The entire Aranol Maze was a labyrinthine formation meticulously arranged by a sixth-rank Radiant Sun
But now, after the unidentifiable impact earlier and the deliberate secondary strike from Leilin, the entire maze had begun to collapse.
Cracks spread inch by inch through the walls, and the glowing runes within shattered into dust.
The previously vast lava lake was slowly drying up, exposing a fractured ground surface.
The corridors continued to disintegrate, the destruction radiating outward from this central point.
"The Aranol Maze is collapsing? That's somewhat earlier than I expected."
Meanwhile, threads of dark shadows surged toward the maze's core at an even faster pace.
Beyond the infinite world rifts, behind the dimensional membrane, lay a world of flames resembling a sun, with the solemn and imposing Aranol Maze forming its exterior.
Suddenly, the entire maze let out a groan of unbearable strain, and inch by inch, it began to crack and crumble apart.
Once the very foundations had completely collapsed, the colossal structures above started to cave in with thunderous crashes, while vast numbers of fire elemental particles scattered and fled.
Boom!
Accompanied by an enormous roar, the maze from before disintegrated entirely, revealing a demiplane hidden at its core.
Crack! A flash of light flickered through the void, and Melinda was the first to step into the demiplane.
A so-called demiplane, like the Morning Star
The very first thing Melinda saw was the figure of flames seated upon a crimson-gold throne at the center of the demiplane!
At the same time, the flame figure turned its head, meeting Melinda's gaze.
A terrifying fluctuation reaching the sixth rank emanated from the figure's body, with a dreadful aura of authority constantly swirling around them.
Sixth rank! Radiant Sun Wizard! Throne-level powerhouse!
Seated upon the crimson-gold throne was none other than the Radiant Sun Wizard who had grasped a portion of the Laws of Fire, the ruler of vast territories who had nearly eradicated the Bloodline术士—the Throne of Flames!
"You've arrived?" The Throne of Flames fixed its eyes upon Melinda, its voice neutral, impossible to identify as male or female.
"Yes! I've returned, to reclaim everything that is mine!" Melinda murmured, her tone growing steadily more resolute.
"You are nothing more than a set of emotions I deliberately cast off in order to ascend to the Radiant Sun rank—mere garbage I discarded. What could you possibly reclaim?"
The flames parted, revealing the wizard seated upon the throne.
This wizard was unmistakably a woman, and her face bore a considerable resemblance to Melinda's.
"No! I am the primary consciousness of the original body! You are nothing but a petty thief who seized my body! A despicable thief!"
Melinda's face flushed crimson.
"So that is why you seized this opportunity to try and take everything back?" The witch upon the throne smiled, as though watching a mischievous child throwing a tantrum before her. "However, I must admit—the allies you found are rather impressive wizards, powerful and possessing the potential for further advancement. In the future, they could very well become several new Throne-level powers!"
"It's all over! Give me back everything that belongs to me!"
Melinda stepped forward, the aura around her body surging violently, showing signs of even surpassing the peak of the fifth rank!
"Right now, having lost me, you are at the lowest point of your strength. And the stronger I become, the weaker you grow!"
Melinda took several more steps, brilliant light flickering continuously in her eyes.
"Once I suppress you, I will obtain everything!"
The crimson-gold flames rose once more, and the witch upon the Throne of Flames slowly stood. "You are mistaken. No matter how weak a Radiant Sun Wizard may be, they remain a Radiant Sun Wizard for eternity! Moreover, it has been over three thousand years. In all that time, did you truly think I would do nothing?"
"It was merely a problem involving the soul. Bolstered by the primordial force of fire and supplemented by the accumulated knowledge of the entire Wizard World, I long ago found a way to make up for the loss of a portion of my true spirit..."
As if to prove her words, a golden sun suddenly materialized behind the witch.
The scorching power of true spirit began to ripple throughout the entire demiplane, radiating fluctuations so overwhelming that they nearly suffocated Melinda.
This was the true spirit of a Radiant Sun Wizard! What had once been cold moonlight had been completely transformed into terrifying, scorching flames of radiance, and both its scale and power had reached their absolute peak!
"You... you've recovered?" Melinda abruptly halted her steps.
"Not recovered—ascended to an even greater peak!"
The Throne of Flames, wearing a face similar to her own, declared this with an aura of terrifying, unquestionable power behind every word.
"My, my! It seems I've overheard something rather extraordinary!"
A semi-transparent shadow suddenly materialized, and the raspy voice of Mirror came from the darkness.
"So... Melinda, you are my enemy as well!"
With Mirror's appearance, Leilin and Joanna arrived shortly after. But the Joanna of this moment was clearly vastly different from before, and Clark was nowhere to be seen, as though he had vanished without a trace.
Joanna now regarded Melinda with eyes full of hatred. "I trusted you so completely before, yet you betrayed me!"
"Hm?" Leilin studied Joanna in her current state. "So it was her all along. I initially thought the earlier tremor was caused by Mirror or Melinda... That appearance—it resembles one of the twelve supreme physiques described in those ancient texts..."
Under the Chip's scan, every detail of Joanna's appearance was thoroughly recorded and displayed on the projection.
In the projection, Joanna not only had hair that had turned entirely deep purple, but an eerie floral pattern had also surfaced on her forehead like a tattoo, rippling with a strange, otherworldly radiance.
[[Alert! Anomalous body radiation detected. Attraction to energy particles has increased dramatically. Surface displays Manxter tattoo pattern...]]
The Chip began feeding back scan results, and through Leilin's gaze, Joanna herself seemed to have become a colossal magnet, drawing in every stray energy particle from the void and forming bizarre circuits within her body that continuously restored her spiritual power and mana—pushing past bottlenecks and even climbing higher.
"I really want to..."
Leilin lowered his head, concealing the sharp gleam in his eyes.
"I really want to study her! Not just her physique, but this ability—it's clearly related to augmenting soul-based talents. I have methods to improve Elemental Affinity, but this kind of soul-talent enhancement is virtually extinct even in the Central Continents..."
"What happened between her and your people happened after she split from me, as did the business with the Bloodline术士. Therefore, I am not your enemy!"
Melinda looked at Joanna and Leilin, offering a bitter smile as she explained.
"Her strength exceeds my expectations. I need your help!"
"I couldn't care less!" Mirror was the first to retort. "The promise you made—to share the Law Comprehension Crystals after killing her—was a lie too, wasn't it?"
Leilin recalled then that when they had first drawn up the contract, Melinda had stipulated that if they killed the Throne of Flames, the resulting Law Comprehension Crystals would be divided equally, and she would even forgo her own share.
At the time, they had been opposing the Throne of Flames, and Leilin had assumed Melinda would have to fight just as desperately as they did.
But now it was clear she had left a loophole that wasn't really a loophole.
Because she was a portion of the Throne of Flames' soul, and the moment Melinda reunited with the original body and seized control of the Throne of Flames, the previous Throne of Flames could be said to have "died."
And since the other party hadn't truly perished, there would be no Law Comprehension Crystals to speak of, making any division a moot point.
"This woman had ill intentions from the very start, planning to use us as her laborers!"
Leilin shook his head internally. "Although I never held any expectations of her, this kind of conduct is still rather unpleasant."
He could see it all with perfect clarity. If Melinda succeeded, they would receive nothing beyond whatever resources they had already obtained in the Duchy of Doze. And by then, Melinda would have become the Throne of Flames—a sixth-rank Radiant Sun Wizard. Even if they harbored grievances, they would not dare voice them.
Melinda's plan had been nearly flawless, but what she hadn't anticipated was that not only had Leilin and Joanna's strength far exceeded her expectations, but the original Throne of Flames had gradually eliminated the drawbacks of the soul split and now maintained power possibly at its very peak!
"Sinners who dared to violate my capital city—kneel now and beg my forgiveness!"
Scorching soul force, hard as steel, sealed off the surrounding space. The Throne of Flames' deep, resonant voice boomed forth, bringing tremendous pressure to bear upon Leilin and the others.
"No! Wait—we still have a chance! If her injuries were truly healed, she wouldn't have holed up in here, watching as we smashed through the capital city and slaughtered her subordinates!"
Melinda's expression was grim at first, then suddenly brightened.
"Leilin, Joanna, everything depends on you two this time. Afterwards, no matter what you ask, I will agree to it!"
Before, Leilin and Joanna's extraordinary strength had posed a variable in Melinda's calculations, but now those very variables offered her a new glimmer of hope!
"Laughable!"
Before Leilin and the others could even respond, the witch before the throne had already struck with a cold sneer.
Golden light blazed like an entire world—the resplendent golden soul force dazzling beyond measure, with torrents of flame pouring outward, making Leilin almost believe the Son of the Sun himself had been reborn in this place.
Like the first rays of a blazing dawn, accompanied by a piercing scream woven between the light, when Leilin opened his eyes once more, Mirror had already been seized in the palm of the Throne of Flames.