Sovereign of the Ashes

Sein’s idea, of course, had no chance of coming true.

In the 57th year after his arrival at Eastern Stargazing Heights, the Spider Queen—who had vanished for over a century—reappeared.

Her divine clone suddenly emerged from the Silver Spider Ring, jolting Sein from his magic experiment.

Had it not been for his formidable mental fortitude and focus, the abrupt disturbance in his private laboratory might have triggered an elemental backlash.

Even a mere magic initiate understood how dire the consequences of such a backlash could be.

The Spider Queen’s sudden arrival was nothing short of an ambush.

After a hundred years, her once imposing presence had dulled, and she looked rather weary.

Clearly, whatever had occupied her during her absence had been no small ordeal.

Yet, if time had softened her in any way, she certainly did not show it in front of Sein.

With a single cold glance, she wordlessly forced him away from his experimental table.

Once she had sufficiently asserted her presence, she frowned slightly as if sensing his current location.

After a pause, she finally spoke, her voice sharp and icy.

“Why are you in Eastern Stargazing Heights...?”

“Uh... I’ll depart for the Western Archipelago right away,” Sein immediately replied.

Challenging the Spider Queen directly would be foolish.

At his swift compliance, her expression eased—if only slightly.

Her visit was brief. From the way she disappeared as suddenly as she had arrived, Sein guessed that whatever trouble she had been dealing with still was not fully resolved.

For a long time after she left, she did not return.

That absence only fueled Sein’s procrastination.

Despite his promise to the Spider Queen to depart for the Western Archipelago without delay, he remained in Eastern Stargazing Heights for several more decades, accumulating astrological knowledge unique to the region.

Needless to say, his travel had been immensely rewarding.

His collection of knowledge, specimens, and materials alone was enough to establish several new libraries upon his return to the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring.

Now he understood why many Rank Three grand mages all had private libraries of their own.

With the vast collection of books and research materials stored in his spatial equipment, Sein could have opened a private library himself by now.

***

After departing from Eastern Stargazing Heights, Sein felt little pressure, as the Spider Queen rarely appeared during this period.

Rather than taking the teleportation array directly to the Western Archipelago, he chose to travel to the West Coast, the land across the sea from his intended destination.

South of Eastern Stargazing Heights lay another major power of the Magus World—the Desert Kingdom of Jehannah, also known as the “Mercenary Kingdom” and the “Desert Kingdom”.

There were only three top-tier powers in the Magus World that operated as nations: the Byrne Empire, the Alveroth Empire, and the Kingdom of Jehannah.

The rest operated as organizations instead.

After all, ranked knights and full-fledged mages had already transcended mortal limitations, while those at Rank Four and above rarely concerned themselves with mundane affairs.

Given this reality, why would a Rank Seven overlord or overmage bother establishing a so-called nation?

Even most Rank Four and above powerhouses found the prospect uninteresting.

For mages like Dark Flame, even managing their own divine towers was a hassle—wasting time on the secular world was unthinkable.

These three nations stood as anomalies, their presence shaped by unique historical and developmental factors.

Yet, over time, their systems had evolved into highly structured and efficient governing bodies.

The structured nature of these nations gave them greater cohesion and executive power.

The Byrne Empire was widely regarded as the “Strongest Empire of the Magus World”, while the Alveroth Empire had successfully driven the widespread adoption of magic among the populace.

Without the support of a national framework, such large-scale advancements would have been nearly impossible for any other top force.

Of course, the Alveroth Empire took great offense at the Byrne Empire’s reputation as the “Strongest Empire of the Magus World”.

In truth, the strength of the two empires was quite similar.

While the Byrne Empire had far fewer mages than Alveroth, it compensated with a greater number of knights, superior overall legion quality, and stronger military discipline.

Moreover, Alveroth’s flourishing magical civilization made it difficult for its mage legions to achieve the same level of order and discipline as Byrne’s forces.

Mages valued freedom and equality—principles that stood in stark contrast to the knights’ rigid doctrine of absolute obedience.

This was both the strength and the weakness of mages.

Knights, ultimately, were better suited for interplanar warfare.

The recent incident at the Divine Tower of Dark Flame, which caused a mass exodus of registered mages, would never have happened had the tower been built in the Byrne Empire.

The strategic doctrine, history, and cultural influence of Byrne instilled a stronger sense of loyalty and obedience in its mages.

The Desert Kingdom of Jehannah held neither power nor prestige on par with the Byrne or Alveroth empires, but that was not the reason Sein decided against visiting this top-tier power.

The true reason lay in its reputation as the “Magic Desert”.

Unlike other nations, Jehannah had almost no spellcasters—a phenomenon even more extreme than in the Ylli Knight Alliance.

For a mage like Sein, traveling there would have been a complete waste of time.

Under normal circumstances, curiosity alone might have compelled him to explore it.

Yet, with the pressure from the Spider Queen mounting, he had no choice but to forgo a detour to Jehannah and head straight for the West Coast instead.

***

As the cradle of the Magus World’s Bloodline Warlocks, the West Coast was home to more than eighty percent of the Magus World’s warlocks.

The sheer variety of warlocks was enough to leave Sein in awe.

This method of integrating bloodline power with magical elements bore striking similarities to his own body-tempering experiments.

Contrary to common belief, the most numerous melee mages in the Magus World were not dual cultivators but Bloodline Warlocks.

When it came to the study of bloodline power, the Bloodline Warlocks of the West Coast were far more knowledgeable than those from the Northern Witches Council.

After all, their very power stemmed from it.

The Dragon Warlock Clan of the West Coast was the undisputed hegemon of this top-tier power in the Magus World.

Nearly all Bloodline Warlock clans depended on the Dragon Warlock Clan for survival, showcasing the sheer dominance of dragon bloodlines.

Upon arriving at the West Coast, Sein found himself caught between two objectives—enduring the Spider Queen’s increasingly frequent urgings and reuniting with an old friend, Angreas the Kermoine Serpent Warlock.

Perhaps Sein had known the Spider Queen for too long, as he found himself growing increasingly desensitized to her threats—to the point that he sometimes even dared to joke with her.

Or perhaps it was simply because she had never truly threatened his life.

Ever since she discovered that Sein had two protections on him, she had never attempted to kill him again.

Thinking back to their first encounter—when she had nearly crushed his skull—it was almost amusing how unpredictable fate could be.