Sovereign of the Ashes

The visitor from beyond the plane was a top-tier powerhouse known throughout the outer reaches of the Myriad Springs Worlds—Dark Spring.

Among the Spring Lords, those with peaceful dispositions usually addressed each other as brothers and sisters.

Besides, they might have all originated from the same source.

Over time, as they split and developed, differences and even mutations began to emerge.

That was especially true for the more extreme and negative Spring Lords, like Dark Spring before them.

A small number of Spring Lords possessed dark, twisted natures and were obsessed with violence and aggressive expansion.

They also placed great importance on social standing and status.

Dark Spring was one such outlier. Under his command were beings like Hatred Spring, Putrefaction Spring, and Dark Flow Spring, along with other dark creatures native to the Myriad Springs Worlds.

Despite their differences in temperament and philosophy, outright conflict within the Myriad Springs Worlds was rare.

Unless tensions escalated to a certain point, they usually kept their distance and avoided one another.

“Big brother, why have you come here?” Vitality Spring asked, a faint note of displeasure in his voice.

Since Dark Spring had been born earlier, Vitality Spring addressed him as “big brother”.

This was a peak Rank Six Spring Lord, wielding powerful umbra and hydro elemental laws. The pressure he gave off was immense, nearly on par with what Sein had once felt from Celloza of Planet Norvex.

“I’ve come to welcome these foreign visitors as guests,” Dark Spring replied, his voice carrying the same masculine tone as Vitality Spring’s.

At that, Vitality Spring pulled Tourmaline slightly closer to him and asked, “You won’t harm them, right?”

Dark Spring fell silent for two seconds before answering, “No.”

The two of them had never been alike to begin with.

Tourmaline gave Vitality Spring a warm, familiar feeling—similar to the friends his older sister, Illusion Spring, had once brought back from the Immortal Realm Civilization.[1]

Unless it was absolutely necessary, Vitality Spring did not want to hand Tourmaline and the others over to Dark Spring.

His sister, Illusion Spring, should be returning soon.

He could introduce Tourmaline and the others to her, which might help resolve their situation.

Dark Spring clearly was not the patient type. Seeing Vitality Spring’s hesitation, he took matters into his own hands. A stream of pitch-black water surged forward, reaching for Tourmaline and the others.

“This is the will of Lord Destruction Spring. He wishes to see them,” Dark Spring said.

“Huh?” Vitality Spring exclaimed in surprise.

Destruction Spring ranked third in the Myriad Springs Worlds, second only to the Spring Ancestor and Life Spring.

Yet nearly everyone knew that Destruction Spring was the strongest being in this world cluster. His power had long surpassed even that of the Spring Ancestor.

The power of destruction was, by nature, one of the most formidable laws in the Astral Realm.

In a world cluster where most laws were gentle and balanced, none of the other Spring Lords could match the sheer intensity of Destruction Spring’s power.

No one knew how the Spring Ancestor had originally created or split off such a being, nor how he had grown into what he was now.

The mere mention of Destruction Spring’s name stunned Vitality Spring for a moment.

Taking advantage of that pause, the stream of pitch-black water that Dark Spring had split off wrapped around Tourmaline and lifted her away.

“Huh?” Tourmaline blinked at the dark currents swirling around her. She did not seem to sense any real malice from it.

Pew! Pew!

Two beams of energy shot from Fermera’s shoulders.

She was not going to let Tourmaline be taken right in front of her!

Spreading her eight metallic wings, Fermera surged forward, charging straight at Dark Spring.

Now that she had largely recovered her Rank Six strength, she was more than capable of matching a peak Rank Six being like Dark Spring.

A clash between Rank Six entities would cause a massive disturbance.

Even the low-level plane behind Vitality Spring would likely suffer severe damage.

Just as another blinding beam of energy began to gather at Fermera’s chest, a sharp command from Sein stopped her.

“STOP!”

For a Rank Five or Rank Six being, starting a fight in a large star domain ruled by a powerful overlord was asking for trouble.

Even an ordinary Rank Seven overlord would think twice before causing trouble in the Myriad Springs Worlds.

After arriving on the scene, Sein took a deep breath and said, “I’m willing to go with you to meet the Lord of Destruction Spring.”

“We’re only travelers who ended up here by chance. We have no ill intent toward the Myriad Springs Worlds, so we hope to be treated fairly,” he added calmly.

Dark Spring gave no reply. Instead, a portal opened, linking directly to the heart of a pitch-black spring on the other side.

Sein exchanged a glance with Fermera, then stepped toward the dark portal.

It was not just Sein, Tourmaline, and Fermera who went through it.

The pirates under Sein’s command were swept along as well by Dark Spring.

***

In a world steeped in pitch-black darkness, heavy with oppression and foreboding, Sein and his group found themselves staring at a big mass of spring water rippling atop an eleventh-grade lotus throne[2].

This was not the first time Sein had met an overlord, yet the entity before him still sent a chill deep into his soul.

He was far more powerful than any overlord he had ever encountered up close!

At least, that was his impression of Destruction Spring.

It was also possible that the overlords he had met before had never fully released their aura in his presence, so he had never felt their power so clearly.

But Destruction Spring was not even in a combat stance, so why was his presence so overwhelming?

Could this be a Rank Eight overlord...?

Sein could not help but secretly wonder.

At that moment, the Faceless Mask began analyzing the massive eleventh-grade lotus throne beneath the entity.

The result came back quickly. Its law power and quality far surpassed the Faceless Mask.

Sein could not help but wonder again—surely an overlord like this would not be tempted by something as trivial as wealth, right...?

The Faceless Mask might be able to block the perception of ordinary Rank Five and Rank Six beings, but there was no way it could deceive an existence like Destruction Spring.

Sein had always assumed that overlord-level beings were not so easy to encounter in the Astral Realm.

Yet the moment they entered the Myriad Springs Worlds, they had been “invited” by one here.

At first, Destruction Spring’s attention had been focused on Tourmaline.

But when Sein stepped out of the portal wearing the Faceless Mask, its gaze shifted to him as well.

“Heh... how nostalgic,” Destruction Spring said.

“Boy, what is your relationship with Master Jorces?” he asked.

Sein, who had been preparing himself for a different kind of exchange, was caught off guard.

The being before him clearly knew of the Magus Civilization. Otherwise, it would not have been able to name Master Jorces.

Judging by his tone, he did not seem intent on making things difficult for them.

Sein took a deep breath and solemnly replied, “I consider Master Jorces my mentor. I have inherited his knowledge and part of his legacy.”

Translator’s Notes:

1. Illusion Spring was first mentioned in C1597. She is Bev’s adopted sister. ☜

2. I thought it was pretty interesting that Destruction Spring sat on a lotus throne. In Buddhist art, divine figures are sometimes depicted sitting upon stylized lotus flowers, which serve as their seats or bases. Here’s a