CHAPTER 78
A strange silence swallowed her senses. There was no pain, no warmth, no light—only the soft rhythm of her breathing echoing in a place without time.
Sorayael opened her eyes.
She was floating. Or standing. Or maybe falling. The space around her was an endless black canvas, not cold but eerily still, like the world held its breath.
Then a soft golden shimmer, flickering like starlight in water appeared.
From that glow stepped a woman robed in twilight silk, silver hair cascading like waterfalls, golden eyes steady and wise—Velthira.
And beside her… a second figure emerged.
Sorayael’s breath caught in her throat.
She looked like her.
But older. Worn. Hardened by time and grief. The same silver hair, though streaked with duller tones, and those same golden eyes—dimming with burden.
Velthira turned to her, calm as moonlight. “It’s not yet over, child. Your journey still calls.”
The older woman stepped forward, a tired smile on her lips. “You have to wake up. The real threat still breathes.”
The woman exhaled as if she’d been waiting centuries. “I am you, Sorayael. From the future.”
Sorayael stared, confused, horrified. “That’s impossible…”
Velthira placed a hand on Sorayael’s shoulder. “This path doesn’t have to end like hers. But only if you rise now.”
The older Sorayael nodded, her voice steadier now. “Go. Protect them. Before it’s too late.”
Sorayael gasped as reality slammed back into her body.
She bolted upright, her hands digging into rubble and blood-stained stone. Her stomach burned from the Emperor’s blow, pain searing through her bones.
Her vision swam. It’s not from her injury but from fear.
She looked to the side—Lyrenna stood tall, having just ended the Dream Magic's last vestige. But the battle had drained her, and she turned toward Sorayael with concern. “You shouldn’t move—!”
But Sorayael’s breath hitched.
Her mother’s voice echoed in her head—now clear.
Her golden eyes widened. “Krios…”
She pressed her palm to her chest. Auctoritas pulsed, and in a whisper of light and will, it searched across the web of the world.
Images flared in her mind.
Krios. He’s bleeding and slumped beside Aeria. Her best friend was barely breathing.
Lyrenna reached for her, but in a flash of golden flame, Sorayael vanished.
The battlefield where Krios and Aeria lay was soaked in ruin.
A while ago.
Krios was about to end the fight but Alexander grinned and used his last option.
Alexander Franca Olinze stood before them, his blade shimmering with malice, a smirk carved into his face. “Pity,” he said mockingly, “such strong bonds. I’ll enjoy shattering them.”
He raised his sword—
But a burst of golden light exploded behind him.
The shockwave shattered the ground.
Alexander turned and froze to what he saw.
A figure stood there, shrouded in ethereal gold, her golden eyes burning, bleeding from the stomach but unbowed.
Sorayael.
Her expression was pure wrath. Her voice trembled, low and furious.
“Touch them again, and you’ll cease to exist.”
Alexander laughed. “You’re barely standing.”
Sorayael looked at Krios and was shocked about Aeria’s appearance.
‘Why is she..?’ she wanted to question her about it’s not the right time for that.
But the air around her shimmered, crackled, and screamed.
Alexander gulped, “Y-You think you can defeat someone like me? Who escaped the plan of fate? The one who survived the constellation's wrath? Even if you’re a God, you wouldn’t be able to defeat me.” he said with confidence.
Sorayael laughed, “HAHAHA how funny.” she said with a mocking tone.
“You’re such a douchebag in my sight. The fate? It can’t even defy me. Constellation’s wrath? Did you already forget that I am the daughter of the former heir of the Fire Constellation and the twin of the former emperor? Even the Gods and Goddesses can’t save you because I am the Auctoritas itself.
I am the authority that no one can defy. Not by you. Not by anyone else. But only me.”
She took a step forward and the world bent with her will.
“Judicium Arcanum!”
A radiant scale of divine judgment appeared above Alexander’s head, gleaming with celestial light. One side bore a glowing feather of truth; the other filled with the heavy weight of his sins. Golden chains burst forth, binding him to the ground, forcing him to kneel before her.
The memories of suffering that Sorayael hold ever since she was a kid, are now flooding to her head.
From her mother’s death… to Krios’ death and revival.. to everything she suffered for.
She made him received a lot of thunder blows before she decided to end him.
Alexander’s face twisted in confusion. “What are you saying—?”
But it was too late.
Golden light surged from Sorayael’s palm and wrapped around him. He screamed, clawed, thrashed but no one would remember.
‘Just like how you erased my parents’ identities to people—I will erase your good deeds to the people and will make them remember only your evil deeds.’
And then.. he was gone.
The battlefield crackled with the last remnants of Auctoritas’s wrath.
Sorayael stood swaying, every breath aching, the wound on her stomach still burning. She looked down—Aeria and Krios lay unconscious, their chests barely rising, their faces pale from blood loss and exhaustion.
Then she placed both palms gently over their hearts.
A golden light seeped from her skin, pouring into them like starlight bleeding into cracked glass. Their wounds began to close. Their breathing steadied.
But Sorayael coughed violently, blood staining her lips. Her vision blurred. Her limbs felt like they no longer belonged to her.
Footsteps thundered behind her.
Lyrenna arrived first, a sharp gasp escaping her lips when she saw Sorayael's state. Behind her, the Grand Duke, Xiaven, the heirs, and several knights poured in—fresh from sealing the last monster gate.
Xiaven knelt beside her, alarm flashing in his eyes. “What happened?! Her mana’s unstable—she’s overusing the Auctoritas!”
Her golden eyes darted toward the skies, remembering one name.
Azren.
She staggered to her feet, blood dripping from her mouth.
Xiaven tried to stop her. “Sora, no. You can’t move like that, you’ll—”
Her voice cracked. That one name carried everything—grief, fear, love, desperation.
She clutched Xiaven’s coat. “Please… take me to him.”
Xiaven closed his eyes. He sighed and without a word, he nodded and teleported.
The world shifted in a blink.
She stumbled into a quiet clearing behind the manor ruins, where time seemed to hold its breath.
Under the broken shade of a crumbled pillar, Azren Drethar Luceris Aethelgard was laid there, his eyes were closed, blood smeared across his shirt, his chest frighteningly still.
Nearby, Reinhold and Deimon were mid-bicker:
But when they felt the mana, they turned and saw her—
But Sorayael didn’t hear them.
She saw only him.
He was cold.
Her fingers curled into his shirt, tears dripping onto his chest. “You can’t… I still haven’t told you how much I.. how much I—”
And then the book appeared once more—glowing faintly, pulsing as if it, too, were alive.
She understood.
‘One last chance.’
Her hands rose. A golden aura surged through her. The constellation marks on her back flared brightly. The crown of Auctoritas returned—glorious, untouchable, divine.
Reinhold shielded his eyes. Deimon’s expression softened, awed and aching.
A heartbeat passed.
And the light exploded.
Azren’s body was bathed in it. His wounds closed. His chest jerked and he breathed.
But she was already falling.
Her power, her breath, her light.. were gone.
She collapsed forward.
Azren held her close, pressing his forehead to hers. “Please… don’t go. Not now. Not after everything.”
The sky above them was quiet.
But the world… had changed.
And her heartbeat.. stopped.
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