Nia’s consciousness hovered above the earth as she gazed at the vast ocean and the azure expanse at the horizon.

Remarkably, from her vantage point, she could faintly discern the curvature of the sea and realize that the world was a sphere.

However, Nia had never questioned it or tried to fully understand the concept.

She simply called the name of the Ruhe beast with her mind, completing the final step of the ritual.

“Servant of the supreme Life Sovereign, great Ruhe beast Moon Magic Fern, the moon’s shadow enveloping the world.”

That three‐part name further awakened the towering, terrifying being.

In the distance, the Moonlight Jungle of Suinhor City-State emitted a soft glow while the earth appeared to split open and the dense plants resembled the delicate eyelashes of an eye.

At last, the Ruhe beast truly noticed the tiny figure calling out to it.

Another presence, shielded by the Dream Realm, approached the Ruhe beast Moon Magic Fern as dictated by the ritual contract.

From Nia’s perspective, she saw a massive shadow rising from the earth.

It resembled a giant tree reaching toward the heavens or a thick vine that rooted itself in the earth and connected with the sky and sea of clouds.

It extended above the cloud layer and probed into the unknown realm.

A massive spherical fruit hung from the sky, completely obscuring the moon.

It replaced the moon, its terrifying power radiating outward as light swept over the land.

Moonlight cascaded from the sky.

Under the moonlight, everything was annihilated, fell into oblivion in its radiance, and was reborn in the glowing light.

Although this scene existed only within her mind, Nia recognized it as the being’s true form.

It could transform into a giant island that encompassed everything or become a doomsday force that destroyed all.

“The moon’s shadow enveloping the world.”

Nia gained a profound understanding of that portion of the name.

At that moment, Nia could not even utter her prepared prayer, her body frozen in place.

Her consciousness melted away while her teeth chattered uncontrollably.

“I… I… I…”

“Please…”

She had originally believed that if she failed, it would be only after the ritual was complete.

Yet now she discovered.

Before such a being, she could not even speak her prayer.

Her consciousness gradually melted away, and despite the Dream Realm’s protection, she was slowly being devoured under the Ruhe beast’s gaze.

“Bang… Bang… Bang… Bang…”

Fortunately, at the critical moment, the gems embedded in the ritual array shattered one after another, causing the protective power of the Dream Realm to multiply instantly.

Only then did Nia manage to hold on to a thread of clarity in her mind.

Inside the cavern, she knelt before the ground and finally spoke her prayer in simple, direct words.

“Great being!”

“If you need it, and if possible, I am willing to become another pair of eyes for you in this world.”

As she spoke these words, the moonlight in her mind’s eye expanded even further.

The beast itself had no desires, and it could bear the weight of Ruhe Beast Island for ten million or even a hundred million years without tiring.

They were the most loyal followers created by the Life Sovereign, serving solely as tools that followed orders.

Yet having someone willing to serve as their eyes in this world was still valuable.

Perhaps that was why they grew so many eyes and longed for even more.

From the hidden moon, a trace of moonlight dripped down.

Like a droplet of water, it stirred ripples across the land.

“Drip!”

That power fused with Nia’s body.

Massive waves surged through the cavern, causing the original ritual array to collapse instantly while all the patterns, carvings, and texts on the walls dissolved.

It had reached its limit by this point.

The Snake People present fell in heaps, with some losing their balance and others succumbing to exhaustion.

At the center of the ritual array, Nia now experienced magical changes in her body.

Nia’s Wisdom Ability had been stripped away along with her sight, and a new pair of eyes grew in her empty sockets, their pupils radiating light.

Upon closer inspection, it seemed as though a moon resided within her new eyes.

Nia slowly rose from her prone position.

A pale white light flowed from the roots to the tips of her hair as she shook her head.

Her hair turned a moonlit white.

The long snake tail behind her gradually retracted, transforming first into a pair of thighs and finally into feet.

An incredibly powerful force filled Nia’s body, not one of her own but one bestowed by the Ruhe beast Moon Magic Fern.

The divine servants swayed as they watched Nia stand up and observed the tremendous changes in her, their faces reflecting a range of emotions.

“Second Seat Nia?” someone cheered enthusiastically.

“The ritual succeeded!” Everyone present, who had prepared for death if they failed, now felt as if they had survived a calamity.

“Which divine being did we pray to, one so generous in bestowing power?” someone asked, his curiosity evident as Nia had obtained God’s Form through prayer, a symbol of immense power in mortal eyes.

“Don’t inquire, don’t seek to know,” a divine servant interrupted sternly. Those who had approached earlier had turned to rotting flesh just from hearing the name, yet this fellow dared to be so presumptuous.

The beasts differed from other demigods, for their power was more substantial and more difficult to control.

This also made sacrificing to or contacting them even more dangerous.

Nia gradually stood up, first examining her hands and then her feet.

It was clear she was unfamiliar with walking on legs, but as a supernatural being, she quickly found a rhythm in controlling them.

Nia looked around and saw that everyone was watching her.

She nodded with a smile for everyone.

“That’s right! We succeeded.”

Everyone smiled at one another, for there was no better news.

Then Nia touched her face and sighed gently, adding, “Although it’s not the best outcome, it was within expectations.”

Nia walked step by step toward the cavern’s exit, passing through a narrow path and pushing open a wooden door.

Outside lay a village, home to many Snake People.

There were ordinary guards, Land Dragon riders, and common farmers and children who were not asleep but stood below, looking up until Nia appeared.

Nia looked up at them, raising her hand high.

“Everyone, we have succeeded.”

Nia’s face broke into a smile, and although the people below could not see her clearly, they sensed her joy.

“Oh!”

Everyone raised their arms in cheer, with many even embracing each other in excitement.

But as Nia smiled, a crack suddenly spread across her face.

It was like exquisite porcelain that cracked when the temperature was not properly controlled.

She was not the first to dare communicate with the beasts, but she was the first to embark on the path of a witch.

However, being first typically meant instability and a high chance of failure.

She was not compatible with the Life Ability because, as a member of the original wisdom race, she had not completely shed her own bloodline to fully merge with it.

But at least in that moment, she was the Moon Witch.

With everything in place, Yafuan’s final plan was set in motion.

Nia held Yafuan’s Knowledge Stone in one hand and pressed The Book of Xiuborn against her chest, the last two items he had left for her.

She looked at the cheering crowd below, her smile of satisfaction growing ever more radiant.

“We succeeded,” everyone in the crowd shouted.

“They succeeded,” some sang and danced, for Snake People were inherently a dance-loving race.

“Can we defeat those monsters now, reclaim our former homeland?” a child asked.

“Second Seat Nia must have gained powerful abilities that can lead us to defeat the Abyss,” someone observed.

“Where is Lord Yafuan, it seems we haven’t seen him in a long time?” someone asked.

These people did not know what Nia and the others were doing, but they understood that an important plan was underway and had been busy collecting various pieces of intelligence and materials.

The people below were in a jubilant uproar, yet they did not notice that Nia, bathed in moonlight above, was gradually fading into nothingness.

By the time they regained their senses, Nia had already vanished.

The divine servants who had performed the ritual together rushed out, looking around in all directions.

“Where is Second Seat Nia?” one divine servant asked.

However, they could no longer find her.

Nia transformed into a silver snake gliding under the moonlight, or perhaps into a wisp of ethereal gauze.

Wherever the moon shone, she could travel.

She continued northward toward where the being she once most hated and feared existed and where the one she cared for most now resided.

Although that person had long since lost his way.

She journeyed through jungles and mountains, watching a once-vibrant earth now occupied by monsters and witnessing the barren cities of the Winged People transformed into nests for beasts.

Along the way, the monsters could not detect Nia at all, as if she were invisible.

Finally, she arrived above the Abyss.

The silver snake coiled beneath the moonlight, perfectly concealing herself.

“Divine Technique: Realm of Illusion.”

This divine technique was developed by Schlode, the first High Priest of the Sky Temple in the previous era. It indirectly led to the downfall of Yesael, the second King of Wisdom, and was later perfected into a forbidden art of the Royal Bloodline Xilong family.

The second apostle, Stan Tito, once used this divine technique along with the power of Moon Magic Fern to defeat the mutated Desert Worm, ending the era of beasts and royalty.

This divine technique was powerful enough in the hands of ordinary ability users, earning it the title of forbidden technique in the previous era.

But in the hands of a being like the Moon Witch, it became an entirely different matter.

After countless years, this divine technique reappeared in the mortal world.

Moonlight shone directly from the sky into the dark Abyss, piercing the endless gloom.

It fell upon a ground burning with demon fire and finally focused on a palace built of black stone.

Within the silver radiance above, a voice spoke softly.

“Lord Yafuan! As promised, I have come!”

Nia had once promised Yafuan that she would complete her mission without fail.

Her arrival as promised was the only way to ensure that Yafuan and his group had not sacrificed in vain and that all their efforts held true meaning.

In the Second Layer of the Abyss, Bone Demon King Yafuan placed both hands on the sides of his skeletal throne while surveying his domain from above.

A terrifying Skeletal Flying Dragon prostrated itself at his feet as various Bone Demons stood on either side of the palace.

Below the palace, countless Bone Demon legions gathered, with flames burning within the skulls or bodies of each skeletal creature.

The Demon Spirit Fire, born from the Law of Pride, allowed Bone Demon King Yafuan to gather more followers, and with the power of the Bone Field, he grew increasingly powerful.

Suddenly, a beam of moonlight penetrated the thick darkness of the Abyss, falling onto the dark gray earth as countless skeletal monsters raised their heads to look upward.

“?”

The Bone Demon King also raised his head, puzzled by the sudden appearance of moonlight in the Abyss.

The moonlight seemed to possess its own will as it traveled across the land toward the Bone Demon King’s palace and finally shone upon him.

The Bone Demon King immediately tried to stand, but he found himself unable to move.

Fortunately, not a shred of flesh remained on his face, otherwise his expression would certainly have been one of extreme terror.

“What’s happening?”

“What is this situation?”

“Someone is playing tricks… who is it?”

“Who dares to plot against the great master of the Abyss?”

The Bone Demon King discovered with horror that a powerful will had bypassed all his defenses and directly invaded the depths of his consciousness.

None of his protective powers, not even the Bone Field, could stop it.

His formidable strength and Wisdom Ability instinctively resisted, but against the other force they seemed to vanish.

The other had opened a door in his mind, complete with a key, and rushed in unimpeded.

In an instant, it took control of his consciousness and directed his subsequent actions from its source.

“Yafuan!”

“Wage war against Melde, force her to use the Mythic Gate,” the voice commanded.

As those words fell, the Bone Demon King felt his body begin to move involuntarily.

The Bone Demon King recognized the voice as coming from a companion of his former self, that weak, cowardly part of him.

A female Snake Person named Nia, an existence as weak as an insect.

Following their connection, he instantly sensed her presence.

She was hidden in the sky above the Abyss.

The Bone Demon King instantly became furious, unable to accept being manipulated by this ant-like existence.

“Nia?”

“That mortal?”

“You also want to control me?”

“You insect… I will… I will…”

However, the Bone Demon King immediately discovered something terrifying: he was gradually forgetting the command he had just received.

The other had controlled not only his body but also his spirit, consciousness, and even his emotions.

Soon, he forgot that he had been controlled.

An emotion welled up within him.

He wanted to become the master of the Abyss.

Not by someone else’s command, but because he wanted it for himself.

The Bone Demon King regained control of his body, slowly stood up and let out an arrogant laugh.

“I will…”

“Become the true master of the Abyss,” he vowed.

The Skeletal Flying Dragon roared as it leaped to a high perch.

Countless monsters arranged themselves into battle formations, coalescing into a massive legion.

Bone Demon King Yafuan, master of the Second Layer of the Abyss, launched another attack against Fallen Angel Melde, challenging her claim as master of the First Layer of the Abyss.

At this moment in the mountains far from the Abyss, Winged Queen Duma watched the moonlight shining down from the sky, observing the activity within the Abyss.

“It has begun,” she murmured.

A Sky Messenger behind Duma stepped forward, standing on the cliff as he gazed into the distance.

He also noticed the agitation in the Abyss, and the monsters in its outer layer had become frenzied, signaling that a new round of war was about to erupt.

And all of this originated from the light that had just shone down from the sky.

Sky Messenger, “Those Snake People possess too many secrets. They can even know the true names of those great beings, then borrow their power.”

Duma had new insights regarding the existence of divine beings, “Everything comes with a price.”

The Sky Messenger no longer discussed this topic, but instead spoke of the purpose of their journey, “Can we really accomplish it?”

Winged Queen Duma, “Of course.”

Pair after pair of sacred white wings unfurled behind her as her power gradually reached its peak.

“We will rectify all mistakes and attain true salvation,” she declared.

“We will raise God’s Gate back to the realm where it belongs, allowing the glory of the Lord of Radiance to reappear in this world.”

The Sky Messenger’s eyes were filled with anticipation.

They deeply missed the once radiant era and yearned even more for a future that included both God and Queen Duma.

First Layer of the Abyss.

Melde stood before the Gate of Spirituality of the Lord of Radiance, gazing at the mythic gate with complete infatuation as a symbol of the divine being’s Wisdom Ability.

Although she could still borrow the power of this mythic gate, she could no longer enter it after her fall.

She did not understand why.

After all, she had done so well because she had allowed the divine to descend into the world again by possessing such a perfect form.

It must be that God felt she had not done well enough and that she needed to do more.

“How powerful your strength is, oh God!”

“You will eventually devour this world and become its true ruler,”

“I will certainly help you achieve all of this.”

Melde’s state was devout yet mad, completely immersed in the dream world she required.

Suddenly, intense tremors came from the layer above the Abyss.

Fire fell from above and crashed into the black mud like meteors.

As the fire spread, the mud congealed into solid earth.

This was the manifestation of the Second Layer’s power eroding the First Layer.

One after another, skeletal monsters fell into the First Layer of the Abyss and quickly gathered into ranks.

There were Snake People skeletons with bone bows, Winged People skeletons wielding long swords, and Bone Demon servants casting Abyss divine techniques.

Seeing this scene, Melde’s good mood was completely shattered.

She let out a furious, prolonged howl, “You despicable thief!”

With her howl, countless monsters gathered.

In the darkness of the sky, the dense sound of flapping wings and black-winged shadows blocking everything could be heard. On the ground, thousands of Snake Demons surged forward, letting out frenzied roars.

From within the shadows of the monster legion plunging down from above, a massive figure emerged.

The Skeletal Flying Dragon spewed flames as it pounced into the Snake Demon formation.

It stirred up fierce winds as piercing sonic booms resonated in the air. Wind blades swept across the swamp, slicing swarms of Snake Demons into a paste of flesh.

The Skeletal Flying Dragon circled in the First Layer of the Abyss, exuding arrogance.

A figure stood up on its head, gazing at Fallen Angel Melde.

The Fallen Angel raised her hand, forming a white light sword in one hand and condensing power into a black vortex in the other.

“Yafuan! This time, don’t think about going back.”

The Bone Demon King was extremely arrogant, as if victory was assured.

“Go back?”

“Of course I won’t go back.”

“This is the final war, and I will be the ultimate victor, the true master of the Abyss!”

The two sides began yet another round of warfare, and this time the intensity far exceeded previous encounters.

The Bone Field extended from the sky, and terrifying monsters crawled out of the swamp one after another, fighting in earth-shattering combat.

The clash of fourth-rank powers seemed as if it would tear apart the entire First Layer of the Abyss.

But this was in the First Layer of the Abyss. Even though the Bone Demon King had deployed his Bone Field, Fallen Angel Melde still used her vast monster legion to block his skeletal army.

It was evident that Fallen Angel Melde was deliberately forcing the Bone Demon King and his skeletal army toward a corner of the First Layer of the Abyss.

This time, Melde had a plan. She intended to give Bone Demon King Yafuan a real taste of her power.

She must severely wound him.

Or even kill him.

Therefore, the battle appeared exceptionally fierce. In some areas, Melde clearly held the advantage by encircling Yafuan’s skeletal army.

Yet on the main battlefield, she retreated step by step, as if she could not hold her ground.

Finally, she lured Bone Demon King Yafuan near the Gate of Spirituality and only then opened the great gate.

“Under the radiance of the divine, turn to ashes!”

Melde was triumphant and wanted this despicable thief to know it.

She was the divine’s favorite, the agent of God’s will in this world.

Yafuan instantly broke free from his frenzied state of killing and battle consciousness. Seeing that mythic gate emanating light not far away, he felt completely dismayed.

“What’s happening?”

“I clearly knew the danger of that gate, so why did I approach it unconsciously?”

“How could I do something so stupid?”

“How could I fall for such an obvious trap?”

Looking back, he wondered why he had launched this war with absolutely no chance of victory and why he had abandoned his advantage to invade the First Layer of the Abyss.

“Is something wrong?”

“Where did it go wrong?”

“No time to consider, I must quickly find a way to resist the power of that gate.”

In that instant, both sides had a flurry of thoughts.

Satisfaction, pride, preparing to witness the enemy’s miserable end.

Terror, astonishment, preparing for a desperate measure.

However, after waiting for a long time, both sides were ready for what would come next.

The mythic gate showed no movement.

Neither Bone Demon King Yafuan nor Fallen Angel Melde moved.

Both were somewhat dumbfounded.

Fallen Angel Melde looked back, “What’s happening?”

While Yafuan, riding his Skeletal Flying Dragon, quickly turned around, ready to retreat on the spot, “Let’s go!”

Melde turned back and saw a familiar figure who had suddenly appeared within the Abyss and was standing before the Gate of Spirituality.

She had features very similar to Melde’s and three pairs of pure white sacred wings behind her.

She looked directly at Melde, her eyes filled with complex emotions.

Melde immediately recognized her.

It was her former daughter.

“Duma?”

Without waiting for Melde to fully react, Duma extended her hand and unleashed her power as she merged with the Gate of Spirituality behind her.

“Gate of Spirituality!”

“Respond to my call, open for me!”

This time, the mythic gate quickly began to shake violently.

Completely different from when it faced Melde, it was as if the gate had found its true master.

Duma took the Gate of Spirituality from Melde, her authority far exceeding that of Melde.

The mythic gate opened completely for her.

It was no longer just a small crack but open to its limit.

Vast light surged from within the gate, covering Duma’s figure and illuminating the entire Abyss.

Duma turned to look at this mythic gate. It was the first time she had been so close to it.

She could clearly see the patterns on the gate, the Path of Wisdom belonging to the Lord of Radiance, and the imprints left by each reincarnation.

She raised her hand and could touch it without being separated by worlds.

A voice suddenly appeared in her mind, “I came from inside the gate. I am originally part of it.”

“I can control it and send it back to the realm of the gods where it belongs.”

Yet she also felt that once she entered the gate, she might not easily be able to leave.

She was a being born from within the gate, a part of the Gate of Spirituality.

However, she did not hesitate.

Duma walked step by step toward the Gate of Spirituality, finally crossing its threshold.

Standing in the world inside the gate, her body erupted with intense light as it connected with the power of the entire Gate of Spirituality. At the same time, she felt the Abyss repelling her, trying to corrupt and devour the mythic gate completely.

The Abyss stirred up great waves, entangling the mythic gate as if it wanted to keep it.

Duma dared not linger in this Abyss, formed by countless curses, the most rotten and foul domain in the world.

“Mythic gate of the Lord of Radiance!”

“Please, return with me to the world that belongs to You!”

Duma’s voice came from within the light as her form continued to transform.

Duma, empowered by the Gate of Spirituality, gradually grew a fourth pair of wings, temporarily attaining the rank of God’s Apostle.

Simultaneously, the Gate of Spirituality irresistibly sought to leave the Abyss and this defiled world.

It wanted to return to the realm where it belonged, the Dream Realm void in which the gods resided.

At that moment, Fallen Angel Melde finally awoke from her shock and immediately gave chase.

“No… Duma!”

“You cannot do this… you cannot do this…”

“The divine is mine, the divine is mine…”

“You cannot take Him away!”

She wanted to follow Duma, to follow her into the world beyond the Gate of Spirituality.

However, the sacred light swept Fallen Angel Melde aside, rejecting her entry.

Behind Melde, a hoarse voice suddenly sounded.

“Bone Field!”

Bone Demon King Yafuan instantly controlled his Skeletal Flying Dragon to swoop down and seize the opportunity to deal with Melde.

Melde suddenly lost the Gate of Spirituality, instantly losing her greatest support from Bone Demon King Yafuan.

More than a dozen giant bone arms, each tens of meters long, extended from the void, intertwining to seal Melde.

Melde immediately counterattacked, her light sword cutting through the bone arms one after another while the black vortex in her other hand expanded to clash with the Bone Demon King’s field power.

But behind Melde, a skeletal puppet a hundred meters tall suddenly arose.

“Whoosh!”

Its bone hand transformed into a sword that pierced Melde’s fourth-rank Swamp Demon, also wounding her source.

The fourth-rank Swamp Demon shattered into black rain, and a fist-sized black hole appeared in Fallen Angel Melde’s chest.

Fallen Angel Melde let out a miserable cry, “Ah!”

The black mud of the First Layer of the Abyss rose higher and higher, surrounding Fallen Angel Melde and catching her.

The mud also shielded her from the Bone Demon King’s further attacks.

The black mud pulled Melde into its depths, cocooning her in layers of black threads like a silkworm and stabilizing her wounds.

From her mouth came furious curses, “You traitors who blaspheme the divine, you filthy blasphemers!”

“You will suffer retribution!”

“You will be cursed by God!”

She cursed everything, including the Bone Demon King.

Suddenly, she looked up and saw the Gate of Spirituality.

“Hum, hum~”

The mythic gate freed itself from the filth, gradually leaving the Abyss and ascending to the heavens.

Duma turned away from the open gate, looking down with sadness at her mad and fallen mother.

“What is that?”

Under Melde’s incredulous gaze and in her trembling eyes, she saw that Duma had not only grown a fourth pair of wings but had even grown a fifth wing.

At this moment, Duma truly was an angel. She was the King of Angels.

“A fifth pair of wings?”

Duma’s identity as the descendant of the Lord of Radiance now fully manifested, an authority that Melde had coveted but could not obtain.

Her gaze moved from the wings to Duma’s face, a face so similar to her own.

“Duma?”

“You truly are… God’s daughter.”

“My child… with God.”

The Sky Messenger in the mythic gate watched as the gate gradually closed, speaking with some sadness to Melde, “Mother.”

“No… you are not my mother.”

“You are the Fallen Angel, Abyss Queen Melde.”

Duma shook her head, “I cannot save you.”

“I can only rectify the errors you made, reclaim the fallen light and glory.”

Melde suddenly froze, her expression fixed for an instant and then remaining motionless for a long time.

She remained frozen until she sank to the deepest layer of the black mud, about to be completely submerged.

Her expression changed instantly, revealing her cold and lofty features.

“Look… I knew you would surely accomplish it.”

Following that, she was completely pulled into darkness, falling into a deep slumber.

Melde lost the Gate of Spirituality and suffered severe wounds.

Her power was completely suppressed by Yafuan, though he had no way to kill her or strip her of her authority as the Abyss King.

She was only wounded and temporarily asleep.

The thousands of monsters under Melde’s command hid within the black mud sea, awaiting their master’s next summons as the entire Abyss Layer began to close.

With Melde’s slumber, the Gate of Spirituality emitted a thunderous sound.

“Boom!”

It closed completely, and the pure figure resembling the King of Angels also remained behind the gate.