When Artross heard Anbaixiu talk about making him ascend to godhood, the opportunity others dreamt of tasted like deadly poison to him.
The Demonic Dragon's eyes widened as he roared, "Impossible! I will never give up! I will unify the world, I will surpass Arthur Ryan, and I will win back everything I've lost!"
He still had his millennial grand design to unify the world—how could he leave now?
Once he was forced to ascend, he would never have the chance to win it back! Gods were forbidden from interfering in the mortal realm; that was Ao's law!
Yet Anbaixiu merely shook his head with a sigh. "Did the Dragon Gods bestow this power upon you so you could fight to the death? The gods love their children. They granted you this final surge of power hoping you could safely escape. If you had intended to flee from the very beginning, who could have stopped you? But in the end, you couldn't let go of your ambition to conquer the world, and you squandered the final chance the gods gave you.
"Now I offer to return you to the embrace of dragonkind, yet you still believe your ambition matters more. You bring shame upon the dragons and disappoint the gods."
"I..."
Artross trembled all over. Could what this lich said actually be true?
At that moment, Arthur Ryan, his body battered and broken, managed to fly beside Anbaixiu and whispered, "Is what you just said true? Did the Dragon Gods really think that way?"
Anbaixiu replied without the slightest concealment, "Who the hell knows what the gods are thinking? I made it all up just to mess with him. Look, he actually bought it; he's practically on the verge of tears."
Arthur Ryan: "..."
For a brief moment, the Holy King felt fortunate that the lich before him wasn't his enemy. If this lich had stood by the Demonic Dragon's side over seventeen hundred years ago, he probably would have lost long ago.
"Despicable, shameless lich!"
Artross was so enraged by Anbaixiu that he nearly lost his hold, causing the rainbow pillar of light to surge upward by another great margin. It was already nearing its limit; the moment it slipped out of control, all three of them would be struck by the prismatic beam.
Meanwhile, Anbaixiu was far from idle, continuing to lecture Artross: "I've seen plenty of so-called ambitious men like you. You read a couple of historical novels, think you've witnessed the rise and fall of dynasties, and in your heart you daydream about becoming a supreme monarch. Claiming to unify the world and end conflicts—what you truly crave deep down is power, status, and beauties; you just want your name in the history books to be praised by all. And the moment anyone opposes you, you whip out your so-called grand cause to crush them. That's nothing more than the mindset of a tyrant.
"When Arthur Ryan rose up in rebellion back then, it wasn't to become an emperor; it was just so others could live a better life. Why did he help other races establish their kingdoms and share his authority? Because he wasn't fighting for power—he was fighting so the people of the world could live good lives.
"You try to compare yourself to Arthur at every turn, but in truth, you aren't fit to hold a candle to him. If you weren't born a powerful time dragon, you'd just be an overgrown infant daydreaming all day long."
Arthur Ryan felt rather awkward listening to this. Though it was high praise, why did it sound so strangely sarcastic coming from this lich's mouth?
Having rattled all that off, Anbaixiu finally caught his breath and said to Arthur Ryan, "Are you more or less recovered? I was running out of material!"
Arthur Ryan nodded. A flurry of parts flew across his body, reassembling into a pristine arm as he raised his longsword high.
Holy Light, like the morning dawn, coated his blade.
Anbaixiu's Golden Throne had already been completely depleted before this battle, so he had been slacking off the entire time; with his spellcasting power, he couldn't even breach the defense of dragon scales.
He had stalled for time until now solely to wait for Arthur Ryan's strike.
A Demonic Dragon whose head was chopped off wouldn't die, but the time it took for him to regenerate and recover would be more than enough for Karsus's Avatar to take effect.
However, at the very instant Arthur Ryan brought his longsword slashing down—
Artross dispelled the temporal barrier, and the rainbow radiance shot skyward.
Arthur Ryan could no longer swing his sword, because the moment Artross abandoned his resistance, the dragon used his remaining time power.
The colossal Demonic Dragon pushed his speed to its utmost limit, bursting out of the light pillar's area of effect—and swept Anbaixiu away with him in the process.
Within the dazzling rainbow radiance, only Arthur Ryan remained.
Immense power converged there, churning into a vortex that poured into the battered mech.
Under the impact of the tremendous energy, those mechanical parts shattered completely, and even the artifact hourglass of the Demonic Dragon dissolved rapidly under the flowing prismatic light.
Ascending to godhood was no simple matter; first and foremost, one had to cleanse all mortal impurities and transcend the mundane to achieve divinity.
Arthur Ryan no longer had a physical body; he had only a pure soul left to receive this energy.
As energy was forcefully channeled into his heroic spirit's form, Arthur Ryan could not help but cry out in agony.
Back then, Karsus had been just like this—even if the Goddess of Magic had permitted him to become a deity, he could not bear the vast Weave and was blown to pieces the very instant he ascended.
Artross hovered in the distance, his claw still clutching Anbaixiu's body.
Even though the lich had attempted to self-detonate to escape, Artross had dragged him right back with a time reversal. Even when Anbaixiu burned his final chance at resurrection, he still failed to escape Artross's clutches.
Artross sneered at Anbaixiu, "Is this your flawless plan? Now Arthur Ryan is about to be torn to shreds by this power because of your stupidity, and you have become my prisoner. I can kill you with ease, and then deal with the others at my leisure.
"Even if my identity has been exposed, my power has returned. Time is on my side, and victory will certainly be mine. In the end, you lose!"
Artross longed to see the lich look remorseful and tormented, yet Anbaixiu remained as calm as if everything were proceeding according to plan.
Enraged, Artross crushed more than half the bones in Anbaixiu's body and pointed at his agonizingly wailing nemesis. "Look at that! This is your so-called plan! You've failed, lich! All your schemes are nothing before my absolute might! If Arthur Ryan can't endure it, your ascension spell will kill him. Even if he does survive, he will leave the mortal realm forever, and no one in this world will be left to stop me!
"He will only be able to watch from the Lord of the Dawn's divine realm as I destroy everything he holds dear. And I promise you, I will destroy everything you hold dear as well!"
Anbaixiu looked at the unhinged dragon, indifferent to the damage to his body, and merely said in a flat tone, "The Dragon Gods made a bet with the Lord of the Dawn. The dragon race lost, yet they could still bestow their blessing upon you to restore your full power. What about the Lord of the Dawn, then? His restrictions have been lifted as well. Do you see the Holy Light descending from the Lord of the Dawn?"
Artross looked up in shock, just in time to see ten thousand radiant beams of Holy Light cascading from the heavens.
Divine Intervention!
A cleric deeply favored by a deity could invoke the descent of divine will through a specific rite, whether to grant a potent blessing or strike down an enemy... depending on the circumstances.
This was an act permitted by Ao.
Just as the Dragon Gods could grant the time dragon a chance to return to his peak, the Lord of the Dawn could now intervene to ensure that Arthur Ryan ascended to godhood smoothly.
The Holy Light merged with the prismatic radiance, seemingly neutralizing the terrifying chaotic energy currents within.
Arthur Ryan's cries ceased. His formerly translucent form grew clearer and clearer, until he fully restored his human form.
Yet the moment he regained human form, divine light coalesced before Arthur Ryan, propelling him skyward.
"He succeeded," Anbaixiu said calmly.
The godhead condensed; he ascended on the spot. The gates to the Lord of the Dawn's divine realm swung wide to welcome the addition of this new deity. Watching his old nemesis ascend, Artross claimed he didn't care, yet inside he was already so infuriated that he wanted to destroy everything.
He hadn't wanted Arthur Ryan to ascend. He had only wanted to imprison his sworn enemy and force him to watch him achieve victory. Artross wanted to stand above Arthur Ryan in every single aspect—only that could bring him satisfaction.
Yet Arthur Ryan had become a god!
Arthur Ryan stood above him once more!
No matter how thoroughly he destroyed this world, the man would forever look down upon him from on high.
And the instigator of all of this was this very lich.
Artross looked at Anbaixiu in his grasp and said in a low, venomous voice, "I once thought that if you were willing to assist me, I could hand the financial power of the unified world over to you. You could have overseen all the wealth of this world. What a pity you opposed me time and time again."
Anbaixiu chuckled. "Are you stupid? The money I make now is for myself. Serving as your minister of finance means working for you and making money for you. Which one do you think I'd choose?"
Artross froze for a second, then tightened his grip, crushing Anbaixiu's body completely until only a skull housing his soul remained.
"Do you truly believe I have no way of dealing with you? You think that being undead means you can ignore pain and shrug off all torment?" Artross smiled cruelly and said to Anbaixiu, "Thanks to Cyric, he reminded me of your greatest weakness. Lich, I hear that over these past few centuries, your life has been rather miserable, and it was only by becoming undead that you could temporarily forget that agony. Then I shall make you remember it all over again!"
Anbaixiu's skull opened its jaw and shook violently, as if in sheer panic.
Yet what resonated from his soul were waves of laughter.
"Idiot, I know I'm going to die, but you've forgotten something else! Even if Arthur has ascended to godhood, why would he ever spare you?!"
Artross snorted coldly. "Gods cannot interfere in the mortal realm; that is Ao's law..."
Before the Demonic Dragon could finish, a beam of Holy Light plummeted from the heavens and struck him squarely.
Anbaixiu said with a laugh, "Indeed, Ao's law states that gods cannot directly strike mortals, or else they must face severe punishment. But would the Holy King Arthur Ryan ever spare you out of fear of punishment?"
The Holy Light condensed into a radiant blade that pierced Artross's body, not only destroying the Demonic Dragon's physical flesh, but also eroding his very soul.
Even the power of time could not save him, for this was the power of a god—a supreme might that transcended mortals!
Beneath the gods, all were mere ants.
Arthur Ryan had not hesitated for a fraction of a second. The moment he grasped divine power, he slashed down with an all-out strike at Artross, focusing all his strength into this single blow without leaving himself any way out.
Just as when he had challenged the Demonic Dragon alone all those years ago, he did so with the very same resolution to die.
Amidst the boundless Holy Light came a sigh, accompanied by the thunderous roar of lightning.
The young deity, who was on the verge of entering the divine realm, was struck by Ao's lightning, scattering into a sky full of drifting motes of light.
Yet this deity's final strike continued to kill the dragon; the power of the Holy Light remained locked onto the Demonic Dragon's soul until it was thoroughly eradicated.
Amid wave after wave of agonized screams, Artross felt his soul rapidly melting away. This was a strike unleashed by a god at the cost of his own existence; even the power of time could not reverse it. All he could do now was slow time down slightly, experiencing the arrival of death with agonizing clarity.
No, that wasn't right. In this final moment, there was still one thing he could do.
Within the sluggish flow of space-time, Artross enveloped Anbaixiu with the remainder of his temporal power.
"With my soul and flesh, I curse you! Suffer the agony I endure, returned to you a thousandfold!"
The Dragon Blood Curse—this was the vicious magic the Demonic Dragon had inflicted upon Arthur Ryan back then, which ultimately caused the hero's soul to dissipate and even allowed the Demonic Dragon to possess him.
Yet this time, Artross did not seek to take over Anbaixiu's body. With his dying power, he reversed time, reverting Anbaixiu from a skeleton back into a stooped old man.
Reversing time, he restored the lich to a living human. Simultaneously, all the agonizing memories Anbaixiu had endured throughout his lifetime surged forth in an instant. The past he had long cast aside returned inexorably before his eyes.
The mentor he had buried with his own hands; the brutal tortures he had endured; the friends who died with their eyes wide open; the druid girl whose hand he had once held; the endless betrayals and turns from friends to bitter foes; the repeated starts from scratch, only for everything he built to be lost in the end.
Mentor, friends, lover, wealth, status, power... No matter how many times he started over, no matter how high he stacked his castle, it would all ultimately be crushed by destiny, just like Anbaixiu's current state.
A divination wizard, after all, could never escape the arrangements of fate.
Tears spilled from his clouded eyes, scattered by the rushing wind. Innumerable repeating, painful memories were eroding his aged soul.
Across the world, his phylacteries scattered in every corner lost their magical gleam at the exact same moment.
He was no longer a lich. This time, there would be no resurrection.
When he crashed heavily onto the ground, Anbaixiu's stooped body and soul shattered together into pieces.
Because his skeletal frame had long been crushed, his body now lacked even a stitch of clothing; he plummeted to his death upon the earth stark naked, just as Anbaixiu had remarked before.
Such a death was far too undignified. If possible, he truly hadn't wanted anyone to see it.
Regrettably, there was no chance now.
By the time the banished legends returned to the colosseum, all they saw were the remains of the colossal Demonic Dragon and two mangled corpses.
One belonged to Logar, the Orc King; his soul had already returned to the divine realm of the Orc God.
The other was unrecognizable to anyone. They could only confirm that this old man was thoroughly dead, for even the spell Speak with Dead failed to take effect.
This indicated that his soul was no longer there.
However, with the gods as witnesses, every kingdom heard this thrilling tale from their respective deities.
The Holy King Arthur Ryan, the Demonic Dragon Artross, and the lich whose true name was known to no one—in the end, all had perished on this battlefield.
When Anbaixiu's identity was finally confirmed, only the Rose of Decay gathered his remains.
At the funeral shortly thereafter, an ode praising the hero echoed across the colosseum. Regrettably, a hymn sung from the mortal realm could no longer reach the hero's ears.
Chapter 513