When morning rose, Leon's clone had vanished. He had already settled the most pressing matters that required his presence, as well as reassured Elena of his departure.
"Phew." Leon sighed as he stood on the balcony of one of the rooms in the royal palace of Nylenor. He watched as the first rays of dawn broke over the horizon, lighting up the sky and bringing life to the world.
"A beautiful sunrise." Nedra's sweet voice rang out as she made her way to the balcony in her true form, albeit shrunken down to conserve space and avoid destroying anything.
"Indeed, a very beautiful sight." A third voice said and the former two froze before turning up to see Michael floating down from the sky. He had an easy smile on his face as he appeared in front of Leon and Nedra.
"Michael, to what do we owe the pleasure?" Leon asked curiously as Michael landed not far from them.
"I came to fetch you, Leon. It is time for you to ascend to the realm of Gods, and I will be helping you to do that." Michael replied.
"Help me? Is this not something that I should handle on my own? Is that not what you told me?" Leon asked with a hint of confusion in his tone.
"Yes, under normal circumstances, that is how it should be. But the situation at hand is different and calls for a different way of handling it. I will explain later." Michael gave a short but rather vague response. "Hurry now, we must leave at once."
Leon paused and thought it over for a moment. He placed a lot of trust in Michael. He had to in the past because Michael was the backing that he relied on in crucial moments. He had helped Leon greatly over time, and Leon was grateful.
Once upon a time, when Leon had been weak and did not know the reason behind a lot of things, he had vowed to get revenge on Michael for ending his past life so abruptly. However, he had grown a lot since then, and his resentment for Michael had almost entirely vanished at this time.
"Alright, let's go." Leon nodded his head after some thought. He turned and nodded at Nedra, and she turned into a stream of light, merging with him. They would be going to the Celestial Realm together this time.
Michael nodded, not opposing the decision to bring Nedra along. He simply placed his hand on Leon's shoulder, and in the next moment, they were all gone.
Leon did not forget to inform his summons about his departure again. At this time, they were already packing up and preparing to return to the Central Continent. They had played their part in the war, and with Leon's contributions, he was sure to be heavily compensated.
Already, they were to return to the Central Continent with five 800 meter long magic airships. These airships were not even the full payment for their contributions, but rather, a small part of it.
After doing what needed to be done, Michael took Leon and Nedra to the Celestial Realm.
Whoosh!
In a flash of light, they appeared on a floating island. The scene was something that Leon had seen before, but it did not remove any of the fascination he felt at the sight. As for Nedra, she was completely astounded. When Leon had made Fort White turn into a floating city, she and many others had been very surprised, and it was a thing to marvel at. But in the Celestial Realm, floating islands were everywhere!
"This is my personal territory. Every island you can currently see is within my God Kingdom and belongs to me. Now, it is time you know why I brought you here." Michael said.
Leon turned his attention to the Fate God as Nedra split from him and stood by his side.
Michael waved his hand and a scarlet colored crystal appeared in his hand. Leon felt a great attraction radiate from the crystal, and he immediately knew that this crystal was something that could easily allow him ascend to the next step.
"This is the Divine Spark of the God of Tyranny, Atrox." Michael explained and gave Leon a look. Of course, Leon recognized the identity of this Chaos God. He would not forget him so easily.
"Did you...?" Leon asked, but paused midway.
"Yes." Michael nodded solemnly. "While you were sealed by the Temple of Gods, the Gods of the Order Faction joined hands together in order to defeat a number of Chaos Gods and throw the Chaos Faction into disarray so that they would not meddle in the affairs that concern us. Atrox was hunted down and killed in this time." He explained.
"His Divine Spark was claimed as a spoil of war by myself. I will give it to you so that you can absorb it and integrate the various Domains he had possessed into your strength and advance, breaking through to Godhood."
Leon was taken aback. He knew just how great such a treasure was.
Michael stretched out his hand and the crystal floated over to Leon. The latter took hold of it carefully and bowed his head slightly.
"Thank you. I'm truly grateful for this." Leon said earnestly.
"It's fine. Your ascension will help us all. When you complete it, I will tell you more. I will show you the full truth of your reincarnation and why I am so invested in you." Michael nodded. "Good luck." He turned around and vanished, leaving Leon and Nedra alone on the floating island.
Leon held onto the crystal with an eager gaze. He felt the pure and unadulterated Divine Energy circulating within it. Without wasting time, he sat down and crossed his legs on the ground before crushing it within his grasp.
BOOM!
A vast wave of power exploded from within the crystal and washed over the island, covering it in a red-black haze of malevolent energy.
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