As everyone was witnessing the miracle, Ian was busy "searching for teeth all over the ground"—no, he was looking for the shattered fragments of Ra's Eye.
"That's the crystallization of the Sun God's primordial power!" Ian muttered while searching, "Even shattered, they are invaluable treasures! Maybe they could be used to craft legendary potions, or to make top-tier magic items..."
As a Prince, his sensitivity to these rare magic materials was practically innate. Furthermore, he remembered the reason he originally came to this era was to follow the instructions of Ancient Titan Claire, to find the fragments of Ra's Eye and bring them back for other purposes.
"Aha! Found a piece!" Ian exclaimed excitedly, picking up a fingernail-sized gold fragment from a pile of rubble. The fragment felt slightly warm in his hand, emitting pure solar energy.
He carefully placed the fragment into a specially made lead box—this material best prevents the loss of magic energy. Then he continued to search for the next piece.
Ian Prince could not afford to pay attention to the sacred scene playing out in the sky, as his entire focus was on the shimmering fragments on the ground. After the explosion of Ra's Eye, countless fragments imbued with the primordial power of the Sun God scattered like golden stars across the ravaged land.
"There's a piece here... and another one there!"
Ian mumbled to himself, his eyes scanning every corner with the sharpness of an eagle. He carefully avoided the writhing remnants of the Evil God, focusing on collecting those priceless fragments.
It wasn't just for Claire's commission; as a Prince, his instinctual desire for rare magic materials nearly overwhelmed everything else. These fragments were not only the crystallization of solar divine power, but also alchemy materials that were rare even through the ages—perhaps capable of producing potions beyond the times or crafting legendary-level magic items.
"Ah!"
Ian gasped softly, spotting a larger fragment embedded in half a stone pillar. He carefully pried it out with his magic wand, the fragment emitting warm energy fluctuations as if it were still alive. Just as he was about to store this fragment in the special lead box, a sinister roar suddenly echoed from the sky.
"Ra!!"
The already fragmented Set-Apep had not yet completely perished. The remaining dark energy reformed into a twisted shadow, not as powerful as before, but its malevolence was even more pure and intense.
"You destroyed everything of mine!"
The remnants of the Evil God let out a piercing shriek, "What I cannot have, no one shall possess!"
The shadow unleashed its final surge of strength, transforming into countless black spikes aimed at the Sun God Ra, who was absorbing divine power. These attacks were chaotic, a desperate counterattack born of madness.
Ra didn't even bat an eye. The black spikes disintegrated on their own several feet away from him, like snowflakes meeting the blazing sun.
"Pitiful creature, indeed merely a product of tragedy." Ra's voice was tinged with a trace of pity, "At this point, do you still not understand that your defeat was inevitable?"
But the Evil God had completely lost his reason, frantically gathering his last strength, launching wave after wave of futile attacks. Dark energy metamorphosed into various horrific forms.
Grotesque beasts, corrosive rainstorms, twisted spatial rifts, yet all of these were mere child's play in front of the true Sun God.
Ian continued to collect fragments while observing this uneven battle.
He noticed that although the Evil God's attacks were intense, they were swiftly depleting his last primordial power. Like an oil lamp burning its last drops of oil, the light was bright, but it was destined to extinguish soon.
"Why?!"
Set-Apep roared, his voice filled with regret and venom, "I calculated everything! I devoured so many souls, absorbed so much knowledge, why did I still fail?!"
Ra finally faced the twisted shadow: "Because you never understood that true power lies not in how much you devour, but in how much you comprehend. You plundered countless wisdoms, yet you never truly understood them."
As he spoke, Ra lightly waved his hand, a golden light pierced through the shadow like a sharp sword. The Evil God let out a wretched scream, and the dark energy began to disperse more rapidly.
The golden divine power surged like an inexhaustible galaxy, continuously pouring into the Sun God suspended in the air. That small figure became increasingly solid and majestic under the pure divine radiance, the two burning solar eyes overlooking the land, melting the purple-red flesh remnants of the Evil God beneath the fierce sunlight, sizzling as they did.
The Evil God rapidly carbonized and disintegrated, turning into black ashes that drifted away with the wind. The dark red sky completely faded, a pure sky blue once again covering the horizon like a freshly cleansed canvas.
The long-awaited, warm sunlight was no longer the twisted purple-red of the Evil God, but the true, life-giving gold, generously falling, dispelling the thousand-year-old shadows and deathly silence. In the city ruins, sprouts broke through the earth, fresh springs flowed, the injured healed, believers wept with joy, and the fountain of life began to run anew.
However, just as everything was reviving, and order was being rebuilt in this tranquil beginning, the critically damaged, lingering consciousness of the Evil God did not disperse like dust. Its remaining massive body, no longer a proper form, lay sprawled over the ruins of the temple like a living tomb of decaying purple-black flesh and twisted bones, emitting a foul stench.