Torrent of Destiny

"Dark Tide, you wouldn't want this wall to fall either, would you? Get out here!" Above the Silent Spiral, a blazing sun hung high in the sky. Smoke billowed from the earth below, flames surged unchecked, and death bore bitter fruit. Every second saw steel clash against flesh and blood, and everywhere sorcery tugged at life. Nearly a hundred thousand people were locked in slaughter around the giant vine city, looking from high above like scattered refuse. Bishop Dark Tide stepped onto the rampart. His vision was consumed by a storm of projectiles, leaving him no time to tell fire from ice, or bullets from cannon shells. All he could see was an unrelenting sheet of raw killing intent, lashing against this miracle of a city like a torrential downpour. Zealots swarmed up earth-sorcery ramps like an army of mad ants. Yet the giant vine city itself was an extraordinary medium for spellcasting. The Four Pillar Cult's Senluo and earth sorcerers channeled their craft through the sprawling vines, easily sprouting countless razor-sharp spikes across the walls to impale climbers mid-leap. In just a few hours, thousands of corpses hung skewered on the ramparts. The vines lashed and writhed like serpents, whipping and strangling every insignificant life that dared draw near. Under the control of the Four Pillar sorcerers, the stronghold had become a merciless meat grinder, efficiently devouring and spewing death. With the ground assault stalled, the pressure naturally shifted to the sky. Two Wings sorcerers from the Harp Sun Alliance formed strike teams and clashed with the Four Pillar Cult's Two Wings sorcerers in midair dogfights. Although lacking the defensive advantage of the giant vines and fighting at a numerical disadvantage, the Four Pillar sorcerers held their ground, even maintaining a slight upper hand. The reason came down to superior individual capability. Believing in the Four Pillar Gods came with perks; every Four Pillar sorcerer possessed one or two trump cards. Abilities like Stunning Eye were widespread among them—a single glance through the hole in their palms could paralyze an opponent, leaving them ripe for easy slaughter. Still, as long as they kept their distance, the Alliance sorcerers could rescue immobilized comrades. The Alliance therefore adopted a cautious posture, content to pin the Four Pillar sorcerers in the sky without launching reckless offensives. With ground attacks repelled and the skies locked in a stalemate, the Four Pillar Cult could have ground down the Harp Sun Alliance through sheer attrition, barring outside intervention. But this several-hour burst of high-intensity combat was merely the prelude. The curtain would truly rise only when the Sanctuary Sorcerers took the stage. "Linbeier, Cornelia." Dark Tide unfurled his void wings, staring across the distance at the two opposing Sanctuary Sorcerers. "You two dared leave your cult's stronghold? Aren't you afraid other cults will seize the chance to overrun the City in the Lake?" Unease gnawed at Dark Tide. Leading the charge against his stretch of the wall were two Sanctuaries from the Floating Boat Cult. Dark Tide had previously belonged to the Storm Cult, which shared the inland lake waters with the Floating Boat Cult. The two factions had fought over territory and resources until their feuds spanned generations. Dark Tide also had some bad blood with Linbeier and Cornelia—he had butchered their son, so it made complete sense that they had come seeking vengeance. Yet the Floating Boat Cult held a peculiar creed: they believed an inevitable, unstoppable deluge would one day drown the world, and they yearned to construct an Eternal Ark that could sail across any disaster. Guided by this belief, the cult was insular, devoted almost entirely to tending their own waters and seldom meddling in external strife. Linbeier and Cornelia were their only two Sanctuary Sorcerers. How dared they both march out together without leaving anyone behind to guard their home? "As long as the Four Pillar Cult stands, the City in the Lake will never know peace!" Linbeier said coldly. "Dark Tide, eight years! We have waited eight whole years! Before, we lacked the power to end you once and for all. But now that you stand against all of Senluo, we can finally tear you to pieces!" "We are merely the vanguard closest to the Silent Spiral. The armies of the other cults are rushing here as we speak," Cornelia added icily. "Did you think you could lure the Alliance into dividing our forces with a few resource points? No. Every cult is resolved this time. Until we shatter the Four Pillar Cult, not a single one of us will claim a resource point. Anyone who breaks this pact will be branded your accomplice and hunted down by all of us together!" Dark Tide's heart sank. *What is going on?* The Four Pillar Cult's overall combat power was undeniably weaker than that of the Harp Sun Alliance, but Dark Tide had never worried. The Alliance was little more than a rabble; the endless infighting among its member cults had always rendered it an alliance in name only. Members of the Four Pillar Cult might have been decadent hedonists, but they could at least agree on indulging themselves. The various cults of the Harp Sun Alliance, on the other hand, couldn't even agree on whether they should breathe the same air, and several harbored blood feuds. The Four Pillar Cult wasn't inherently strong; the Harp Sun Alliance was simply more dysfunctional. At any given time, only three or four cults would attack simultaneously, and even then, each had to hold back troops to guard against their neighbors. The moment they took slight casualties, they would retreat on their own initiative to prevent rivals from raiding their holdings while they were weakened. As for idly watching their allies get hammered, that was an age-old tradition among the cults. Consequently, on a local scale, the Four Pillar Cult had consistently held the advantage. Mercury Trojan had ordered them to hold the giant vine city for one month, and Dark Tide had never considered it a difficult task. But if what Cornelia said was true—if all the cults of Senluo were truly pooling their strength—this war would become an agonizing struggle... Amid these thoughts, Dark Tide reached into his robes, pulled out a Rabbit Grand Law, and chanted, "Lord of Countless Radiance, converge forever upon me!" The sickly Rabbit Grand Law let out a mournful cry before dissolving into a radiant aura that engulfed him. Roaring, Dark Tide watched golden patterns ripple across his skin, resembling veins and scars in equal measure. "Come then! Let me see how much you've improved!" Ripples of watery light washed over Linbeier and Cornelia, and faint phantom silhouettes of grand laws materialized behind their backs. Both of them were god-hosters! The synergy of Sanctuary Sorcerers augmented by god-hosting was enough to push their combat prowess to the legendary threshold! Yet Dark Tide was no slouch either. Channeling the grand law as an intermediary, he tapped into the might of the Four Pillar Gods. While he could not pray to all four gods simultaneously as Silver Lantern did, he petitioned the most tyrannical among them—the Lord of Countless Radiance—amplifying his sorcery to the utmost mortal limits! The three faced off in the sky like three scorching suns. The other sorcerers gave them a wide berth, and even the ground assault slowed slightly as everyone held their breath for the coming legendary clash. "Just you alone?" Linbeier asked suddenly. "Fighting two-on-one doesn't fit your cowardly style." "I'm more than enough to handle you two," Dark Tide replied. "Failing to call for reinforcements only proves you have none left," Cornelia said coldly. "Where is Oneva? Hours have passed, and the Extinction Pontiff has yet to show himself. What trick are you pulling?" "You'll have to ask His Eminence that yourself," Dark Tide said, careful not to leak anything. "Once you're taken prisoner, you'll have plenty of time to ask questions." Yet Linbeier and Cornelia made no move to strike. Exchanging a glance, they called out, "Apologies, Forest Keeper. We couldn't flush Oneva out." Dark Tide froze, but realizing what that meant an instant later, he fell silent and shot backward at breakneck speed! Yet as he retreated, a figure materialized directly behind him. Dark Tide collided hard into the man, feeling as if he had crashed into a solid steel alloy. The violent impact turned his bones to jelly and left his head spinning! The figure behind him was a plain-looking young man with dull, heavy eyes that resembled those of a weathered elder who had witnessed countless storms. Unfazed by the collision, he remained motionless, gazing quietly at Dark Tide. "Could you call Oneva out for me?" Dark Tide didn't dare answer. He instantly wheeled around, fleeing frantically in another direction. He had already recognized the youth. Even bolstered by the blessing of the Lord of Countless Radiance, his soul and every cell in his body screamed a single command: *Run!* This young man was Harp Sun. Yes, the very Harp Sun from whom the Harp Sun Alliance took its name. Or rather, the Alliance had been founded under his banner. Just like Extinction Pontiff Oneva, the Forest Keeper, Harp Sun, was one of Senluo's three living legends! Harp Sun's life was a grand saga that could fill volumes. Born into the Harp Sun Cult, he was still a boy when his cult fell. Normal people would have joined another sect, but he chose to take the cult's name as his own, refusing to join any faction. He wandered the Senluo Land, taking life as it came, like a freshwater fish adrift in the open sea. After rising to become a Legendary Sorcerer, he dedicated his efforts to pushing for a single consensus: faith wars were not to harm civilian non-sorcerers! Whichever faction emerged victorious was strictly forbidden from slaughtering enemy civilians! In the past, because civilians were conscripted into wartime logistics, civilian casualties were common. If a victorious cult wasn't inclined toward order and benevolence, massacring non-combatants to vent their spite was a regular occurrence. Many guessed that Harp Sun's childhood experiences drove this obsession, and plenty of people doubted his lone crusade. After all, even if you were a Legendary Sorcerer, Senluo was vast. If someone committed atrocities when you weren't looking, what could you possibly do? Yet under Harp Sun's patient insistence, customs began to change. Cults leaning toward wanton slaughter were actively hunted down by Harp Sun and ground into the dust of history. At the same time, many order-aligned cults publicly backed his principles, watching one another to prevent any massacre of civilians. This wasn't simply because everyone feared Harp Sun's martial might, but because his vision matched the needs of the era. It protected productivity and benefited everyone. Many cults had already understood the value of shielding civilians; they simply hadn't championed an all-continental baseline the way Harp Sun had. Through this, Harp Sun's prestige soared to its zenith across Senluo. He earned the revered title of 'Forest Keeper', honoring his protection of the helpless multitudes who could not fight. When faced with the existential threat of the Four Pillar Cult, the various factions understood they had to unite, but an alliance required a leader. The cults would never accept one of their rivals taking charge, so they naturally turned to Harp Sun—a widely respected titan who posed no political threat to them. Thus, the Harp Sun Alliance was born. Rumor had it that Harp Sun was not only the oldest living Legendary Sorcerer, but the oldest man in all of Senluo. Though the Forest Keeper lacked the terrifying notoriety of the Extinction Pontiff, Harp Sun had once taken on entire cults alone, forcing countless factions to their knees in submission. How could he be anything less than a lethal force of nature? Whether through god-hosting or Four Pillar blessings, an augmented Sanctuary Sorcerer was merely elevated to legendary power. A true living legend like Harp Sun, however, had slain more god-hosters than one could count on one hand, perhaps even dozens. Dark Tide wouldn't dare touch him—or rather, having just collided with him, Dark Tide was still reeling from the backlash. "Never show your back to others, or you'll easily lose things," Harp Sun remarked placidly, like someone warning a traveler against pickpockets. Dark Tide suddenly ground to a halt. In a daze, he turned his head and saw a beating heart clutched in Harp Sun's hand. Dark Tide pressed his hand to his own left chest. After several seconds, he confirmed there was no heartbeat. The heart in Harp Sun's palm was his own. Spatial fist-and-claw miracle · Heart Pluck... *Crack.* Harp Sun crushed the heart. Dark Tide's eyes closed, and his body plummeted toward the earth like a discarded rag. Linbeier and Cornelia bowed deeply to Harp Sun before charging toward the walls to begin their slaughter. Sanctuary Sorcerers in a god-hosted state were essentially unstoppable tactical weapons. The Four Pillar sorcerers could mount no defense, crushed like refuse underfoot. Ten minutes later, the Harp Sun Alliance breached the ramparts. The giant vine city had fallen! Forget holding out for a month—the vine city hadn't even lasted a single day! The moment a Legend entered the fray, the tide of battle reversed completely! Even Harp Sun found it strange: why hadn't Oneva appeared? In the past, Harp Sun had held back on multiple occasions precisely because he was locked in a covert standoff with Oneva. Without at least an eighty percent certainty of victory, Legends rarely engaged one another lightly. After all, even Sanctuaries couldn't reliably withstand legendary sorcery; a single exchange could easily end in death. Still, Oneva's presence would not have altered the outcome. Harp Sun had already coordinated with 'Death Song' Aisala. This time, the Four Pillar Cult had to be obliterated. Even if Oneva showed himself, the two Legends would not yield an inch. Aisala was lying in wait three kilometers away. Harp Sun's original plan had been to lure Oneva into the ambush. Moreover, Sanctuary Sorcerers and god-hosters from other Senluo cults were converging on the Silent Spiral in an endless stream. Even if Oneva survived, he would face the crushing suppression of Aisala and Harp Sun alongside the concerted encirclement of over a dozen Sanctuary Sorcerers. Yet even if the Four Pillar Cult was wiped out, the war would be far from over. Harp Sun saw the reality with crystal clarity: many cults intended to settle everything in a single, decisive stroke this time. With all the cults gathered in one place, all their troubles were conveniently assembled too. Wouldn't solving them all at once be so much simpler? As long as they slaughtered every rival cult, they could usher in a new divine era. Life was fleeting; most people in Senluo lived to be only twenty-eight. Two centuries was an eternity, far too long for anyone left alive to wait. Tired of it all. Let it burn. Fight on, until a dawn is carved from the slaughter. Crushing the Four Pillar Cult was merely a trivial prologue; the true finale was still being drafted. Whether an undisputed victor would emerge to unite Senluo or whether everyone would collapse into ruin and plunge the realm into endless chaos, no one could tell until the very end. Watching the people slaughtering one another across the earth, Harp Sun murmured, "Harp Sun, Harp Sun..." 'Harp Sun' carried the meaning of searching for days gone by, or simply 'yesterday'. The Harp Sun Cult had originally been an offshoot of the Calamitous Fire Sanctuary, sharing the dream of restoring past glory. Yet as Senluo's oldest man looked upon the carnage below, a gratified smile touched his lips. "Senluo... is it finally stepping toward tomorrow?" *Rumble!* The entire world violently convulsed, the shockwave shaking even Harp Sun midair. When the Forest Keeper gathered his wits, he saw a colossal rift tear the earth in two. The giant vine city, sitting right along the fault, was split down the middle... No! Harp Sun looked up and saw a massive scar that seemed to bleed open across the endless clear sky! Nearing a hundred years of age, he had lived through multiple changes of eras and witnessed the fall of countless cults. What kind of spectacle had he not seen? Yet this sight was something he had truly never encountered! The sky... could actually be wounded? In a daze, Harp Sun realized he was falling. Unconcerned, he spread his void wings and activated a movement miracle, attempting to ascend. It was entirely futile. He could not overcome the gravitational pull radiating from the chasm, as if an unseen force was neutralizing his every resistance! What was it? *What was it?!* Harp Sun had once competed for the Thousand Wishes Inheritance as a Legendary Sorcerer. While he hadn't mastered the destiny faction, he had developed a degree of destiny perception. Through desperate effort, he finally sensed what was impeding him. It was a torrent of destiny. An invisible, intangible, colorless, and odorless torrent of destiny was pouring into the chasm from every direction, like water rushing down a drain the moment a plug was pulled from a reservoir. Swept along by this torrent of destiny, even a Legendary Sorcerer could not resist this supreme rule-bound majesty that superseded all else, and he was dragged out of the heavens down toward the mortal dust. Harp Sun saw Four Pillar zealots, Alliance sorcerers, Sanctuary Sorcerers like Linbeier, and Dark Tide's lifeless corpse. Religious disputes, hatred, worldly interests—such petty trivia no longer mattered to anyone. Everyone scrambled to seize whatever they could hold, only to be swept into the rift like garbage in the end. Yet they were not alone. Across the entire Senluo wasteland, every soul was swept up by this invisible torrent of destiny. Nothing they clutched could bear their weight: wooden beams snapped, stones shattered, and even the earth ripped open. Some drifted with the flow, some fought back desperately, some banded together, and some brooded in solitude. But in the end, all would be swept toward Senluo's final destination— The Silent Spiral.