Atlas’ project. I want the first ten minor islands in the southern quadrant pulled into our mana-orbit by tomorrow morning.”

​”What about the survivors on those islands?” Felix asked.

​Aegis’s gaze was cold, yet filled with a strange, heavy empathy. “Give them the choice. Properity and the 50x growth… or the silence of the void. The world is being born, Felix. And birth is never a gentle process.”

Felix gulped.

—

​

​As the sun set over the Eternal Sky, the residents of the southern floating islands saw something that would haunt their dreams. From the shimmering violet mist of the Frost-Tide Empire, massive, translucent chains of blue and silver mana shot out across the sky. They were miles long, thick as mountains, and pulsing with the heartbeat of the Sea God.

​One of the chains latched onto the Floating Island of Oakhaven, a small trade hub. The island groaned. The earth cracked. And then, slowly, the entire landmass began to move. It wasn’t drifting; it was being towed.

​The Grand Unification had moved from a speech to a reality.

​The System roared with notifications that no one could ignore.

​[ ALERT! ]

[ THE FROST-TIDE EMPIRE HAS INITIATED ’WORLD-STITCHING’ ]

[ GRAVITATIONAL ANOMALIES DETECTED IN THE SOUTHERN QUADRANT ]

[ THE ERA OF FRAGMENTATION IS ENDING ]

​Aegis watched as the first island was reeled in. He felt the weight of the lives on that rock, the fear, the confusion. But he also felt the strength of the Empire growing. With every merge, the “Complete World” became more than a dream.

​”Let them come,” Aegis whispered, the God-Killer Trident glowing in response to his resolve. “The Red Crusaders, the Holy Emperor Kael, Ann, Gaia… let them all come. I will show them that the tide does not bargain with the shore. It simply claims it.”

​Behind him, Bella placed a hand on his shoulder. Her ice-cold touch was the only thing that kept the Abyssal heat from consuming him.

​”We are the villains of their story, Arlan,” she said softly.

​”Then let us be the best villains the world has ever seen,” he replied.

​The march of the Million-Man army had begun. The sky was falling, and in its place, a world was rising.

​

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep