A spacious chamber. Marble floor. Soft silk. Gold. Ancient artifacts pulsating with life energy. Dorn sat surrounded by riches and status that could make anyone go mad. Any item from this room could propel someone to a new height of power.

But these things felt like a burden for him.

A normal person would see these riches and think of power.

He saw the responsibility and weight of the entire Spirit Realm that he oversees.

It was choking him from all sides, especially after what happened.

Zorina’s authorization of the Sky Judgment drew the attention of all other Sky Cities. Now, even the Supreme Elders have their attention fixated on this. It’s good that Dorn didn’t need to put much effort into drawing their attention, but the suddenness made him unprepared.

Just earlier, he heard from Malvis, the Gatekeeper of Shadow, that Zorina and Rezar were talking.

Nothing about their union is a good thing for Dorn.

One is blinded by pride, and the other is blinded by vengeance for the humiliation he endured.

Dorn was forced to quickly ask for an audience with the attending Elders and Supreme Elders. He tried to convince them with the threat from Chaos, but the decision ended up being delayed because of Zorina and Rezar, who argued about the destruction and lives that were lost in the attack.

It was hard to convince the Supreme Elders when the death count reached millions.

Now, he is sitting in the Hall of Gatekeepers, contemplating hard about what he needs to do next.

Sitting on a magnificent chair with red and gold embroidery to the side was Malvis.

He stared at the hard lines on Dorn’s face and could tell that the situation was incredibly bad.

“I already talked with the other Gatekeepers,” Malvis started, breaking the silence. “Most of them were not present during the attack, so they are easier to convince. But they are asking to meet with Dominar to get the full picture.”

“Not going to happen,” Dorn used his fingers to press against his temples. “I can’t let them do that.”

“I don’t understand. Why not?”

“That usurper, Rex, wanted to sacrifice Dominar to increase the aptitude of a few Spirits he owned. One is from the Tridan House. If something were to happen to him—I would’ve lost the only thing I can use to bargain with him.”

Malvis leaned onto the table and clasped his hands.

“You and I can watch over the others while they talk with Dominar,” He offered a solution—knowing that one side has to take a risk for this to go forward. “If we couldn’t extend our hand to them, then they would not believe us. It’s already easy for Zorina and Rezar to convince the others with their approach. If we don’t compromise, we’re going to lose.”

Above all, Malvis knew that Dorn had always been someone fiercely uptight with his duty.

He is the model-perfect of what a Gatekeeper should aspire to be.

That alone is enough of a reason for him to side with Dorn, but that’s not the same with the others.

Dorn remained silent for a good moment.

Initially, Malvis thought he was thinking about what was being talked about. But it wasn’t the case.

“Ricco,” Dorn flicked his fingers. A magma droplet landed on the marble floor, and in an instant, the droplet transformed into the person he was calling for. “Bring half of our forces here, and send the other half down. Choke the factions tied to the Gatekeeper of the Sky and Light.”

“I’ll make the arrangements,” Ricco bowed and then returned to a droplet of lava.

He disappeared without a trace to carry out his orders.

“Are you insane…?” Malvis sucked in a cold breath. “That’ll start a civil war!”

“I’d rather start a civil war than sit back as I watch our realm crumble.”

“Crumble? What in the world are you talking about? If it’s Chaos, we can still fight back.”

Dorn wanted to agree with Malvis. He wanted to say it proudly that the Spirit Realm can fight back the forces of Chaos, and came out with their flags raised high. As one of the Gatekeepers, his pride in the Sky People is unquestionable.

But this time, it was different.

“You know what I know,” Dorn clenched the armrests hard with his hands. “How long has it been since the Black Rift appeared? How many lives had our realm lost? How much land we lost? I long-awaited beings from the God Realm to help, but none came to help until now. None.

“We don’t have any answer to the Black Rift, Malvis,” He looked tiredly at his friend. “We’re exposed.”

Malvis understood this well.

He understood the frustration and knew that their realm might not survive.

The Black Rift grew thicker and stronger. Voidal Monarchs gradually increase in number. Settlements for Spirits grew fewer and fewer. Obelisks of Lives are slowly dying with time. Soon, very soon, Chaos would claim the Spirit Realm.

And there’s no answer from everyone other than trying to slow down their destruction.

“We can’t blindly rely only on the God Realm. We needed to have an answer of our own.”

“Can he do it? Can that usurper really do it?”

“Rex is an undeniable supernatural force that we might be able to depend on,” Dorn stared ahead, his eyes replayed the night of the attack—like a lucid dream. “A man like him didn’t seek power—as we did. Power seeks him to the point he might never ever know true peace. His gift is his insanity to go to any length to get what he wants.

“You and I have seen it. That night… We’ve seen him from the lens of his enemies,” His body shivered at the thought. “Slaughtering a house the moment he stepped into our realm. Reaching the Eternal Spirit rank in months. Forcing a High Priestess to abandon her oath. Destroying an empire from within. Using a Voidal Monarch to do his bidding. Confronting our forces with a big smile on his face, even with the possibility of dying.

“Look at his followers…” Dorn continued, recalling Amanir’s and Linthia’s eyes. “There was no doubt behind their eyes. I’m sure they’ve gone through impossible situations with him multiple times already in the Mortal Realm. Dominar thinks he is a God in a mortal body. He thinks if Rex willed destruction on others, then fate will listen.”

Dorn summoned a scroll from lava and tossed it to Malvis.

It was the report he had gotten after telling his men to investigate everything about Rex since his arrival.

“Read the last part,” he said.

Malvis read the last part and sucked in a cold breath.

Stated there that the symbol engraved on the Sky City that was left behind by Rex couldn’t be erased, no matter what they did. And the ripples from the power he exerted that night elevated the life energy concentration in a hundred-mile radius.

Every trace he left behind rippled with enormous power.

Even the Black Rift was pushed away, turning the area below the Sky City into a bright clearing.

Malvis thought Dominar was exaggerating.

But now that he has seen the report, he started to believe that Rex might actually be a God in disguise.

“I’m one of the strongest entities in this realm, Malvis.” Dorn’s eyes were steady. Nothing clouded his vision at this very moment. “I’ve faced many things in my entire life, but when I met his gaze that night, I felt powerless, and my knees shook. Do you understand….?

“Chaos wanted him for a reason, and it’s wise for us to help him grow.” He added, his tone final.

Accepting the truth that their realm is hopeless against Chaos is hard to swallow.

Malvis still believed that there was some way out there—that they could use to defend their realm against the forces of Chaos. But he’s wise enough to know that the probability is low—and there might not be much time left to find it.

He was sure Dorn also felt the same way.

A small part of him also wanted to defend the realm with its own strength.

But leadership shines when one can push aside emotions and look at the bigger picture.

“How do you think can we hook him to our realm?” Malvis asked.

“No—we don’t hook him. Our goal is to make him a friendly ally. Hooking him to us would only make the relationship transactional and insincere,” Dorn shook his head. “And more than that, we don’t need to. Others already did it for us.”

“Others?”

“Yes. Above all, Rex is young. He got close with a few women from the Haeltara Empire.”

Upon hearing this, Malvis chuckled.

There was a reason why, even until now, arranged marriages are still prevalent in their realm.

It’s simply the flow of nature for people to connect with one another.

“Erlin…” Malvis called, and from his own shadow, another person emerged. A silhouette with piercing eyes. “Gather all our forces and assist the Gatekeeper of Lava’s forces. Support in any way possible, no matter how insane.”

Not even answering, the silhouette disappeared again.

…

From Princess Davina and Lilliana, Rex learned the situation regarding the empire.

He first learned the good news—that Emperor Dominar had been taken away by the Sky People. Some mentioned that the Gatekeepers took him, which was good news for Rex, as at least Dorn wasn’t working together with Emperor Dominar to go against him.

And though the emperor was gone, the empire hadn’t fallen, but it’s now in chaos.

Many houses made small factions to work together in order to claim the throne.

Soon, there will be a massive civil war, which was unavoidable when the throne becomes empty.

Rex hoped April was okay being in the chaos, but he wasn’t worried. Great Elder Rosa knew what she meant for him, so there’s no chance she’d let anything happen to April. Other than that, he also felt a bit bad for Althea.

She defended him when Emperor Dominar decided to execute him.

For plunging the empire into the depth of anarchy it was in right now, she must have been furious at him.

But then again, Rex has no other choice.

He’d do her right now that he got what he needed.

It took almost two days for the Shade Crawlers, along with Linthia, Amanir, and Devo, to arrive at the hideout. Rex had made contact with Varya and told her his location through telepathy. It was a bit far, and there are dangers lurking along the way, so it took time to reach him.

“Princess Davina,” Amanir greeted politely, noticing the changes in her appearance.

“Devoratar Tridan,” She nodded in amusement. “So, you’re the one Rex is trying to reach in the Sky City. I must say, you really brought a great deal of trouble to the empire. He basically destroyed it to get to you.”

Amanir offered a wry smile.

He knew that there were a lot of things he needed to do to avoid becoming a burden.

Rex has made it clear to him.

“I knew that among the nobles, you’d be the one fitted for Rex,” He pointed at his own ears, gesturing at her wolf ears. “Congratulations on becoming a Silverstar. You surrendered yourself to the shortcut to power in exchange for endless enemies.”

Princess Davina chuckled at the comment.

She already knew what she was getting into by being with Rex, so it’s fine.

“Where’s Rex?” Linthia intervened. She has a message to deliver, yet she couldn’t sense Rex anywhere. Even her power couldn’t trace where Rex went.

“He should be somewhere nearby,” Lilliana looked around, remembering that he excused himself not too long ago. He left about half an hour ago. “Just wait for him. Let’s go to the hideout lest a troublesome voidal monster spot us.”

…

Several miles away.

Rex sat within an underground chamber. A sophisticated layer of formation covered the entire chamber, blocking his aura and scent. Even if there was a Voidal Monarch right above him, it wouldn’t be able to sense that he was underground.

Before him are dozens of blood-red crystals.

He stretched his hands and cracked his neck, “Let’s see how many strands I’ll get from these.”