Before long, Caelum reunited with Seratra.

When they met again, both of Seratra’s eyes glowed faint blue.

Just moments ago, she had successfully extracted and absorbed The Life Eye into herself.

Not only that.

She had also killed the other Special Grade Sorcerer protecting The Life Eye’s inheritor.

The battle ended almost instantly.

One strike from her spear had blown the entire area sky high.

The Special Grade Sorcerer died on the spot.

"Master, it’s done."

"Good."

Caelum took out the fragment of Risei’s bloodline and soul carrying Rite Hand and handed it to Seratra.

She absorbed it immediately.

Moments later, a cursed sigil appeared in the center of her right palm.

At this point, Caelum now possessed four of the Five Curses.

The Life Eye, Death Eye, Curse Hand, and Rite Hand were all under his control.

Origin Heart was somewhat special.

Technically, it remained under the Sorcerer World’s control.

Still.

If Caelum wanted it, there was nothing they could do to stop him.

"Master, what now?"

"We’re taking Origin Heart."

At this stage, there was no reason to stop.

And with Rite Hand finally manifested, there was no longer any need for caution.

Risei would not escape his grasp.

Not long afterward.

Caelum openly revealed himself and brought Seratra into Blackreach’s busiest commercial district.

People bustled through the streets in every direction.

The atmosphere was peaceful and lively.

"Dad, I wanna try that!"

"Is the ice cream good?"

"Yeah!"

"Honey, I just saw the prettiest wedding dress..."

"Hello, sir! Our shop just launched a new dessert. Want to try a sample? It’s free!"

All kinds of chatter echoed around them.

Caelum paid none of it any attention.

He raised a hand into the air and activated Origin Reversion Technique without hesitation, unraveling the hidden technique Risei had left behind.

Instantly, a pale dead tree burst upward from beneath the ground.

Boom!

The commercial street cracked apart as the tree erupted from below.

It was not especially tall, but its appearance was grotesque and unnatural.

Its bark was completely white.

Hanging from its branches were four objects.

Three masses of flesh radiating terrifying Cursed Energy.

And a crimson beating heart.

The bizarre sight immediately drew attention.

Pedestrians all around stopped and stared curiously.

"What is that?"

"Street magic?"

"That’s insane!"

"That tree looks horrifying..."

In theory, nobody should ever have been able to retrieve the Origin Heart hidden here.

Almost no one in this era could undo the technique concealing it.

That was why no Sorcerers had been stationed to guard it.

Thump. Thump.

Origin Heart pulsed steadily.

Caelum plucked it from the tree and tossed it toward Seratra.

"Absorb it."

"Yes."

Seratra did not ask questions.

She understood one thing clearly.

If she wanted to survive...

If she wanted to avoid being stripped apart by the Sorcerer World’s higher ups for the Five Curses inside her...

Then she had to follow Caelum.

Without hesitation, she absorbed Origin Heart immediately.

Thump. Thump.

The moment Risei’s final bloodline and soul fragment entered her body, the Five Curses finally reunited for the first time in a thousand years.

Seratra’s heart transformed into Origin Heart itself.

With each beat of the heart, her presence began changing dramatically.

Her black hair shifted into a strange shade of violet almost instantly.

An ancient soul awakened.

A tear mole appeared beneath her eye.

Then she slowly opened her eyes.

Those eyes carried the weight of endless ages.

Through Seratra’s body, the Sorcerer World’s most mysterious and greatest Sorcerer returned once more.

Gentle.

Beautiful.

Those were the first two thoughts anyone would have upon seeing her.

Looking at Caelum, she spoke calmly.

"If possible, I would have preferred not to return this way. Meeting you again in the era a thousand years later... this truly is the worst possible outcome."

Even though this was the situation she least wished to see, things had already progressed beyond reversal.

Risei accepted reality decisively.

With a flicker of instant barrier techniques, she isolated the entire central commercial district from the outside world and safely expelled all ordinary civilians beyond the barrier.

At the same time, countless phantom figures materialized within it.

A thousand years ago, Risei and Caelum had crossed paths.

Even though Caelum had never fully displayed his power back then, she could still sense it clearly.

His strength stood infinitely above all Sorcerers.

Fenrir had indeed been monstrously powerful.

But compared to Caelum, he was nothing.

Fenrir had merely been the catalyst for creating Wheel of Reversal.

The true reason behind its existence had always been Caelum.

She knew he possessed the power to destroy the Sorcerer World.

And she could not ignore that threat.

With her unparalleled mastery of cursed techniques, Risei immediately saw through Fenrir’s true nature.

That revelation inspired her.

If Fenrir could draw power from the essence of a Cursed Spirit...

Then so could she.

Afterward.

She spent over a hundred years painstakingly cultivating three supreme half Cursed Spirit embryos.

Wraith Remnant, born from humanity’s fear of death.

Deep Abyss, born from humanity’s fear of darkness.

Fool’s Desolation, born from humanity’s fear of the unknown.

Any one of these three half Cursed Spirits vastly surpassed Fenrir.

Risei had only succeeded because she subdued them while they were still incomplete embryos.

If even one had lost control, the Sorcerer World would already have been destroyed.

Fortunately, after overcoming unimaginable hardship, Risei finally succeeded in using the power of all three half Cursed Spirits to create Wheel of Reversal.

And through her own bloodline and soul, she maintained it across the centuries.

In truth.

Wheel of Reversal had never specifically targeted Caelum.

But he had always been the primary existence Risei feared most.

"It’s useless."

Caelum shook his head.

"You’d be better off giving up. The outcome won’t change."

No matter how much Risei struggled, she could never bridge the overwhelming gap between them.

Not even with the power of three half Cursed Spirits.

Numbers alone meant nothing here.

"You’ll never know unless you try."

As she spoke, the phantom figures inside the barrier gradually solidified.

Using the power of Wheel of Reversal, Risei reconstructed every Special Grade and Grade One Sorcerer throughout the entire history of the Sorcerer World.

All for the sake of fighting Caelum.

Knox and Uliya were among them.

The two stared at each other blankly.

"Wasn’t I dead?" Knox asked in confusion.

Uliya looked equally stunned.

"This is... a fascinating experience."

Both of them had already been preparing for a reset after death.

Neither expected to suddenly get called back for another appearance.

And looking around at the terrifying lineup surrounding them...

There were over a thousand Sorcerers present.

What the hell was going on?

Buzz!

Empowered by the three half Cursed Spirits, Risei’s strength surged continuously.

And to sustain the existence of all those Sorcerers, Wheel of Reversal manifested visibly upon her body.

At that instant.

Caelum moved.

This was the exact moment he had been waiting for.

Risei’s expression hardened as she shouted to all the Sorcerers around her.

"Everyone, attack!"

Boom!

In less than a second, the barrier Risei created shattered from the aftermath of the clash.

The colossal shockwave swept outward, nearly flattening Blackreach’s entire commercial district.