Not Time Yet

“Only after the World Tree fell did the prototype of the world truly begin to emerge.”

Li Yue could never forget the terrifying sight of that day. From the torn earth and the gnawed tree core, countless monsters bathed in pain and sin surged forth. She had been cast into the Underworld, escaping the first wave of the world’s catastrophe. In the final moments of life’s destruction, she saw countless despairing people upon the many Stygian Beaches. The calm River of the Dead had never been so turbulent. No matter how much she wanted to leave, she first had to settle everything within the Underworld.

Without a key, the Underworld was an almost perfectly secure location. Aside from her current self, who could travel between the sides of life and death after a long chant even without her authority, it was a fine sanctuary. Unfortunately, its capacity was too small. Back then, it had only trapped her, a demigod, and she had broken through its seal during the later calamities.

She couldn't quite remember which calamity it had been. When the World Tree first fell, there weren't many casualties. The true calamity of death began only after the gods started to “fall.” At that time, the River of the Dead raged like never before, washing her out of that world as she gazed at the pale sky from the riverbed.

He had polluted the roots of the World Tree. The gods who had entrusted their authority and divine power to the tree’s maintenance were the first to be corrupted.

She looked at the ground around her and grabbed a handful of soil. In her hand, she held a lamp. The soil was red, much like the color of bloodstains, mixed with a disgusting, filthy black.

What was it that truly sustained her in battle back then? Hatred? Such an intense emotion was something her current self no longer possessed. If history were to repeat itself, perhaps the executioner would have to be Clo instead.

In the face of absolute power, such things were secondary. At that time, the authority of Fate was still in her hands. Unfortunately, after weaving the world’s fate, it vanished. In this era, no magic user of Fate could take up that mantle, save for a half-dead Merlin.

Currently, that God-Enslaver named Madness enslaved the souls of almost all the old gods. He could not truly be called a god; he was something born alongside the world, long before the Mythological Era Li Yue had lived through. He had been kept outside the world by the World Tree, yet he had eroded it incessantly, eventually bringing about the end of the entire Mythological Era.

The limit for a god is three authorities. Accommodating an excessive amount of authority that does not belong to oneself would cause the power of chaos to strike the soul and body. Although one could wield the power, the pain was undoubtedly almost unbearable, and not even her self-healing and vitality could restore the damage.

To accommodate a world-level authority, one must possess world-level vitality. This was undoubtedly impossible. Draining the world’s vitality before saving it felt a bit like putting the cart before the horse.

Li Yue shook her head gently. He was about to descend, even stronger than ten thousand years ago. As for herself, only at the moment she ascended to godhood using the faith of the entire world could she perhaps stand on equal footing with her peak self from the Mythological Era.

This world still needed a World Tree to continuously provide vitality, even if it was hidden deep beneath the surface. Her journey this time was to bring back the seed of the World Tree from this Hell. If the stop button for the world’s annihilation was to be pressed, someone had to make a trip through Hell.

How many years ago was it? When the calamity first descended, that powerful Archangel took command and led his troops to war. In the end, that 12-winged being, the strongest god beneath the King of Gods, fell there. He fell at the hands of the first vassal of that mad existence.

Along with him, the strongest and most upright Holy Knights of the Holy City fell, as well as a devout ascetic.

Li Yue slightly raised her lantern, and the surroundings finally seemed a bit brighter. The creatures hiding in the shadows, which had not dared to approach her, finally seemed to be stirring.

“Not intimidated by the strike that just tore through the sky... so many abominations have accumulated on the trunk of the divine tree?” Li Yue pointed her fingertip at a small cluster of milky-white flame. There was a faint scent of faith here; it was a pure, holy power, a holy fire that existed only within cathedrals.

Boom! The soaring light illuminated this land that had not bathed in sunlight for thousands of years. The demons that had been hiding for so long finally seemed provoked. They appeared to lack even the emotion of fear, roaring as they charged toward Li Yue, only to be pierced by a blood crystal spear.

“Tsk...” Li Yue frowned helplessly. She condensed a blood crystal short blade against her wrist. “Why is your blood all white and green... how revolting. And... this isn't even blood at all... what a disgusting thing...”

Li Yue did not want to manipulate blood that had been polluted for thousands of years. She wasn't being picky or squeamish; she simply feared the erosion would deepen. If it became too severe, she would have to rely on the power of faith to resist that manic force. If it came to that, she would lose what little humanity she had left and be completely dominated by divinity. It was profoundly tragic; in that era, even the 12-winged Archangel, who was the most decisive and ruthless in slaughter, had retained a spark of humanity. He had his own wife...

Squelch. The bright red blood seemed to carry its own special light as it condensed into tiny blood crystals. Under Li Yue’s control, countless blood crystals raged like a storm across this scorched earth that had been silent for millennia.

Accompanied by countless roars, more and more mountain-sized giant demons took shape from the silence. Li Yue held a blood crystal longsword, her body moving like a blurred phantom as she simultaneously manifested numerous blood shadow clones to dismember every living thing in sight.

She had not yet become a god, but she was still the strongest existence beneath the King of Gods. The three authorities within her resonated with her heart. She could feel the divine throne calling to her... but the moment of ascending to godhood was not now.

“No... it's not time yet...” Li Yue murmured softly amidst the rain of blood. “I must ascend to godhood at the instant He descends... using the power of the world to push Him back into the rift.”