No one spoke after Kael's answer.
No.
A single word.
Yet it had overturned millions of years of calculations.
The Law could not predict it.
The Civilization King could not understand it.
The Emperor...
Simply smiled.
"So that's the path you've chosen."
He stepped forward from behind the Thirteenth Sovereign, his golden imperial robes fluttering in the violent winds created by the clash of supreme beings.
The Thirteenth Sovereign didn't even glance back.
"You've been unusually quiet."
The Emperor chuckled.
"I've already achieved what I wanted."
Kael narrowed his eyes.
"What are you talking about?"
The Emperor looked directly at him.
"You think opening the Otherworld Gate was my objective."
"It wasn't."
"You think handing Blue Star over to the Civilization King was my ambition."
"It wasn't."
He slowly spread his arms.
"I needed everyone."
"The Law."
"The Otherworld."
"The Human Origin."
"The Thirteenth Sovereign."
"And..."
His gaze rested on Kael.
"...you."
The white figure's expression finally changed.
"You..."
The Emperor smiled.
"You've figured it out."
Without warning, the ground beneath the Imperial Palace exploded.
A colossal magic formation, hidden beneath the Empire for thousands of years, ignited.
Its radius expanded endlessly.
One city.
Ten cities.
A province.
An entire continent.
Ancient symbols buried beneath mountains, oceans, forests, and deserts awakened one after another.
The formation had never been confined to the capital.
It covered all of Blue Star.
Rion's face turned deathly pale.
"That's impossible..."
"Nobody could build something that large."
The Moon Goddess whispered,
"It wasn't built."
"It was grown."
Emerald veins of energy erupted from the planet itself, connecting into a single enormous network.
The Emperor laughed.
"For three thousand years..."
"...every Emperor before me has poured the Empire's fortune into maintaining this formation."
"No wars."
"No famines."
"No rebellions."
"Everything..."
"...was to keep the formation alive."
Kael gritted his teeth.
"You sacrificed countless generations..."
"...for this?"
"I gave them purpose."
The Emperor's smile widened.
"And now..."
"The harvest begins."
He slammed both palms together.
The formation activated completely.
Every citizen of the Empire suddenly cried out in pain.
Golden threads emerged from their bodies.
Not blood.
Not life force.
Destiny.
Millions of streams of light rose into the heavens, flowing toward the Imperial Palace.
The entire Empire had become a sacrifice.
Children.
Soldiers.
Merchants.
Cultivators.
Even newborn infants.
No one was spared.
"What have you done?!" Kael roared.
The Emperor looked almost offended.
"I am an Emperor."
"My people exist..."
"...to build the future."
Flamingo erupted in furious flames.
"I knew he was insane!"
Harvester's shadows exploded outward.
> He's harvesting fate itself!
The white figure looked at the Emperor with quiet disappointment.
"You learned nothing."
The Emperor laughed.
"I learned everything."
He pointed toward the Thirteenth Sovereign.
"You spent your life believing people should choose."
He pointed toward the Civilization King.
"You believed perfect order would save existence."
He looked at the Law.
"You believed balance was absolute."
Finally...
He pointed at himself.
"I believe..."
"...power belongs to the one willing to pay the greatest price."
The streams of destiny converged around him.
His cultivation began rising.
Saint Realm.
Divine Realm.
Transcendent Realm.
Each breakthrough happened instantly.
The sky fractured beneath the weight of his ascension.
The Law reacted immediately.
> Unauthorized Ascension Detected.
> Correction Initiated.
Thousands of silver chains descended.
The Emperor simply smiled.
"Too late."
He raised one hand.
The harvested destiny transformed into a golden spear.
With a single thrust—
He pierced the Law.
The silver sky cracked.
For the first time in existence...
The Framework bled.
Instead of blood...
Silver symbols rained across Blue Star.
Every cultivator watched in horror.
The Law...
Could bleed.
The Civilization King's expression darkened.
"You've lost your mind."
The Emperor laughed louder than ever.
"I discarded it centuries ago."
The Thirteenth Sovereign sighed.
"I warned you."
"You did."
"And yet..."
The Emperor looked at him warmly.
"...everything happened exactly as I predicted."
The Thirteenth Sovereign's eyes narrowed.
"What do you mean?"
The Emperor smiled.
"You think I released you."
"No."
"I imprisoned you."
"You think I opened the Gate."
"No."
"I invited them."
"You think I experimented on Kael..."
"...to create the perfect vessel."
He shook his head.
"I created him..."
"...to become the perfect enemy."
Silence.
Kael felt his heartbeat stop.
The Emperor continued.
"The Human Origin..."
"The Otherworld..."
"The Law..."
"The Thirteenth Sovereign..."
"They can never coexist."
"So I simply needed someone..."
"...capable of forcing all of you into one battlefield."
His eyes met Kael's.
"You exceeded every expectation."
Kael's fists trembled.
"My family..."
"My academy..."
"My teacher..."
"They were all part of your plan?"
The Emperor didn't deny it.
"Necessary sacrifices."
Something inside Kael snapped.
Not his composure.
Not his sanity.
His restraint.
The eleven Avatars erupted from his body simultaneously.
Flamingo's inferno engulfed the sky.
Harvester covered the battlefield in endless darkness.
The Moon Goddess's silver moon eclipsed the heavens.
Dragon Hybrid's roar shattered mountains.
The Blade Avatar silently drew its sword.
The White Figure stepped beside Kael.
For the first time...
All twelve stood together.
The Emperor smiled.
"Excellent."
"Hatred is the final catalyst."
The empty air behind Kael suddenly distorted.
The Twelfth Throne glowed brilliantly.
The shadow seated upon it slowly became clearer.
Its heartbeat echoed across the battlefield.
The Human Origin looked at Kael.
"Careful."
"If you kill him with hatred..."
"...you will become exactly what he wants."
Kael closed his eyes.
The rage remained.
But beneath it...
He remembered his class teacher smiling on the day he entered the academy.
He remembered Rion refusing to abandon him.
He remembered the Blade Avatar choosing freedom.
He remembered every person who had believed in him.
When he opened his eyes again...
The hatred was still there.
It simply no longer ruled him.
He pointed his sword at the Emperor.
"I won't kill you..."
"...because I hate you."
The Emperor's smile faltered for the first time.
Kael took a step forward.
"I'll defeat you..."
"...because someone has to end this."
For the first time since becoming Emperor...
The man upon the throne felt something he had long forgotten.
A chill.