"It's you."
Azik recognized the woman before him and was somewhat shocked, but he soon relaxed, understanding the purpose of Her visit tonight.
"You're late." He had already said these words to Miss Arianna during the day.
The Primordial Phoenix Gregrace had already obtained the Uniqueness of the Death pathway. If the person before him wanted to seize it, there was only one option: start a divine war.
"Now is precisely the right time." Her voice had no fluctuations, like a bowl of plain water, bland and tasteless.
Azik still did not understand exactly what these words meant when the person spoke again.
"You only need to cooperate. Do not resist in any way."
"What are you trying to do? Start a divine war?"
Azik's heart tightened. He had already vaguely guessed what She wanted him to do, as well as the meaning behind Her earlier words about this being the right time.
What happened tonight should have been deliberately allowed by Her. The purpose was to make Gregrace join forces with him to suppress Salinger's consciousness.
For this reason, during the day, She had even sent Her believer to look for him, deliberately stimulating Gregrace.
Now, half of Salinger's consciousness had been devoured while the other half had been suppressed. She would then use him to awaken a fragment of Salinger's consciousness once more.
In this way, Salinger, who had already been driven into a desperate situation, would have only one path left once he realized the danger he was in: fight back with everything he had.
And this would consume most of Gregrace's attention, thereby giving Her the initiative in the divine war!
Just imagining it, Azik could already see Gregrace being caught in an awkward situation, having to resist Salinger's desperate counterattack on one side while dealing with a True God of an adjacent pathway on the other.
Without outside assistance, Gregrace had absolutely no chance of winning.
"Looks like you've already understood." Seeing the hesitation on Azik's face, She added, "Regardless of the outcome, you can still live the life you want."
"Sigh…" Azik sighed, his emotions complicated. He had no particular dislike for this new God of Death, but he had no way to resist the arrangements being made now.
True Gods stood high above all others, while he was destined to be nothing more than a useful chess piece. Whoever picked up this chess piece could use it to make the next move.
"Let's go."
Azik did not resist. He allowed the power belonging to the Night to envelop him and bring him into the night sky.
Within the dense world of darkness, Azik saw Gregrace, who had suddenly disappeared just moments ago.
A gigantic phoenix covered most of the night sky with its wings. Golden flames gathered around every inch of Her body, while the golden crown atop Her head contained enough flames to reduce the entire Southern Continent to ashes.
And Her opponent at this moment was not the Evernight Goddess before him, but the Twilight Giant wielding the Twilight Greatsword!
The tall and burly figure wore twilight armor and held a giant sword in his hand, bringing about the twilight of all things.
The divine war had truly begun!
Who could have imagined that the Evernight Goddess and the God of Combat, these two mortal enemies, would join forces tonight to kill the resurrected Primordial Phoenix!
Azik's emotions surged with excitement and shock. This was a confrontation between True Gods!
Although the God of Combat was not on Earth and was merely descending through an avatar, Gregrace was likewise not in a complete state. Apart from the Uniqueness, She should have only fused with a single Sequence 1 Beyonder characteristic.
On top of that, the Evernight Goddess was watching from the sidelines. Gregrace had absolutely no chance of winning tonight!
Azik only needed one glance to silently sentence Gregrace to death in his heart.
What made him even more terrified was that the God of Combat was actually willing to leave His back exposed to the Evernight Goddess without the slightest concern that She might take advantage of the situation and stab Him in the back at a critical moment.
There had to be other True Gods involved behind the scenes. They had vouched for the Evernight Goddess, allowing the God of Combat to attack Gregrace without any reservations.
"The time is almost right."
The Evernight Goddess did not give Azik much time to think. Her right hand transformed into a black sickle and precisely cut open Azik's forehead, which had already completely healed.
A black fissure split through the flesh, causing the ancient bird-shaped golden ornament to appear once more!
Her other hand reached over, grasped the ancient golden ornament, and forcefully pulled it out.
"Ah…" Even though Azik had already been mentally prepared, he could not help but groan in pain as he once again experienced the agony of having his soul torn apart.
This kind of pain originating from the depths of the soul was far more intense than having one's flesh cut apart again and again or having one's bones smashed.
It was like being crushed beneath a giant boulder, inch by inch, until one's entire body was ground into ashes.
The Evernight Goddess immediately drew upon the power of the Night, prying open a corner of the Phoenix's seal. Salinger's consciousness, which had already been completely suppressed, once again awakened from its slumber.
The moment he awakened, Salinger attempted to seize control of Azik's body.
As Salinger awakened, Azik's body underwent another transformation. A layer of dark green scales emerged across his skin, while feathers stained with pale yellow greasy filth sprouted from the gaps between the scales. Deep within his eye sockets, a cluster of pale flames began to burn.
"Your battlefield isn't here."
The Evernight Goddess's calm voice carried an unquestionable majesty. The black sickle in Her hand swung, effortlessly shattering all the changes that had appeared across Azik's body.
The scales and feathers were all devoured by the power of the Night.
"Night!" A furious yet helpless voice escaped Azik's throat.
"Salinger, go fight for your life. This is your final chance." The Evernight Goddess's tone sounded like a verdict that allowed no resistance.
"I won't do as you wish!"
"Then even this final sliver of hope will be completely lost."
"..." Salinger's consciousness remained silent for a moment before he said bitterly, "One day, I will settle all our grievances with you!"
Even though he knew that the Evernight Goddess wanted him and the Primordial Phoenix to suffer mutual destruction, he had no way to refuse.
Once the Primordial Phoenix completely grasped the authority of the Death pathway, he would have absolutely no chance of awakening again.
Only if the Primordial Phoenix died would he have even the slightest hope of preserving his consciousness and waiting for another opportunity to resurrect.
Even if, after surviving, the Uniqueness of the Death pathway would most likely fall into the hands of the Evernight Goddess or the God of Combat.
He would likewise lose his chance to return from death, but he could only gamble.
He had to gamble that the Evernight Goddess and the God of Combat were not on good terms and would not easily hand the Uniqueness of the Death pathway over to the other.
This was also the opportunity the Evernight Goddess had given him!
At the same time, he still had the Primordial Demoness as an ally. Perhaps some unexpected variable might truly occur.
For now, he could only fight with everything he had, influencing and interfering with the Primordial Phoenix's state and causing Her to fall tonight!
As Salinger's consciousness awakened and began fighting desperately, Gregrace, who was battling the God of Combat, was heavily affected.
Half of Her wing was cleaved apart by the greatsword in the Twilight Giant's hand, transforming into endless flames that poured down from the horizon, accompanied by the mournful cry of a phoenix.
The world that had originally been shrouded in darkness was now filled with raging flames. Endless heavenly fire descended vertically toward the earth because of Gregrace's injuries.
People who were still immersed in their dreams fell into eternal sleep in the midst of their sweet dreams.
Even distant Backlund could vaguely see this scene, the night sky appeared to have been dyed red by rosy clouds.
Bernadette's brows furrowed slightly as she stared intently toward the distant Southern Continent. Even though it was extremely far away, she could still sense that something was wrong.
The Magic Wishing Lamp was also glowing continuously. Bernadette summoned it over and slightly loosened its seal, allowing the Son of Chaos's phantom to emerge from inside the Magic Wishing Lamp and breathe some fresh air.
"This is serious! A divine war has actually begun!"
"If my perception isn't mistaken, the protagonists of tonight's divine war are the God of Combat and that newly resurrected God of Death."
"They've hidden it so well. Perhaps the Evernight Goddess is also participating tonight."
"Heh heh, the three of Them are mortal enemies. It isn't strange for this day to come."
"What surprises me is that what They want to accomplish tonight probably isn't that simple."
"What could it be? How troublesome. It must be the Evernight Goddess blocking my perception. The authority of concealment really is annoying."
The moment the Son of Chaos emerged, He immediately began chattering excitedly, never stopping for even a moment.
Bernadette merely listened quietly, while the light in her eyes grew deeper.
At this moment, a starry sky bloomed above her head. The familiar Hall of Stars appeared before Bernadette and the Son of Chaos's eyes just like that.
"Pray to Me devoutly." The voice belonging to the stars rang out.
This voice was far more solemn and majestic than usual.
"I shall obey the guidance of the stars." Bernadette lowered her head slightly and began reciting the honorific name of the Stars in Ancient Hermes.
The Son of Chaos's phantom beside her became much more solemn. He had not expected tonight's events to be connected to the Stars.
Could that new God of Death also be a believer of the Stars?
The Son of Chaos had some guesses about what was happening tonight and wished he could immediately go to the Hall of Stars to ask for clarification, but the Stars had not summoned him, so he could not go there on his own.
He could only patiently wait for the final outcome of tonight.
Bernadette was not the only one. Fors and Xio had also received instructions from the Stars, and they began devoutly reciting the honorific name of the Stars.
Out at sea, Nast, King of the Five Seas, was also reciting the honorific name of the Stars.
Apart from them, all the believers of the Death in the Spirit World Church on the Southern Continent received the same oracle at this moment.
"All My believers, pray devoutly to the Stars!"
Along with the oracle came the honorific name of the Stars, branded deep within their minds.