Teacher by day, Farmer by passion

Sarah chuckled softly, like someone amused by a child refusing to hand over a toy.

"So be it," she said, brushing back a strand of hair. "Let me show you what a true Divine Step cultivator can do."

Ace's soul then trembled.

Something primal screamed inside him. His body moved before his mind caught up.

"—RUN!!" he roared, voice amplified by soul force.

But it was too late.

When he turned—

He saw Lily.

She wasn't smiling not was she wasn't laughing.

There she was, standing still, frozen mid-step, her twin daggers slack in her fingers.

Her eyes were wide, confused and almost hurt as if she didn't understand what had just happened.

Sarah hadn't moved.

There was no light. No sign of a technique used. Nor the sound of any chant.

It was just a thought, a moment gone.

The world stood stilled.

Air collapsed in on itself. Space bent like glass under heat.

And then, Lily's knees gave way.

Her torso slid sideways, cleanly severed at the waist.

Her head followed next, tilting slightly as it fell, red threads trailing behind like ribbons.

Ace stood there, unable to breathe.

His mind refused to accept it.

Lily, the storm, the chaos, the madness.

His first ever companion in this world. Despite being a spirit bot, she was the most humane.

She had taken care of him, taken care of his system space, taken care of everything and never complained (much.)

Gone. She was gone.

Cut through without even a flick of the wrist.

H-how...?

That was the last thing Lily whispered, a single word caught in stunned disbelief before everything went silent.

She hit the ground without a sound.

Her twin blades struck the dirt a heartbeat before her torso did.

Still crossed. Still trying to protect.

Even in death, she was ready to fight.

Even the winds forgot how to blow.

Queen Arlen's eyes were locked on the spot. Her blade trembled.

The entire Falmuth army stood paralyzed, too stunned to scream or move.

Ace didn't move.

He couldn't.

His heart slammed against his ribs.

His thoughts spiraled in every direction but made no sense.

He didn't see what happened.

There had been no warning. Not a buildup.

Just—

Gone.

Sarah stood still, hands at her sides, her expression soft. Pitying.

"She was strong," she said quietly, as if offering condolences. "But strength means nothing when you're two steps behind time."

Ace clenched his fists so hard his knuckles bled.

His soul burned—not with rage.

But with fear.

Because now he understood.

They weren't fighting an overwhelming enemy.

They were facing a force that shouldn't exist in this world.

Sarah turned to him, calm as ever.

"Would you like to hand over the beast now?"

Ace stared, soul churning.

So this... this is what a Divine Step cultivator is capable of?

Is this where I meet my end?

But instead of despair, a strange relief washed over him. As if some part of him had already made peace with whatever came next.

The soldiers of the Falmuth Kingdom, however, felt no such comfort.

They trembled. Some backed away instinctively.

Their strongest combatant had fallen.

The battlefield was silent.

Not from awe, but from despair.

The soldiers of the Falmuth Kingdom, already battered and outnumbered, now stood still, shattered in spirit.

Their only hope had been raw willpower, the belief that they could hold the line with legends like Lily, Arlen, and Ace.

Now that belief lay in pieces, just like Lily's body.

On the opposite side, the Tharz Kingdom's ranks were erupting with joy.

Cheers spread like wildfire. Confidence surged.

With Sarah, the only known Divine Step cultivator in existence, on their side, this war wasn't just winnable.

It was already won.

Just then Ace felt a tremor in the web of reality around them, like a ripple passing through the structure of a dream.

It was the same moment yet something had changed.

Sarah looked at him again.

But this time… she didn't repeat her demand.

Her gaze, still calm and unreadable, lingered on his face with something that almost resembled curiosity.

Then she smiled, not cruelly, not mockingly, but like someone offering a second path.

"So," she said softly, "instead of further bloodshed… wouldn't you prefer we settle this without the dead?"

Ace didn't respond immediately.

He glanced at Lily, who was very much alive—grinning, bloodied, and breathing.

He checked the sky, the field, his own stance—every particle of soul force around him.

Everything was exactly as it had been seconds ago.

Before Lily had fallen.

Before despair had taken hold.

Before the battlefield shattered under the weight of what Divine Step meant.

Ace's throat tightened slightly.

A vision?

No… too detailed. Too absolute. His soul had responded to it like it was real.

Not illusion. Not dream.

A warning. Or a bargain.

He looked back at Sarah.

She still stood, composed, divine. Her hands folded behind her back.

Ace's eyes narrowed—not from distrust, but calculation.

If she could show him what would happen… did she already know every move they could make? Was she playing some other game entirely?

"…That's not what you said last time," he muttered.

Sarah's smile didn't falter.

"I say many things, Xiao Zhi," she replied smoothly. "But you only need to listen once."

Ace's voice was low and wary.

"What are your intentions with the beast?"

Sarah blinked slowly, then smiled, pleasant, polite… dismissive.

"That's really none of your business."

She started to turn, but then paused. "Oh. But since it is your soul bond, I'll let you in on a little secret."

She held up a finger, and the air around her shimmered like heated glass.

"The door to the Immortal Realm," she said softly, "can only be opened with the core of a divine beast."

Ace's breath caught.

He opened his mouth to respond but as he spoke, he heard her voice at the same time:

"Did you—"

"—plan everything ever since the beginning?"

The words left their lips as one.

Ace froze.

His heart stilled for half a second.

His gaze met hers, but she was already smiling, grinning, like a god amused by the last piece of a puzzle finally slotting into place.

She tilted her head, eyes gleaming with something far deeper than cruelty.

"Yes."