Far away—
The wind howled across the frozen wasteland.
Snow drifted endlessly through the sky, covering the earth in an endless blanket of white. Every step Ellie took left a trail of footprints that disappeared only moments later beneath the storm.
Everything was quiet.
Too quiet.
Ellie black armor was stained with dried blood from the battle inside Lady Seraphina castle.
The bloodied cloak hanging from her shoulders fluttered violently as the northern wind pushed against it.
She didn't look back.
There was nothing left to look back at.
Seraphina had refused.
Not because she didn't want to help...
Because she couldn't.
"They'll kill us both..."
Those words echoed inside Ellie's mind.
She tightened her grip around the handle of her sword.
Brother... please make it to the temple.
Please...
The snow continued falling.
...
Then—
SHHHHK!
A dagger flew through the air.
Ellie's instincts screamed.
She twisted her head at the last possible second.
The blade sliced across the back of her ear.
A thin line of blood appeared.
The dagger continued flying until it buried itself into a glacier hundreds of meters away.
Ellie slowly reached behind her ear.
Her fingertips came back red.
Silence.
"..."
She turned around.
The moment she did...
Her heart stopped.
Seven figures stood across the snowy plain.
Not soldiers.
Not assassins.
Not yokais.
The other Seven Emperors.
Each one radiated enough mana to twist the air around them.
Emperor Kai stood in the center.
His orange cloak danced with living flames.
Behind him stood a woman with silver-blue hair whose mere presence caused frost to bloom across the snow.
Emperor of the Sea — Nerissa.
Beside her stood a man wearing black armor . His black eyes overlooked everything as if the world itself belonged to him. Emperor of Sovereignty — Caelus.
A young man lazily spun a spear surrounded by lightning.Every movement distorted gravity itself.Emperor of Storms — Raizen.
A woman wearing emerald robes stood silently.Leaves floated around her despite there being no trees for miles.Life itself answered her call.Empress of Verdancy — Sylvara.
Standing beside her was a giant armored man. His armor looked carved from obsidian mountains.Every breath made the ground crack beneath his feet. Emperor of Titans — Darius.
And finally...Standing with his hands inside his pockets...
Smiling.
Lucifer.
The Emperor of Death.
His dark red eyes met Ellie's.
A chill crawled down her spine.
Kai smiled.
"Well..."
"Well..."
"What do we have here?"
Nobody spoke.
Only the blizzard answered.
Kai sighed dramatically.
"We're disappointed."
"So very disappointed."
His smile disappeared.
"To betray us..."
"We called you family."
Nerissa lowered her eyes.
"We trusted you."
Sylvara looked genuinely saddened.
"We ate together."
"We fought together."
"We bled together."
"And now..."
She slowly unsheathed her emerald blade.
"You disobey our heros, our lord and saviors, the great divine contractors ."
Ellie drew her own sword.
Steel rang through the mountains.
"I never betrayed anyone or disobey orders ."
Kai laughed.
"Oh?"
"You met with Lady Seraphina to talk bad about us and don't lie we were listening."
"You met a mysterious man."
"You left your post where your family is"
"You disappeared."
"You ignored summons."
He tilted his head.
"What exactly do you call that?"
Ellie's eyes narrowed.
"So you've been watching me."
Lucifer smiled.
"We watch everyone."
Silence.
Snow continued falling.
Ellie slowly shifted into her fighting stance.
One versus seven.
She already knew.
There was no winning.
Only surviving.
Kai sighed.
"Look at that."
"She's pointing her sword at family."
Lucifer suddenly disappeared.
Ellie's instincts screamed.
Too late.
A voice whispered behind her ear.
"I always knew you were trash."
Her eyes widened.
BOOOOOOOM!!
Lucifer's fist slammed into the side of her face.
The impact folded her jaw sideways.
Blood burst from her mouth.
Her ears ruptured.
The world spun.
Her body became a blur before crashing through a massive boulder.
CRAAAAAASH!!
Stone exploded across the mountainside.
Dust mixed with snow.
Silence.
For a moment...
Nothing moved.
Then—
The rubble shifted.
Ellie pushed the boulder off herself.
Blood dripped from her lips.
Her left ear rang endlessly.
Her vision doubled.
Still...
She stood.
Lucifer whistled.
"Impressive."
"Most people would've died."
Ellie abilities, Sacred Echo of the Divine, awakened. Threads of holy light and fate overlapped in her mind as her precognitive insight surged — she could see the immediate future and the overlapping possibilities of every movement around her. Brilliant radiant light exploded from her body, infused with divine frost. The frozen earth instantly became covered with glowing holy patterns.
Kai smiled wider.
Raizen spun his spear.
"I call first."
He vanished.
Lightning erupted.
Ellie barely raised her sword, her holy foresight already showing her the exact path of the strike a heartbeat before it arrived.
CLAAAAANG!!
A spear crashed against her blade.
The impact shattered the glacier beneath them.
Ellie slid backward dozens of meters.
Before she could recover—
Sylvara raised one hand.
Massive thorn-covered vines burst from beneath the frozen ground.
Impossible.
Nothing should have grown here.
The vines wrapped around Ellie's ankle.
She slashed them apart instantly, her enhanced perception letting her read the flow of life energy within them.
But that single moment...
Was enough.
Darius arrived.
His enormous fist descended like a falling mountain.
Ellie crossed both arms.
BOOOOOOOOM!!
The entire valley shook.
Her knees buckled.
The ice beneath her exploded.
She was driven deep into the frozen earth.
Blood poured from her nose.
Every bone in her arms screamed.
Still...
She refused to kneel.
She roared.
Her Sacred Echo flared. An explosion of radiant holy light and frost launched Darius backward as she marked the battlefield with threads of divine insight.
Ellie burst from the crater.
Her sword flashed.
A crescent of holy radiant echo — a blade of concentrated divine light carrying her precognitive will and fate threads — raced toward the Emperors.
Nerissa stepped forward.
"...Cute."
She gently lifted one finger.
The ocean itself answered.
Water rose from beneath the frozen continent.
An impossible tidal wave materialized from nowhere.
It swallowed Ellie's attack whole.
The holy radiant echo vanished without leaving so much as a scratch.
Ellie's eyes widened.
Impossible...
She erased it...
Kai folded his arms.
"Enough."
His flames ignited.
The temperature rose instantly.
Snow melted.
Ice evaporated.
Steam covered the battlefield.
Golden flames wrapped around Kai's body like living dragons.
Ellie had seen that fire before.
It was stronger now.
Far stronger.
Kai looked almost disappointed.
"You've gotten weaker."
Ellie gritted her teeth.
"No."
"I've simply stopped fighting for monsters."
Kai sighed.
"What a shame."
He raised his hand.
The sky caught fire.
A gigantic flaming spear formed above the mountains.
Its size eclipsed entire hills.
Ellie felt cold.
Not because of the snow.
Because she knew...
That attack would kill her.
She steadied her breathing.
If she was going to die...
She would die standing.
She lowered herself into one final stance.
Mana surged through every vein in her body.
The frost around her became dazzling, woven with threads of holy light and prophetic insight.
Kai prepared to throw the spear.
Then—
A voice echoed across the mountains.
Calm.
Cold.
Absolute.
"...Let her go."
The flaming spear froze midair.
Every Emperor turned.
Lucifer's smile disappeared.
Kai's confident expression cracked for the first time.
Ellie slowly looked toward the distant blizzard.
Someone...
Was walking toward them.
Hidden completely by the snow.
Only their silhouette could be seen.
Step.
Step.
Step.
The entire mountain range had fallen silent.
No one spoke.
No one moved.
Only those footsteps continued drawing closer.