Her words resonated through the skies, causing the air to vibrate under immense pressure.
The darkness before her seemed to quiver, recoiling from the sheer power emanating from her presence.
Below, the people watched in silent awe, their hearts swelling.
Tears streamed down the faces both young and old as they witnessed this divine intervention, a beacon of salvation in their darkest hour.
Baelor, still gazing upward, felt a sudden urge of hope igniting within. He knew, among the many the situation that humanity was facing. On the brink of extinction, yes... and as for this appearance of a new human venerable. Surely, humanity will have a place to exist.
Clenching his fists, he stood taller, his exhaustion and injuries momentarily forgotten.
"We are not forsaken," he murmured. "Humanity won't perish"
Throughout the city, similar sentiments echoed as humanity, for the first time in millennia, felt the tides of fate turning in their favor.
"Humanity, proud as always... "
"Even in the darkest of times, clinging to the futility of hope. Yet, still persistent like cockroaches you are," the voice of darkness chimed from the front, its ominous tone reverberating across the land, spreading miles away into the unknown.
The words carried deep forgotten malice, a disdain that seeped into the very earth and air around them.
And yet, under this threat the venerable remained steadfast upon her radiant throne, her golden eyes blazing with under an immense light that rivaled the sun itself.
The malevolence in the voice only fueled her smirk. She stood taller.
Her words thundered back in response, "Vile creature of darkness, and all you prying eyes on my Human race. Be fearful of my might—the path of the Sun Divinity!"
Her declaration, proud yet graceful, echoed not only through the void before her but also as a warning to the unseen forces beyond the borders of the human realm, those who watched and schemed from the shadows.
Her voice carried a chilling killing intent, a reminder that humanity now possessed a new venerable in charge of its safety.
"Chattering like a child," the darkness mocked, its voice dripping with condescension. "Show me... your strength."
"Very well..." Elara's voice was calm, yet there was a storm brewing within her.
*BOOM!*
The very air seemed to tear apart as a sudden, violent surge of power rippled through the sky.
With a single, fluid motion, Elara tilted her hand upward.
"Then to heed your words, I shall cleave this land into two alongside you"
"Rest assured, you will perish filled with pain and anguish" She stared downwards towards the churning sky on the horizon, disdain evident within each of her motions.
In an instant, a colossal sword materialized, forged from pure golden light, adorned with wisps of sun particles that danced along its edges like miniature solar flares. And with that, the world became bright, brighter than the day itself as if a sun had appeared over the sky. a
It towered over the landscape, standing a full kilometer in height with a thickness that rivaled the width of an entire street in the capital city.
Its blade gleamed with immense golden light that seemed to cut through the night like a beacon of hope, piercing the darkness that had enveloped the land.
Under the immense presence of the sword, the very fabric of space seemed to shudder and strain. The world began to vibrate and the city below held witness to this scene with wide-opened eyes.
The ground beneath trembled, unable to withstand the sheer pressure.
It was as if the world itself recognized the magnitude of what was unfolding.
This awe-inspiring scene wasn't confined to the battlefield alone. The towering sword, blazing with divine energy, could be seen from miles away.
In Graham City, the people paused, their eyes drawn upward to the sky. Across the neighboring cities and every corner of the empire, humanity collectively held its breath.
All activities ceased as the population turned their gaze to the heavens, witnessing a spectacle that defied comprehension.
The light of the sword illuminated the night sky, transforming it into a radiant display visible from every corner of the human empire.
Whispers of disbelief, prayers of hope, and gasps of awe filled the air as every soul, from the highest noble to the humblest peasant, bore witness to this divine action of this venerable tonight. And everyone that sees this had one thought collectively the same as the rest.
"A venerable?" "W-we finally have a venerable after so many years?" "Humanity won't perish!"The darkness roared back in defiance, the very essence of its being coiling and expanding like a living nightmare, its voice echoing with fury. "Presumptuous two-legged beast!"
The sky over the Ignaria Empire, already marred by the clash of light and shadow, grew even darker.
The swirling darkness above churned violently, blotting out the twin moons that once graced the night with their silver glow.
What was left was a void, a vast expanse of nothingness that seemed to stretch endlessly, devouring all light and hope.
Tonight was destined to be a restless night for the people. Even to those races outside of the border and the surrounding human empires that managed to bear witness to this scene, tonight was a restless night for everyone.
The skies, once serene and beautiful, were now a battlefield, painted black and white in a cosmic struggle of unimaginable proportions.
The sky groaned under the pressure, the very air charged with an oppressive energy that made the trees shudder and the earth tremble.
The darkness shifted and swelled, and from within it, a monstrous hand emerged, far larger than the city and the surrounding mountains.
It was twice the size of Elara's massive sword, a colossal appendage of shadow and malice, stretching out as if to grasp and crush the very life from the world. Within it, faces of humans filled with despair, tears, and sadness emerged in thousands, as if that was the main essence that formed this horrible power.
The people across the empire, from the bustling cities to the quietest hamlets, looked up in awe and terror at the sight above.
The ground beneath them rumbled, a low hum of the vibration that seemed to pulse in time with the movements of the dark hand.
Winds howled through the streets, rattling windows and whipping through the forests.
Amid this chaos, Elara remained unfazed, seated regally upon her throne.
Her eyes gleamed with a mixture of disdain and absolute arrogance as she gazed down upon the shadowy hand, her expression one of utter contempt.
"So you would reach out in defiance, beast?" she said, her voice dripping with arrogance. "You are nothing but a shadow playing at strength, a mere illusion of power. A homeless wreck of an abandoned world"
"I deemed that you are unworthy to exist"
"Then try, Human!"
The demon roared.
"Then… fall"
She whispered the last word, her tone cold and final as if the verdict had already been cast.
With a simple wave of her hand, the massive sword of golden energy responded instantly.
It swung down in a perfect arc, a 180-degree slice that tore through the sky with unimaginable speed and force.
For such a size, the sword sliced downward almost instantaneously. Such speed brought terror to those who witnessed this scene.
*BOOM!*
The very air blistered as the sword descended, the heat from its radiant edge igniting the atmosphere in a blinding flash of light.
The sound of its movement was not merely heard. It was felt deep within the bones of every living creature across the empire.
The noise was so intense, so overwhelming, that it seemed to drain all color and life from the world for a brief moment.
*BOOM!*
The sky, the earth, the very essence of existence held its breath as the two forces collided.
When the sword met the dark hand, the impact was cataclysmic.
A shockwave erupted from the point of collision, tearing through the surroundings like a giant crashing.
The ground below cracked and buckled, fissures opening up as far as the eye could see.
Entire mountains shuddered and split, sending avalanches of stone cascading down their slopes.
The wind, already fierce, became a tempest, whipping through the landscape with the force of a thousand storms, uprooting trees and hurling debris into the air like leaves in a hurricane.
The dark hand resisted for a moment, its immense size and power enough to make the earth groan under the strain.
But the resistance was brief.
And with that, a voice tinged with disbelief came.
"H-how can this be!!!?"
"Noooo!!!!"
The golden sword, imbued with the full might of the venerable's divine power, cleaved through the darkness with unstoppable force.
*BOOM!*
The dark hand was split in two, its essence unraveling into tendrils of shadow that were consumed by the radiant light of the sword.
Across the empire, people fell to their knees, not out of reverence, but because the earth itself was trembling so violently that they could no longer stand.
In distant cities and towns, where the full scope of the battle could not be seen, the sky lit up with flashes of light, followed by the ominous rumble of the shockwaves that reached them moments later.
The ground beneath their feet shook as if struck by an earthquake, windows rattled, and buildings swayed dangerously.
Farmers who were working during the day and night dropped their tools in shock, children cried out in fear, and merchants halted in the streets, all looking skyward with wide eyes, wondering what force of nature could cause such a disturbance.
For those farther away, who could not see the clash directly, the sky itself seemed to vibrate.
They saw the heavens flash in blinding light, then darken, as if night had suddenly turned to day and back again in a matter of seconds.
The sound reached them next, a deep, resonant boom that echoed across the land, followed by a rumbling that they felt in their very bones.
In the capital city, where the king stood guard, the light of the sword illuminated the night as if a second sun had risen.
People rushed to the streets, staring in disbelief at the sight.
It was as if the world had split open above them, revealing a glimpse of some battle far beyond their comprehension.
But it wasn't just the light and sound that reached them.
Elara's words, carried by the divine energy that radiated from her, also reached every corner of the empire.
Her voice, calm and filled with authority, echoed in the minds of every man, woman, and child as if she stood beside each of them.
"Then… fall. Let this seat take pride in killing a bug"