Chapter 8: Daily Life

At the border, the once towering Golden Tree that obscured the sun had disappeared without a trace. A large sun now occupied the position where the Golden Tree once stood.

Although this sun was not as dazzling as the Golden Tree, it continuously emitted light and heat into the sky.

Compared to the Golden Tree, the presence of the sun was much less noticeable, to the point where people sometimes subconsciously ignored its existence.

"Phew! Finally done with work for today!" Gedeven stretched lazily from his desk. The busy work was over, and now it was time for some leisure.

As the governor of the border now, there were too many things for Gedeven to handle.

However, thanks to Parci's abundant knowledge, the border had managed to break free from the previous system of one god and one king.

The reorganization of the governing officials that followed also greatly relieved Gedeven's burden.

"It's truly impressive how much power the system possesses, all thanks to the King's friend. There's still so much more for me to learn," Gedeven chuckled, shaking his head. There was still much for him to learn.

Closing the documents, Gedeven ended a day's work.

"I should go ask Mr. Parci about today's questions during my free time!" Gedeven thought to himself. His so-called leisure time was spent resolving his own doubts.

Just as he exited the administrative hall, Gedeven spotted Mikaela, who had also finished work.

Although Mikaela was petite, her beautiful face exuded all the goodness in the world.

Mikaela, the divine being—possessing the pure golden law, her Sacred Tree encompassed all existence, and she herself wielded the authority to make others fall in love with her.

Because Mikaela viewed everything as equal, she was now the magistrate of the border, with no less power than before.

Mikaela nodded to Gedeven as a greeting. However, neither of them stopped to chat because they knew they had more important things to do.

Parting ways at the newly constructed Royal City Avenue, Mikaela headed straight for the Grand Arena of Rodell.

Since Ember sacrificed himself, Marlene had become even more silent, fighting day in and day out without rest.

Fortunately, after the First King, Gepherin, abdicated his throne and resumed his identity as the warrior Horai Lou, he fought alongside Marlene in the Grand Arena once again.

"Boom!" As they approached the arena, the ground trembled more and more.

Fortunately, with the prohibition spell cast by Laina and Lenara, otherwise Rodell wouldn't be able to withstand the two's battles.

Sitting casually in a seat, Mikaela knew that Marlene needed to vent. As her brother, all he could do now was to accompany her.

Underneath the Altar Plateau, Laina and Ratane stood before the Decodas Great Lift.

"Have you looked at the drawings? If you have any questions, tell me now," Laina maintained her usual cold demeanor.

"Hahaha, don't underestimate your big brother. I am, after all, one of the top gravity mages in the border." Ratane, clad in heavy armor, laughed heartily.

"Everyone, step back!" Ratane shouted loudly, attracting the attention of onlookers.

Seeing everyone step back, Laina nodded imperceptibly. Even when not in combat, the aftermath of her half-god full-power spells was not something ordinary people could withstand.

Her snow priestess cape billowed open as Laina extended her arms, holding four top-tier staffs.

Then, a convergence of green light formed around the four staffs, followed by four massive green pillars erupting from them!

Azl, the Comet—One of the spells of the Origin Mage, Azl's magic. It is said that the homeland of the Comet is in the distant starry sky. It can release a star stream—the colossal comet.

The surging star stream struck the cliff of the Altar Plateau, while Laina simultaneously controlled the speed and direction of the star stream while casting four Azls.

Seeing this, Ratane's Starfall Greatsword also emitted a faint purple light.

Under Ratane's superb gravity magic, the tunnel dug out by Laina was rapidly solidified!

Before long, the booming sound of the star stream dissipated, and a tunnel several dozen meters in diameter and tens of kilometers long appeared before everyone's eyes.

From now on, everyone could go to the Altar Plateau without any rituals. This tunnel was open to everyone!

"Let's go, to the next location." Laina didn't linger for long; there were still many facilities in the border waiting for her to rebuild.

Since the Shattered War began with her, although human fragmentation had been repaired by Ember, the world was still in ruins.

Repairing the broken world was both her atonement and what Ember hoped for.

On the other side of the world, on the giant flame cauldron, a figure sat on the edge of the cauldron's opening.

Merlina stared at the reignited flames of the evil god, absent-mindedly playing with her spirit horse whistle in her hand.

Her fate should have ended here, but Ember reversed her fate. She did not die, but she lost the mission she relied on for survival.

Fortunately, Merlina quickly found herself a new mission. Since she couldn't become the King's Flame, she decided to become the witch serving the King, just as she had promised the King before.

But soon, even this mission dissipated with the burning of the King.

Watching the busy giants below the cauldron, Merlina fell into confusion, feeling like she had lost her purpose in life.

While Merlina was filled with sorrow, Patch's joy was undisturbed. His long-awaited Patch's Old Shop had finally opened—legitimately acquired goods this time!

"Ding-dong!" A clear bell rang as someone entered the shop.

"Wow, welcome... uh..."

"Am I dreaming? Stop kidding! Wake up quickly! This kind of unfoldment isn't funny!" Patch's expression quickly changed from joyful to terrified.

The shop's door closed automatically, darkness pouring in, and a figure emerged from the darkness, walking towards Patch.

Her pitch-black gown trailed on the ground, exuding both nobility and the alluring curves of a woman.

Her cloud-like shawl added a touch of softness to her, and beneath the shawl were her arms wrapped in pitch-black bandages. Paired with the crown-like eye mask on her face, she appeared even more mysterious.

"So, Mr. Patch, what do you need to send me to Lord Ember's world?" The Fireproof Woman asked.

...

"Boom boom boom!" Ember held up his brass shield, tapping it with a wooden stick.

"The sun's up, get up!" Accompanied by Ember's shout and the echoing sound of the brass shield, two petite witch girls soon appeared before Ember.

"Alright, hurry up and get ready for breakfast! I'll take you shopping later." Ember waved his big hand, deciding on today's itinerary.

"Oh! Yay! Shopping!" Galara exclaimed in excitement. Shopping was one of the things girls loved to do, and Galara was no exception.

"..." Collei hadn't fully recovered from her escape experience, but the silent girl still managed to smile.

Although she hadn't fully recovered, she was on her way out, wasn't she?

"Alright, let Collei see my cooking skills today." Ember confidently patted his chest, making a sound like gold and iron clashing.

Galara shivered, snapping out of her excitement. She quickly grabbed Collei 's hand and ran into the kitchen, shouting loudly:

"Ember, let us girls handle the cooking, alright?"

Then there was a "bang!" The kitchen door was locked. It seemed that Ember's last meal had left a deep impression on Galara.

But Ember didn't care about these things. He rubbed his chin, deep in thought.

["Fatui? Why didn't I think of that!"] Ember clapped his hands, feeling that with the Fatui as taste-testers, his cooking skills would surely improve by leaps and bounds.

Soon, a simple breakfast was brought to the table by Galara and Collei.

At the table, Galara stared intently at Ember's helmet, while Collei, although eating with her head down, occasionally glanced in Ember's direction.

It seemed that the two girls had reached some small agreement in the kitchen.

Ember picked up a piece of bread, deliberately slowing down his movements. Galara's gaze had already been drawn to the hand holding the food, and Klee had stopped eating as well.

The bread approached Ember's helmet bit by bit, and the girls' breathing became heavier.

But in the moment when the bread approached Ember's helmet, the two of them only saw a flicker of darkness, and then the bread in Ember's hand disappeared.

"Ah!" Galara pounded the table in frustration. She hadn't seen what Ember looked like!

Collei also resumed eating, but there was a slight resentment brewing within her.

[Humph! Even the Fireproof Woman hasn't seen my appearance. Do these two little girls think they can?] Although the appearance of a living corpse wasn't something to be proud of, Ember still raised his head proudly.

"Dong dong dong!" A hurried knocking sounded at the door.

"Coming!" Ember put away his proud look, and with a reply, he walked towards the door.

"Good morning, Uncle Ember!"

Amber, full of energy, appeared before Ember.

(End of this chapter)