However, on Ranni's beautiful body, a huge scar, like a centipede, was branded on her back.
Even at this moment, black-red god-slaying flames still burned on the wound.
At this moment, under the erosion of Destined Death, Ranni's divine body gradually withered and faded like a flower deprived of water.
The power of Destined Death continuously eroded every inch of her skin, devouring all the vitality of this body.
Although she had only recently died, she was already shriveled, as dry as a mummy that had died a hundred years ago.
And on the offering table not far from this corpse, a Fingerslayer Blade glimmering with starlight emitted a faint glow, while Ranni's translucent soul floated above it, gazing at Xiao.
At the same time, Ranni's teacher, the Snow Witch, merely glanced up at Xiao before burying her head again, focusing on crafting Ranni's delicate puppet body.
"Have you come to reclaim your power, O Empyrean of the past law?"
The petite soul of Ranni sat elegantly atop the Fingerslayer Blade, her fingertips touching as she slowly asked Xiao in a slightly languid voice.
"In the last conflict, death was defeated by eternity, proving the error of the Golden Order. Now that the Elden Ring is shattered, I am summoned by the Elden Beast and return to the Lands Between once more.
This time, Destined Death will become the law of this world; all things must die!"
Xiao nodded slightly, affirming Ranni's inquiry, and at the same time declared his stance, essentially stating that Marika's Golden Order had failed, and that he would re-enter the stage to replace Marika as the new god of the Lands Between.
"Suit yourself!"
A subtle hint of disdain flashed in Ranni's eyes.
God?
From the Night of the Black Knives, from the moment Marika shattered the Elden Ring, it was impossible for a god to ever be born in the Lands Between again.
She would not allow it, nor would Marika allow the rebirth of a deity!
All Empyreans dreaming of godhood would ultimately be shattered by reality, breaking in despair.
Xiao reached out and gently stroked the enormous Cursemark of Death on Ranni's back, clearly feeling the law of Destined Death inviting and calling to him.
"Return, return to my side, my other half!"
Xiao responded, calling out to the Da Luo Dao Fruit, which had completely merged with Destined Death.
However, what emerged from Ranni's corpse was not merely Destined Death, but also half of the Cursemark of Death.
Perhaps this was what completely destroyed Ranni's Empyrean body, allowing the power of Destined Death to pierce through the Lands Between's Golden Order and undergo some qualitative change.
It had actually evolved into a Great Rune, something even the previous Queen of the Dusk-Eyed had never achieved.
And the half Great Rune formed on Ranni possessed the ability to inflict absolute death upon the physical body.
Any body harmed by the death rune, even if it was just a small wound, would eventually rapidly wither under the erosion of the power of death.
The fundamental reason for the birth of this half Great Rune lay in the essence of the laws in the Lands Between.
Within the Lands Between, laws are the core of an Empyrean's power; as long as someone fulfills the basic tenets of a law, they can acquire corresponding power.
When enough law is accumulated, it can form a Great Rune, a fragment of the Elden Ring; when several Great Runes are fused together, they form the Elden Ring.
Currently, the basic tenets of the Golden Order, which dominates the Lands Between, are the principle of causality and the principle of regression. To put it bluntly, it's about finding an excuse and then plundering everything.
Ostensibly, it transforms its own power into blessings bestowed upon all things, granting all its subjects eternal life and power.
But secretly, it uses the Golden Order to draw away the opponent's power.
After the opponent's death, their soul and their own power return to the Erdtree, allowing it to gain everything from the opponent.
The Golden Order can continuously grow stronger through repeated cycles of blessing and returning to the tree, ultimately causing the power of the entire world to flow into the Erdtree's vast ocean, like rivers flowing into the sea.
This is the basic tenet of the Erdtree: all things originate from the Erdtree, and all things end in the Erdtree!
This is the essence of the Golden Order; it just sounds grand.
But upon analyzing its essence, one would discover that it is filled with villainy, primarily advocating for a hegemonic principle of "Open the gates, free trade."
If you use anything from the Erdtree, then everything you possess belongs to the Erdtree; even usury doesn't work this way.
But in fact, the Queen of the Dusk-Eyed was defeated by Marika's golden packaging.
The basic tenets of the law of Destined Death are simple and crude: the principle of good and evil, and the principle of death.
To put it simply: killing people makes you stronger.
The principle of good and evil grants apostles a Dusk-Eye, allowing them to perceive the good and evil of all beings.
The principle of death grants Destined Death to sinners who destroy the world and others' happiness, thereby allowing its wielder to acquire power.
Previously, in the era before Marika became a god, the Queen of the Dusk-Eyed and her subordinates—the Godskins and the Great Serpent—all obtained more of the law of Destined Death by collecting the deaths of sinners.
Under the law of the Queen of the Dusk-Eyed, the world would become one where good is rewarded and evil is punished; good people would receive blessings, and evil people would suffer punishment.
It's just a pity that the simple and crude nature of Destined Death caused the Queen of the Dusk-Eyed to be defeated by Marika's brilliant and magnificent Golden Order.
Not only was she hanged by Marika, but even her own power was completely negated by the Golden Order and excluded from it.
…
…
As soon as the half death rune returned to Xiao's body, it began to transform Xiao's physical body once again.
Black and golden-white mixed flames blazed fiercely, calcining Xiao's body from the inside out, gradually transforming it into a black-red hue.
At the same time, Xiao's form quickly changed into that of Wu Meiniang.
The Law of Death is the power of the Queen of the Dusk-Eyed; its most suitable recipient is naturally female. Therefore, Destined Death began trying to change his gender, turning him into the next Queen of the Dusk-Eyed.
However, Xiao is not a normal human; he is actually similar to Marika, possessing both male and female bodies.
Therefore, Xiao unhesitatingly transferred the power of the death rune to his other body, allowing Wu Meiniang to bear the changes brought by the law.
"Damn it, what did you put in me? This thing is really powerful, it burns so much!"
Through their psychic link, a torrent of messages immediately came from Wu Meiniang's side. Clearly, as the primary recipient, she also felt the extraordinary nature of this power.
"The Law of Death, compiled by an Empyrean. From now on, you will focus on this power!"
Xiao casually replied, then unilaterally cut off his psychic connection with Wu Meiniang; he was simply too lazy to listen to her complaints.
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