Chapter 660: The Chasm Closes
’Chasm’ South-Eastern Half.
Iohodis Continent
Apex World Taemia
November 11th
Year 1054
Sunlight poured over the continent, painting the sky bluer than its usual oppressive red.
Nature’s Dwelling was nestled in the Southern Half of Iohodis, today, the Spirits gathered on their side of the Chasm’s edge.
Across this divide, on the other edge, the spirits of Tír Síorghlas stood, ready to finally step across the ravine that had separated the continent for years.
The Chasm, a yawning scar that once spanned so widely one could hardly imagine its end, had slowly narrowed in recent days.
Today, under the watchful gazes of the Elder Spirits and elites from both sides, it closed at last.
The landmasses inched toward each other, then locked together seamlessly, as if they’d never been severed.
And as the ground reunited, the spirits raised their eyes to the skies.
When the Chasm was open, the real threat it posed was not the distance, but the enormous barrier of elemental law energies swirling so high that it extended past the atmosphere itself, an impassable wall as old as the divide.
Today, for the first time, that wall flickered and faded. The elemental energies, once seething and restless, began to calm, siphoning back into the ground under the gazes of all.
The last wisp vanished, and the air fell still.
The Chasm—a wound the planet had borne for years—was finally healed, and with its closing, nothing remained to hinder passage to the other side of the continent.
At last, the spirits from beyond the Chasm could fully cross over.
As the Chasm fully healed, the spirits of Tír Síorghlas began their crossing, their Elders stepping forward first.
On the edge of Nature’s Dwelling’s territory, the Elders on both sides greeted each other in a short respectful ceremony.
Each bowed and exchanged words, quickly rounding up the formal greetings, before turning to the masses and signalling for the spirits of Tír Síorghlas to proceed.
Tír Síorghlas was in the South West of Iohodis, and Nature’s Dwelling was in the South East.
Triffid, their target, was in the East, so it made sense that those of Tír Síorghlas came over to Nature’s Dwelling’s side of the continent.
The spirit forces, numbering in the millions—a fitting strength for a continental war on an Apex World—marched forward in a grand procession.
In the midst of this, Arthur, Beatrix, and Artemisia finally reunited.
Beatrix sprinted over, her face lighting up as she spotted Arthur, and, true to form, they dove right into their usual antics.
"My heart, I thought I would never see thee again!"
Arthur declared, clutching a hand to his chest as he took her hands dramatically.
"These nine weeks, a lifetime apart, have rendered me but a hollow shell of a man."
Beatrix gasped, matching his theatrics with a feigned swoon.
"Oh, my dearest Arthur, nevermore shall we endure such painful separation! For I am restored at last by thy gaze!"
"Come, let us embrace!"
Arthur swept her into a hug, and they laughed, breaking character, the joy of the reunion lighting up their faces.
Artemisia stood to the side, watching them with a small, amused shake of her head.
When they parted, Arthur, still half laughing, asked for the last member of their quartet who was missing.
"Where’s Evan?"
To his question, Beatrix sighed and responded.
"He should be arriving any time now."
Barely a second after she spoke, thousands of cheers erupted in unison, coming from the spirits of Tír Síorghlas.
Then, a shadow swept across, dimming the light of the sun for a moment.
Heads turned as a large white dragon soared across the sky, its wings stretching wide as it carried the half-dead bodies of two Sovereign Realm Infernal Devils in its forelimbs.
More spirits erupted in cheers, their voices roaring as the dragon passed over.
It circled, then descended near Arthur and his friends, landing with a powerful thud that shook the ground and kicked up a whirlwind of dust.
The dust then swirled up in a vortex and dissipated into the sky, revealing the familiar figure of the Rogue Hero from the future, adjusting his half-face mask.
Seeing him, Arthur burst out laughing, walking forward as he spoke.
"What the hell, dude? Nine weeks, and you’re a whole new person?"
"And look like you haven’t changed one bit!"
Evan shot back, stepping forward as the two clasped hands and pulled each other into a friendly dap.
"Where’d you pick up the new ’fit’?"
For a second, Evan thought Arthur meant his clothes, but he caught on fast, realising Arthur was asking about his new Full Dragon Form.
"Some guy called Azzonnin tried to take over my body. Didn’t end well for him."
Evan responded, confirming Arthur’s prediction of the events that led to Evan killing the Soul Devil.
"Dude had so many dragon factors that my Dragon side went from ’High’ to ’Arch’."
His words also confirmed something else. Evan had not only killed Azzonnin, but he’d absorbed the man’s soul as well!
Arthur nodded when he heard Evan’s words. He could see that Evan’s dragon side had truly evolved once more.
"The dragon side’s stronger than your human side now."
"Yeah, there’s an imbalance. But thankfully, my human side was already ’High’, so it wasn’t totally overwhelmed."
Evan responded then turned to Artemisia and spoke.
"Do well to remind yourself to help me do something about this."
The goddess nodded casually, her gaze elsewhere, and Evan finally turned his attention to the white-haired young woman standing a few paces away.
"So, you’re the ’Prophetess,’ huh? Damn, you reek of Causality."
As expected, Evan instantly identified her amid the many unfamiliar faces. In response, Charisse slightly bowed her head and introduced herself.
"Good day to you, Sir Evan. I am called Charisse."
"Gooday to you as well, Madam Charisse."
Evan mimicked her formal bow, adding a theatrically polite greeting before Arthur slung an arm around his shoulder, laughing.
"Alright, spill it, man. What happened over there? I half-expected you to be Sovereign by now."
"Tsk, tsk..."
Evan clicked his tongue in annoyance when he heard Arthur’s words, shaking his head as he responded.
"Don’t even remind me. Why the hell does it take me ten times more EXP to level up than anyone else? What am I—some kind of protagonist?"
Hearing Evan’s question, Arthur raised an eyebrow, giving Evan a long look before replying.
"What else did you think you were?"
Then, stroking his chin thoughtfully, Arthur added.
"Although technically speaking, you’re the deuteragonist in this Arc."
Evan pondered this for a second before nodding in agreement.
"From your perspective, I’m the deuteragonist, while you’re the deuteragonist from mine. Jamie’s the Tritagonist on both sides though."
"Yeah, can’t argue with that."
As the two of them continued with this conversation, the Elders of both Nature’s Dwelling and Tír Síorghlas exchanged baffled looks. Finally, a few turned expectantly to Artemisia and Beatrix for answers.
But before any of the Elders could get a word out, both teenagers spoke in unison.
""Don’t ask, you wouldn’t understand even if they explained it to you.""
The synchronized reply made it clear—they were speaking from experience.
◇ ◇ ◇
The hours slipped by quickly, as they always did.
Thanks to the two Infernal Devil Spies Evan had caught (the two he was carrying in dragon form), they were able to confirm that Infernal Devil forces had regrouped at the northern end of the continent.
Also confirmed was the appearance of one of the Infernal Archdevil Commanders, Jegunul. Vonun’s location, however, remained a mystery—though Arthur and Evan suspected he was already in the east with Triffid.
Now, with the Chasm finally closed, it was time for planning.
Nature’s Dwelling had become a hub of preparation, teeming with the gathered Spirits’ Armies, as well as allied humans and elves from Iohodis. Cultivators from Denerth Prime were also present, drawn by the promise of rewards for their alliance.
Those just coming in from the southwestern parts of the continent were particularly concentrated, held in a separate area where they could receive special directives.
The cultivators were also assembled separately for briefing.
But just like on Denerth Prime, with thousands of cultivators assembled—many from vastly different backgrounds—tensions naturally simmered.
Fights broke out here and there, voices raised in disagreements, and some unruly individuals pushed the limits.
Charisee planned to address them and bring them up to speed on the unfolding situation before the Elders showed up, but that proved to be a challenge.
Sounds of rival sect members clashing and grumbling of old arguments filled the air. Watching all of them from the raised platform she was standing on, Charisse sighed, before using magic to amplify her voice.
[Attention, everyone!]
Her voice echoed across the grounds, and a few heads turned, but most were too preoccupied.
[I ask for a moment of silence! I have important information to share.]
She spoke again, but for most, her words barely registered. Some tried to get others to pay attention to her, but the ones they were calling out to ended up picking fights with them.
A small group of men turned to look, but their gaze carried something other than respect. One of them, a hulking Beastman from a top sect on Denerth Prime, leapt effortlessly onto the platform she was standing, instantly putting her guards on edge.
He was easily two heads taller than Charisse, his muscled arms crossed over his chest. He released his Intermediate Transcendent aura, grinning down at Charisse, with fangs bared as he spoke.
"So, you’re the so-called Prophetess, huh? All this fuss over a pretty face. Can’t say I’m impressed."
His voice dripped with mockery as his eyes swept over her with a lecherous glint.
Before Charisse could respond, two of her guards stepped forward, moving to place themselves between her and the Beastman cultivator.
"Step back from the Prophetess. Now."
One of them spoke, but his words were ineffective as the Beastman’s grin only widened.
"Oh? You want to go?"
He let his aura flare, his powerful law energy rolling off him in waves, making the ground tremble as he glared down at the spirit guards with contempt.
"You Spirits better listen up!"
The man sneered, sweeping his gaze over the assembly.
"You’re the ones asking us for help with your little problem. You don’t have the right to talk back. In fact, you should be bending to whatever demands we make."
His gaze landed back on Charisse, his leer making it clear exactly what kind of demands he meant.
Charisse remained expressionless, but her guards could barely conceal their anger, hands twitching over the hilts of their weapons.
The Beastman chuckled, his voice rough and dripping with disdain as he looked Charisse up and down with an appraising eye.
"You know, since you and your little spirit friends need our help, maybe you should start acting a little more... grateful. How about a smile, sweetheart?
He took a step closer, towering over Charisse, his smirk twisting nastily.
"Or do we have to teach you how to show some proper respect?"
Charisse’s guards didn’t hold back anymore and drew their weapons, infusing them with magic power as they spoke with stone-cold expressions.
"You will speak to her with respect."
One warned, but the Beastman only scoffed, rolling his shoulders back and letting his aura swell even higher, a dangerous glint in his eye.
"Oh, I think you should learn who’s in charge here.
Didn’t I say it earlier? You spirits don’t get to make demands. We’re the ones risking ourselves for your mess of a world.
So how about you stop playing the dignified little heroes and remember your place?"
His eyes then returned to Charisse, licking his lips as he spoke.
"Maybe show a little humility for a change."
[IMPORTANT NOTE IN THE COMMENTS]
