The entirety of Earth has been bathing in the black flames for only at most a few minutes, but to the people themselves, it felt too long.
The flames made them feel a torture unlike anything they have ever felt before, and yet they did not dare scream in pain. Even the tears that threatened to spill, they held back with all their willpower. But it was not because they were brave or loved the pain.
Many of them were the weak and powerless people who had not been chosen as Avatars of the Imaginary Tree, going about their everyday lives as though they were not in the middle of a war.
Some of them were children who were lucky enough to survive the onset of war and still lived freely. Some of them were the elderly who only thought of their survival while swearing at the Chosen who did not manage to save everyone.
And many were Chosen, Avatars of the Imaginary Tree who prioritised their reputation and politics over the war that nearly wiped out the entire population of Earth.
They all remained silent as they felt the pain and anguish transmitted by the black flames. They all held back their tears as they were bombarded by the resentment and hatred contained within the black flames.
Because they were not worthy. They did not deserve even the smallest reprieve from this torturous hell. And even as some of them succumbed and fell to their deaths, no one dared be infuriated.
All they could feel was tremendous shame. Their lives were a humiliation, an insult to the sacrifice of the one man who had to endure everything without receiving anything in return, not even gratitude.
But before many more died, before many more souls were trapped beneath the weight of the black flames, an island in the middle of a river disappeared. And in front of the very eyes of the House of Grace, a garden appeared around the only man who stood unaffected by the black flames.
The garden looked beautiful even with only white lilies and red roses adorning its verdant soil. But what was surprising was that the black flames dared not trespass into its hallowed grounds.
And in the sky above the garden, shining its brilliant scarlet light was the Red Moon which trembled even more noticeably than last time.
Erta and Reynor were both pushed back by the scarlet light leaving Caelum bathing in it alone. But his despondence only made the Red Moon tremble even more.
And then, a thin black line appeared horizontally across the surface of the Red Moon. And it grew bigger until it revealed a deep crimson behind the slit.
It was only for a moment, but they all could tell what it was.
The Red Moon was actually a giant crimson eye floating in the sky. And although it was yet to fully open its lids, the power it poured out was already enough to drown most of them to death.
And yet what appeared in that tide of scarlet light was an iridescent crown whose obsidian body was inlaid with nine jewels of varying colours. Everyone who laid eyes on the crown understood the kind of treasure it is.
It was a Divine Instrument, a regalia used by gods. It was an object that contained the Divinity of its owner.
Perhaps to most people on Earth, they would not have known this. But the House of Grace had a very long history in the Myriad Worlds so they could only be baffled by its appearance here and now of all times.
Erta was perhaps the only person on Earth who has ever seen a Divine Instrument before since the True Avatar of the Divine Obelisk had one, however it was not as powerful as the crown before her.
In fact, now that she has seen this crown, she even doubted whether the sceptre of the True Avatar of the Divine Obelisk was even a real divine instrument. But all thoughts vanished when they saw what happened next.
From Caelum's despondent body came out a woman with long black hair and ruby eyes. Her naked illusory body floated away as she gazed at Caelum for a brief moment before stretching her hands toward the crown.
The crown flew toward her and as it found its place on her head, the world was dyed in scarlet.
Erta could not help but be shocked. How could she not recognise that woman when it was only at most two days ago when she last saw her. And that was before she fell unconscious during Caelum's battle against Vlad Tepes.
That woman was none other than Elizabeth Bathory, the master of the unique dungeon in Nostram City of the Evonian Republic. However, Erta did not have the time to even wonder how Elizabeth Bathory managed to appear here nor what her purpose was because when the scarlet light died down, the woman had already changed in appearance.
Floating above Caelum amidst the scarlet light was a beautiful woman with long crimson hair. Her formerly naked illusory body was now covered in a majestic black dress twinkling with glimmering starlight that paired perfectly with the obsidian crown adorning her head.
Then her ruby eyes locked onto Erta who shivered from the sheer power behind the gaze. But Elizabeth only smiled and extended a hand toward her.
Erta's body suddenly flew forward and entered the garden on its own. She was still baffled when Elizabeth landed in front of her, hugging her tightly.
"Dear Sister, it's been too long since we were last together. Your little sister missed you so much. But I'm afraid our reunion will have to wait. The tribulation has begun. We need to handle this quickly before it gets worse."
"But… I don't know how."
Erta replied with a hint of shame and sadness in her voice.
Elizabeth looked at her in pity. She naturally knew Erta. In fact, she knew Erta more than Erta knew herself at the moment.
The problem was that Erta was still being tied down by her past. Her fears and insecurities have manifested in response to Caelum's change. But Elizabeth knew that Erta was at least stronger than her. So she continued to hug her to comfort her before speaking again.
"Do not worry. Just do as your heart tells you. Believe it or not, you've already done this before. You only need a little push this time, Sister."
Erta was surprised to be called sister. As far as she knew, Elizabeth was not in any way related to Caelum by blood. And obviously she was not related to Erta either. But before she could ask what Elizabeth meant by her words, the latter had already moved to stand in front of Caelum.
Her smile was now replaced by a frown as she gazed into Caelum's eyes. They were deep black, empty and bottomless. They held no power, no will, no purpose.
She gazed deeper in only to find his soul scorched black by the very flames he let loose. The flames have long been kept within him, torturing him for an eternity. And this was the first time he had truly let them go.
Sighing, Elizabeth caressed Caelum's cheeks, gently raising his head to meet her gaze.
"You really overdid it this time, Al. It's time for you to wake up now. Come back to me."
With her last words, she leaned in and tapped her crown onto Caelum's forehead. Her eyes were still locked onto his, making sure that she did not miss the moment that he regained his mind. And her wait did not last long.
To the world, they could not hear anything that Elizabeth had said. To Erta, they only sounded like normal words. But to Caelum, they were the last thread that he hung onto unknowingly. And the moment he heard them, his eyes shone with clarity as he met her gaze.
Her voice brought a rush of memories that filled in a lot of the blanks in his head. And when he realised who she was, he embraced her as tears flooded out of his eyes.
Erta stood in stunned silence as she watched someone else manage to bring her husband back when she could not. But somehow, she thought it was natural. If there was anyone who could do it, it was without a doubt Elizabeth.
"I can't do this, Elise. Not again."
"Stop crying now, Al. You're only saying that because your memories are incomplete. Plus this wing is not yet fully unsealed which made your tribulation this time more difficult than before."
"But they can't be redeemed. I don't know if I can… I don't know if I want to…"
"This cycle has been too hard on you. And that little tree of yours must have been too excited to have you back that it pushed you to the edge."
Elizabeth glared at the illusory tree looming over Earth as she gently comforted Caelum. Then she looked at Erta and smiled as she waved her hand to call her over.
Erta meekly walked toward them. It was her second time seeing Caelum cry, but it was the first time seeing him look like a powerless child. Elizabeth untangled herself from Caelum's embrace and made him look at her as she spoke solemnly.
"Al, I cannot maintain this form for long. Soon I will have to return next to your soul to rest so I won't be able to take care of you much in this cycle. But you have to promise me that you will keep going, okay? Go back to where you fell three years ago and unseal your wing. Elder Sister will be taking care of you again. Make sure to listen to her well."
Caelum had now stopped crying and had recovered his calm. He stared at Elizabeth's face, a face that he had seen so many times before yet also seemed refreshingly new.
She looked so beautiful that he had the urge to just protect her forever. But he knew that despite her weakness, she had clawed her way up to this level and she had great pride in that.
That was why not only did he not insult her by wanting her to stay safely behind, he was grateful that she was here.
She was the pillar of support that he always leaned on. Perhaps she was the one person who completely understood the helplessness he felt. The one person who never let him be alone even when he left on his own. Elizabeth turned to Erta as her eyes slowly started drooping.
"Sister, take care of our husband."
"Wait, you're leaving already? What do we do about the flames?"
Erta looked around in a panic after suddenly remembering the black flames. Caelum still could not be bothered to take them back, although he would not have been able to even if he did want to since his Wing of Immolation was not fully under his control.
Elizabeth looked at the sea of black flames for a moment before seemingly remembering something. She looked at the garden, or more specifically, the soil beneath their feet.
Her brow raised in a questioning manner as though wondering why nothing has happened yet. And seemingly in response to her, a soft ethereal voice giggled mischievously.
The laughter was carried by a breeze that spread swiftly across the entire world. And the black flames were suddenly pulled toward the garden and disappeared leaving only a damaged world.
Elizabeth sighed as she smiled slightly. Although she did not know who or what it was, she had already felt its presence the moment she woke up. And she also realised that the reason it did not devour the black flames until just now was because it wanted the world to suffer more for making Caelum sad.
She looked at Caelum again. Her smile deepened when she saw his worried face. Even now, he was more worried about her than himself.
Elizabeth kissed him deeply as her body turned illusory and vanished into his body. Her words echoed in the garden as the obsidian crown sunk into Caelum's body as well.
"You are not alone, Al. I am always with you."