The moment Izroth and his group crossed into the Fourth Heart of the World, the entire scenery underwent a drastic change.
The grasslands, along with the distant sea, mountains, and volcanos, had completely vanished! It was as if they had stepped into a different part of the world that was separate from the Celestial Battlegrounds.
The “sun” in the sky was jet black with a thin dark red ring wrapped around its outer layer, causing it to closely resemble a solar eclipse. But, despite its appearance, the area was not covered in a shroud of darkness.
There were no clouds drifting above. Rather, there were several groupings of colorful arrays of lights scattered across the sky that looked similar to nebulas.
This combination of bizarre sun and sky caused the atmosphere to feel melancholic. However, there was something eerily beautiful and breathtaking about this place.
The land itself was not barren as one would expect given the unique environment. While it could not compare to the abundance of plant life that existed in the Ancient Wilderness, there was still a plethora of unusual plant life present.
In the distance was an enormous palace with no outer walls that surrounded it, revealing the arrogance of its owner. After all, in their mind, what need was there for walls when there was no one who dared oppose them?
The closer someone moved towards the palace, the less plant life there was present as if even the plants did not dare approach that entity’s palace.
Of course, this was not somewhere one could just roam around freely.
That’s because the Fourth Heart of the World was under the direct jurisdiction of one of the beings who ruled over this world—the Pillar of the West, Ourami!
Before Izroth and his group entered the Fourth Heart of the World, the Celestial of the Periphery Isylo placed a boundary around the whole group to hide their presence. However, even with this safety measure, if they were careless for even a split second, their cover would be immediately blown!
“Alright, everyone. I won’t waste time giving some sort of speech. At this point, you all should know what we came here to do. If you haven’t resolved yourself by now, it’s not too late to turn around and walk away.” Astratis stated in a solemn tone.
However, there was no response from those present. In the end, everyone was well aware of what was at stake with this mission. If they failed here, the possibility of living in a world where celestials could experience freedom in its truest form would be extinguished. There would be no place left for them in this world but underneath the foot of the pillars. How could they accept such a fate?
Astratis swept his gaze across those present and noticed that the nerves that were present earlier were nowhere to be found. There was a clear look of strong resolve in everyone’s eyes that said no matter what happened, they would not go down without a fight!
Izroth observed the sudden shift in the attitudes of the celestials. In truth, he was somewhat skeptical of their determination at the beginning. After all, it was easy to feign a united front on the surface. In this kind of situation where one’s life was on the line and there was no guarantee of success, it would not be uncommon for a few people to get cold feet and back out at the last possible moment.
However, it seemed his skepticism was unwarranted.
‘It’s been a while since I’ve seen a group this united for a single purpose.’
A carefree smile found its way onto Izroth’s face as he thought back to a similar time in the Seven Realms before he began to walk down the true path of cultivation. A time when he and those he called his brothers felt invincible under the skies as they charged forth into battle with one purpose in mind.
Of course, at that time, Izroth did not truly know how high the sky was and just how fleeting that feeling of invincibility would become.
After a brief moment of silence and no one turning to walk away, Astratis gave a small nod and said, “Good. I knew that I, Astartis, had chosen the right people to call comrades.”
He then continued, “We will follow the original plan and part ways here. Isylo, you will accompany me. Your only job is to keep my presence hidden for as long as possible until it’s time to make a move. As for the rest of you, I’m sure you know what to do. Go wild and draw out as many of Ourami’s forces as you can. Your focus isn’t to obtain victory but to stall them for as long as possible. However, no matter what happens, you cannot allow them to return to the palace—no matter what.”
Astratis stressed the last part. Although he did not have the heart to say it directly, the celestials knew exactly what the Son of Thunder meant.
Even if it cost them their lives in the process, they could not let Ourami’s forces fall back to the palace when he made his move. Otherwise, Astratis would be surrounded on all sides and the chances at grasping victory would slip through their fingers.
“This time, I really can’t protect any of you. That’s why—I hope you’ll protect each other.” Astratis said as his gaze briefly landed on Izroth.
Izroth immediately understood Astratis’ intention from his gaze alone. That look was practically screaming “you can protect them in my place, can’t you?”.
‘Aren’t your expectations a little too high for someone you’ve just recently met?’
Izroth inwardly shook his head.
‘Well, I suppose it’s fine. I won’t make any promises, but… I’ll do my best to protect those in front of me. So, just concentrate on what you need to.’
Izroth closed his eyes and made a small gesture that was barely noticeable; however, it did not escape the person it was meant for.
When Astratis saw Izroth’s gesture, a slight smile appeared on his face as he returned his gaze ahead.
“Rest assured, we will take care of ourselves. Just do us all a favor and come back to us safely. Otherwise, I do not know how I’ll find the courage to face Elder Sister Ierosni.” Kyamakri commented.
“Yeah… I’d rather face all four pillars than be the one who has to deal with that.” Tox said as he rubbed the back of his head and sighed.
“Hey, you cheeky brats—aren’t you already planning too far ahead?” Astratis grinned.
“Well, since Isylo will be with you, at the very least, we should be able to recover the body,” Kyamakri noted.
“…I will do my best…” Isylo said in a soft tone.
“No, you don’t actually have to take them seriously.” Astratis sighed as he shook his head.
Seeing this scene, it was not long before a round of laughter from the celestials filled the boundary created by Isylo.
At that moment, a single thought flowed through Astratis’ head as he locked this image before him in his mind.
“If this is the last memory I have with my comrades, it’s not a bad one at all.” Astratis internalized as he closed his eyes to savor the moment.
Not too long after, the laughter died down as the atmosphere returned to a serious state.
“We’ll be parting ways here. Isylo, release the boundary around them. We’re going.” Astratis said as he turned away from the group.
The Son of Thunder had already said all that needed to be said; therefore, he did not spare another second.
As soon as he finished speaking, the space around Izroth and the others fluctuated. Then, in the blink of an eye, Astratis and Isylo were no longer anywhere to be seen.
‘Oh? What a useful ability. It’s stronger than the one he used back near the black lake. Even with my Energy Vision Sense, I can’t feel their presence.’
Since Isylo’s power created separate boundaries around certain parts of space, it was almost like they were on a completely different plane of existence. That’s why even with his Energy Vision Sense, Izroth was unable to track Astratis and Isylo.
A couple of moments after Astratis departed with Isylo, the group decided they had gained enough distance. Now, it was finally time for them to make their move.
“Everyone, keep your guard up. Let’s head to-” Kyamakri spoke; however, she was quickly cut off as a loud whistling sound came from the air.
“WHO DARES TRESPASSES INTO MY MASTER’S DOMAIN!” A loud voice echoed as the whistling sound grew closer and louder.
In the sky, a blue and white streak of light rapidly descended and was headed right towards where the group was gathered!
“Brace yourselves!” Kyamakri warned.
Suddenly, the streak of light crashed into the ground as a bright flash turned transformed the surrounding night-like atmosphere into the light of day!
At first, there was a lingering silence as if the sound had not yet caught up to the streak of light. However, the instant the sound managed to reach them, a devastating force erupted from the impact site.
…BOOOOOOOOOM!!!
An earth-shaking explosion caused the ground to violently tremble as the surrounding plant life was immediately turned to dust under the pressure!
