In the vast emptiness under the rule of the Northern Crown, Z was still stuck, trying his best to endure the pressure that was far greater than before. He was gritting his teeth hard enough for them to crush each other.
Inside him, Lumen was trying her best to supply Z with the necessary regeneration powers provided by Pure Arcane, but it is only a matter of time before her reserves run out.
'I wonder how the others are doing in their trials?' Z thought.
Unbeknownst to him, the others were already spiritedly chatting around the mountain peak. They were in high spirits and had no trace of hardship whatsoever. This is because, unlike Z, they knew the way to communicate with the Constellations and receive their powers thanks to thousands upon thousands of years of heritage.
Z, however, invoked a new path that only a few unaffiliated individuals knew about, hence his receiving the trial of the Constellation.
...
"Ugh!" Lea cried after receiving a fierce kick that sent her flying away. She struggled to even block the straightforward kick from Incor with her arms that are so dried up, you could almost see her bones through her skin.
"To think that En Dives has an heiress like this, shameful," Incor commented. There was still intense bloodlust in his eyes, but it was not as potent as before. Clearly, his reasoning came back.
"This is not over...I will see you in the Celestial Welcome," Lea said with all of her remaining strength.
"Hahahaha! I am afraid not. Even though I cannot kill you, I can deal enough damage to make you crippled until the Celestial Welcome," Incor said with a malevolent smile while channeling his Arcane toward his fingertips.
'Father...sorry,' was the only thing Lea could think.
She was already prepared to accept her fate when she saw a giant wing flood her field of vision. When she gazed up, she immediately recognized the Dragonoid in front of her, Yndrei.
"This is the end of the line, Incor. The fight is over," Yndrei said with a stern expression.
"Hahahaha! Why should I follow the orders of a lowly Dragonoid?" Incor mocked which immediately caused Yndrei to rage.
'Yndrei? Why is he helping me?' Lea thought in shock.
Yndrei was amidst his transformation, but he held himself back. With a deep breath, he said, "You are exhausted and barely sane, I will destroy you if we fight. Back off."
"Tsk! I just need to hold on. Uquir will be here shortly after she finishes that other bitch from your squad," he said with a grin, causing Yndrei to hesitate a little, but it faded as soon as he saw Lea's state.
"Come on! Let us see if you can last," he declared while bursting Arcane. The two were prepared to battle when they heard another voice.
"There is no need to fight. Uquir will not be joining us," the distinct voice of Ashe immediately stroke fear in Incor's heart.
"How are you here!?"
"Next time, send a stronger foe. Come on, Lea. Let us climb," Ashe said while gesturing to Yndrei to help Lea out.
"Thank you," Lea said with a low tone. The two of them could clearly understand where she was coming from. None of them would like to be in the situation she was in, helpless. 'This is an embarrassment to my family,' she sighed in her thoughts.
Back at the peak, Thea finally snapped out of her daze. A look of confusion appeared in her eyes after seeing that Z was gone.
'Did he leave already?' she thought.
Unbeknownst to her, the one she was looking for was still trapped in the domain of the Northern Crown. However, unlike before, there was a serene grace that surrounded him. Everything around was at peace and harmonious. Even the previously vicious light of the Northern Crown turned gentle and nourishing.
In the middle of it all, Z was floating, calmly absorbing the gift of the Constellation. An aura of authority was slowly building up in his body that increased not only increased his charisma but also his impact.
While Thea was looking around, she witnessed the ascent of the three students from The South Celestial Academy. A frown could not help but be painted on her face after seeing Lea's situation.
'Shame. Her brother would not have met such a fate,' she sighed in her thoughts.
The three of them meditated and called upon the Aurora Borealis when an anomaly happened at the peak. Everybody's eyes locked on a single point, Ashe's location.
No sound was made, but the trembling of the Laws around her clearly showed that the Celestials were repelling her presence. The Aurora Borealis moved away from her, not wanting to touch even a hair of hers.
This scenery made everyone look at her with disgust. They quickly understood why such an event was happening. 'Normally, Cursed Humans could still get the gift of the Celestials. This is not unheard of, which means that for her to get repelled, she must have embraced her curse,' Thea sighed in her thoughts once more.
Ashe immediately turned shy and embarrassed after seeing the look of everyone, prompting Lea to give her a comforting look, but it quickly turned to panic after a loud boom echoed through the mountain peak. The stars in the night skies changed their glow from gentle and beautiful to fearsome and tyrannical. The Aurora Borealis danced faster and faster as it clearly prepared its attack on Ashe.
Amidst the changes in the sky, Ashe merely sighed in disappointment as if predicting the occurrence. 'My master was right,' she thought as the attack drew closer to her.
A piercing sound reverberated across the entire mountain as the Aurora Borealis launched at Ashe, causing everyone to be wary. They had never seen anything like this before, so they did not know whether they were safe from it or not.
'Alas, I can only accept my fate,' Ashe sighed in her thoughts as she stared at the Aurora above with eyes that accepted death.