Two years. Two long years of incessant work, of endless battles, of losses and sacrifices. And finally, the Ark was complete.
Uriel stood in silence, contemplating the work that had emerged from Daeron's soul sea. It was no longer a blank canvas. Now stretching before him was a green and vibrant continent, a miniature world that pulsed with life of its own. Lush forests covered the mountains, their canopies swaying with a gentle breeze that seemed to sing a song of hope. Crystal-clear lakes reflected a blue sky dotted with white clouds, and rivers meandered through valleys where diverse fauna moved freely.
The climate was perfect, neither too warm nor too cold. Uriel could feel how the divine sun they had placed at the center of the world radiated its warmth, giving life to every corner of that pocket dimension. It was a paradise. A sanctuary. A new beginning for hundreds of millions of souls.
But the cost had been high.
Daeron was on the verge of collapse. His form, which had once been imposing and majestic, now appeared fragile, almost translucent. The weight of maintaining the soul world as the core of the Ark had slowly consumed him over those two years. Every day, every hour, every minute he had sacrificed a piece of himself to ensure that others could have a future.
"It's ready," Daeron said, his voice barely a whisper. He had summoned everyone to a final meeting at the center of the new world. Around him, the surviving sorcerers, the Awakened, the royal family, and Uriel had gathered to witness the decisive moment.
"Yes," Uriel replied, feeling a lump in his throat. "It's ready."
Daeron smiled—a tired but sincere smile. "Then it's time for the truth."
He turned to the crowd, his eyes scanning the faces of his people. Men and women he had ruled for centuries, whom he had protected and guided through countless adversities. Then, his gaze settled on a young figure standing at the front: his granddaughter, the royal princess of Twilight.
"Come here," he said to her, his voice full of immense love.
The princess, a young woman with dark hair and eyes that shimmered with unshed tears, approached trembling. "Grandfather..."
"Listen to me, little one." Daeron placed a hand on her head, his touch ethereal but warm. "I have lived for thousands of years. I have seen empires rise and fall, I have witnessed the birth and death of countless civilizations. But nothing, absolutely nothing, compares to the pride I feel for you."
A tear rolled down the princess's cheek. "You don't have to do this. We can find another way..."
"No," Daeron interrupted her with firmness but tenderness. "This is the only way. And I have accepted my fate." He paused, his eyes shining with intensity. "Take my memories. They are everything I have been, everything I have learned. They will guide you when I am no longer here."
The young woman opened her mouth to protest, but the words died on her lips when she saw the determination in her grandfather's eyes. Silently, she nodded.
Daeron inclined his head forward, and a flash of golden light emanated from his forehead, flowing into the princess. Uriel felt the Sovereign's memories transferring—an endless current of knowledge and experience that filled the void his absence would leave.
When the process ended, the princess fell to her knees, her body trembling as she processed everything she had received. But when she raised her head, her eyes were no longer those of a child. There was wisdom in them. Wisdom and pain.
Daeron straightened up slowly, his form beginning to glow with increasingly intense light. "Now," he said, looking at Uriel, "it's your turn."
Uriel nodded, gripping the sacred spear he had held throughout the ritual. It was a fifth-level divine weapon, the only one capable of piercing the essence of a Sovereign. He had kept it all that time, waiting for this moment.
"Are you ready?" Uriel asked, his voice barely a murmur.
"I have been since the beginning," Daeron replied with a smile.
The Sovereign began to transform. His human form faded, replaced by a colossal silhouette that grew and grew. Scales black as night covered his body as he stretched, elongating into a titanic serpent several kilometers in diameter. His head rose toward the sky, his eyes shining with the wisdom of millennia.
He was magnificent. He was terrifying. He was the final act of a king giving everything for his people.
Uriel raised the sacred spear, feeling its weight and power. The crowd around him fell into absolute silence. Even the breeze seemed to stop, as if the world itself held its breath.
The minute of silence stretched, heavy and solemn. Uriel looked at Daeron's colossal form, saw the acceptance in his eyes, the peace in his posture. Then, with a swift and precise motion, he drove the spear into the serpent's skull.
There was no pain. No screams. Only a flash of blinding light that illuminated the entire soul world, followed by a sigh that seemed to come from everywhere at once.
[You have killed a Supreme Beast: Daeron of the Twilight Sea]
[You have obtained a Memory]
Uriel felt Daeron's body begin to sink, his essence slowly dissipating. But before it could disappear completely, Uriel extended his hand and activated his dark storage. The enormous serpent's corpse was absorbed, preserved forever in the darkness of his personal space.
A week of mourning followed Daeron's death. The city of Fallen Grace dressed in black, and funeral rituals spread to every corner. The princess, now queen in her own right, led the ceremonies with a dignity that honored her grandfather's memory.
Uriel participated in the rituals, but his mind was elsewhere. He knew the real work was just beginning.
After the week of mourning, Uriel retreated to a private chamber within the soul sea. He sat on the ground, closed his eyes, and summoned the Memory he had obtained from Daeron.
Memory: [Ark of Time]
Memory Rank: Divine
Memory Level: VI
Memory Type: [Enchantment]
Memory Description: [Daeron, the Serpent King, the Sovereign of the Great River, gave his life to allow his subjects to be saved and have a better life in the future. As the king of his people, Daeron sacrificed himself for them to watch over their future.]
Enchantment: [Soul World]
Description: [A world created from the soul of a Sovereign. Can store a large number of living beings within it, maintaining a self-sustaining biome.]
Uriel smiled. It had worked. All his hard work, all the sacrifices, all the battles and losses, had borne fruit. Daeron's death had not been in vain.
He had sacrificed all additional enchantments that could have been obtained from the Memory, focusing everything on the single most vital one: the Soul World. Only that enchantment would allow hundreds of millions to live peacefully, protected from the corruption that ravaged the Tomb of Ariel.
"It's time," Uriel murmured, rising to his feet.
He left the chamber and headed to the center of the new world, where all the inhabitants had gathered. Hundreds of millions of people, from the elderly to newborns, had been transported into the soul sea over the past months. They were ready. Everyone was ready.
The new queen of Twilight approached Uriel, her face serene but her eyes shimmering with contained emotion. "Is it time?"
"Yes," Uriel replied. "It's time."
He positioned himself at the center of the crowd, extended his arms, and activated the enchantment. Daeron's Memory glowed in his chest, radiating a golden light that expanded in all directions.
A great flash blinded everyone present. Uriel felt the soul world activating, felt the Memory integrating into the reality of the Ark. The runes they had engraved over two years glowed intensely, forming a complex pattern that enveloped all the inhabitants.
And then, they disappeared.
Hundreds of millions of humans vanished in an instant, being sent into the Soul World within the Memory. Uriel felt each soul find its place in the new world, felt the mountains, forests, and lakes adapt to receive them. It was a perfect transition, smooth, like a dream from which they awakened in a better place.
When the light faded, Uriel found himself alone at the center of the soul world, now fully populated. Around him, the cities and villages they had built over the past months buzzed with activity. Millions of people were beginning their new lives, unaware of the sacrifice that had made their salvation possible.
Uriel sat atop a hill, observing the panorama. The world was beautiful. It was a perfect sanctuary, a place where life could flourish without the constant threat of profanation.
"The next time they come out," he murmured to himself, "will be when the Profaned no longer exist."
And that would be his mission. To cleanse the Tomb of Ariel, to eradicate the corruption that had tormented that world for millennia. Only then, when the danger had passed, would the Ark open and its inhabitants could return to a renewed home.
But that would be in the future. For now, Uriel allowed himself a moment of peace. He lay back on the grass, feeling the gentle breeze on his face and the warmth of the divine sun on his skin. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply.
He had kept his promise. The people of the river were safe. Daeron had given his life for them, and Uriel would make sure that sacrifice was not forgotten.
[Author Note —
And so we come to the end of this journey.
It's been almost two months of publishing chapters, with small pauses to correct and republish them, but it was worth the wait. As I said in the notes of Volume Four, this volume would be one of the longest and most ambitious I've written to date, with nearly seventy chapters.
It was truly entertaining to watch Uriel adapt to the real Tomb of Ariel, how his actions completely altered the fate of that place. His battles, discoveries, new powers, and other surprises.
Daeron... well, I don't have much to say. When I thought of the character, I saw him as an incredible guy, a classic hero with clear motivations: to save his people from extinction, even if it meant sacrificing himself. He truly represents the pride and power of a true ruler.
Now Cronos... well, it was really interesting to write him, as well as his interactions with Uriel, Shade, Daeron, Ananke, and his wife. He's not dead, as he will be important in the future—I'll only say that.
Now then, the core of this volume was the loops, like Volume Two, but on a more special scale. While the second loop repeated events in an estimated time, the loop of the Tomb of Ariel spanned hundreds of years, even thousands, and above all, it wasn't Uriel who remembered it—it was Cronos.
I initially thought about making it Uriel, but that would only make me repeat the formula of Volume Two.
Let's see, something I have a complaint about is that you really don't know what Cronos or Daeron were like, since in the novel there are only small details given in Volume Ten of the City of Repose and in Volume Eleven.
But since this is a fanfic meant to entertain and pass the time, I took many creative liberties.
Well, something I have to reveal is that there will be a time skip after leaving the Tomb. It will be explained later how Uriel managed to escape along with all the inhabitants of the Great River and where they are now.
Something else is that this fanfic only has two more volumes left to finish, making a total of seven volumes. If everything goes as I plan, this story will end around two to three hundred chapters, and the ending...
Well, the ending will be a surprise—though not much of a surprise, since those who read this know my taste for making Uriel suffer over time and such things.
Well, that's all from me.
I'll take a well-deserved break from this story to work on the other stories I have on pause.
Well, if you're bored, you can read it again and give me power stones.
Now, then.
See you soon.
End of Volume 5: Tomb of Ariel]