Luminara City.

Within Daniel’s field of vision, the outline of that city gradually became clear.

Although it was far from the majestic grandeur it would possess a hundred thousand years later, it was still much larger than he had imagined. Faintly, it already carried the shadow of a mighty city.

Its city walls towered high. Watchtowers stood like forests. People flowed through the streets in endless streams.

He descended into the city, only to happen upon a grand event.

At this moment, within Luminara City, a towering platform rose from the earth.

It stood ten thousand meters tall, piercing straight into the clouds, as though it sought to stab through the firmament itself.

Hundreds of figures were flying in from every direction, gathering toward that high platform.

Those people all wore solemn expressions. Even when they saw one another, they merely nodded slightly, as if they had long since reached some indescribable tacit understanding.

Daniel silently blended among them and landed in a corner.

He glanced sideways at a powerful figure who had just taken a seat beside him and asked in a low voice, "What are you all doing here?"

That expert looked at him in surprise and sized him up from head to toe.

"We were all invited here to participate in the second Heaven-Sundering. Don’t tell me Your Excellency does not even know about such a major event?"

Heaven-Sundering!

Daniel’s heart trembled.

What tremendous boldness!

He suppressed the waves in his heart and deliberately asked in confusion, "Invited? Invited by whom?"

"Why sundering the heavens? And why is this the second time?"

That string of questions stunned the expert somewhat. He once again examined Daniel seriously.

"Your Excellency... are you truly a human expert? You are not someone from the non-human races in disguise, are you?"

Daniel smiled and shook his head. "I have been in secluded cultivation for many years. I truly do not know the current state of the human race."

The man came to a sudden realization, and most of the vigilance in his expression faded.

Legendary-grade experts possessed long lifespans. It was common for them to enter secluded cultivation for hundreds or even thousands of years at a time.

Thinking of this, he felt relieved.

The expert slowly began to speak, his tone carrying a hint of age and hardship.

"Ever since Queen Kelly appeared out of nowhere ten thousand years ago, our human race rapidly rose on Aetheria and became a powerful force."

"Queen Kelly is one of the Three Human Monarchs, yet the territory she alone controls is broader than the domains of the other two monarchs combined!"

A look of pride appeared on his face, but his tone abruptly shifted.

"However, standing behind those other two monarchs are the Godkin—the true rulers of this continent."

"The God realm wanted to drive those two monarchs into a decisive battle against Queen Kelly."

Hearing this, Daniel’s brows furrowed tightly.

The Godkin wanted to provoke a civil war among humans?!

No matter who won or lost, it would be human blood that was shed.

As for the God realm, they would not lose a single soldier. They only needed to watch coldly from the sidelines.

What a sinister scheme.

The expert gave a cold laugh. "But the Godkin underestimated the unity of us humans!"

"How could those two monarchs slaughter their own kind for the private interests of the Godkin? They complied outwardly while defying them in secret, maneuvering openly and covertly, always refusing to truly raise their blades."

"But because of that, they provoked the wrath of the God realm."

"And so, the God realm sent down Divine Wrath."

Divine Wrath.

Daniel instantly understood.

So this was how Divine Wrath had come about.

It was the impotent rage of the God realm, and also the shackle they had placed upon humanity.

As long as the human race had no supreme-grade experts, they would never be able to stir up a true storm.

The expert sighed and continued, "Once Divine Wrath appeared, our human race had no more supreme-grade experts."

"Five years ago, Queen Kelly launched the First Heaven-Sundering War!"

Daniel’s heart shook.

Kelly... 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

She actually had such courage?!

To use such meager strength to resist the gods.

But how could she not know? If the human race could not even withstand Divine Wrath, how could they possibly fight the entire God realm?

That was almost no different from a moth flying into a flame.

Yet that fierce and unyielding courage was enough to shake the past and illuminate the present.

No matter how powerful the enemy was, she had never once thought of retreating.

Daniel shook his head and asked in a low voice, "What happened afterward?"

"The First Heaven-Sundering was personally led by Queen Kelly."

The expert’s voice grew heavy. "I still remember the grandeur of that day."

"Almost every powerful expert of the human race came. There were more than five hundred of them."

"But Queen Kelly dismissed everyone. She said she wanted to leave seeds behind for the human race."

"In the end, she only brought a handful of old subordinates and charged into the God realm."

Only a handful of people?!

Daniel clenched his fists.

She had clearly known that there would be no return from that journey.

So from the very beginning, she had never planned to come back alive?

"And after that?" Daniel pressed.

The expert smiled bitterly. "After that... Queen Kelly vanished without a trace. Some say she died in battle. Others say she was imprisoned by the God realm."

"In short, the First Heaven-Sundering War ended just like that."

So this was how Kelly had disappeared.

Daniel took a deep breath, suppressed the emotions surging inside him, and asked, "Then what is this Heaven-Sundering about?"

"This Heaven-Sundering was initiated by the new leader of the human race, Natasha."

The expert said slowly, "She is the child Queen Kelly adopted. Among the legendary-grade experts of the human race, she enjoys considerable prestige."

"The path Natasha seeks is not the same as Queen Kelly’s."

"Her Majesty the Queen sought to tear apart the ancient shackle between gods and humans. Natasha, however... only wants to shatter the Sword of Divine Wrath hanging over the heads of the human race."

Daniel nodded slightly. "She wants to destroy Divine Wrath?"

"That’s right."

A faint smile appeared on the expert’s lips.

Daniel shook his head. "Divine Wrath is probably not so easy to break."

"Of course."

The expert smiled. "Precisely because of that, Natasha has decided to borrow the Strength of a magic formation, gathering the will and Strength of hundreds of legendary-grade experts. United as one, we will resist that Divine Wrath together."

A magic formation?!

Daniel’s gaze flickered slightly.

That was indeed a path worth trying.

If one faced that holy sword alone, then no matter how powerful one was, it would be nothing more than flying into the flames.

But if hundreds of people united their hearts and wove their Strength together into a shield, perhaps...

Perhaps they truly could seize a sliver of hope beneath the edge of that sword of divine punishment.

However, whether that magic formation could truly bear such a heavy responsibility remained unknown.

While Daniel was deep in thought, several hundred more figures tore through the air from the horizon, landing one after another upon the high platform.

A moment later, a woman clad in azure robes appeared in the air.

She was Natasha.

However, the instant Daniel saw her face clearly, his entire body froze on the spot.

He knew this woman!

Before he had discovered the special instance known as the [Flame of Heritage], he had once encountered a young girl by chance beneath the night sky.

That young girl had been within arm’s reach of him, yet it had been as if an invisible fog separated them, as though she stood within the crack of another time and space.

In the end, that girl had removed the bracelet from her wrist and tossed it at his feet.

And it was because of that bracelet that he had been able to enter the [Flame of Heritage] instance.

The Natasha before his eyes was astonishingly that very same young girl!

Daniel quickly recovered from his shock.

He seemed to have faintly touched the outline of some kind of fate.

The shuttle of destiny wove back and forth, forming a net no one could unravel.

Back then, Kelly had been nothing more than a sacrifice waiting to die in Soul Devouring Vale. It was because of his appearance that she had climbed step by step to the throne and become Queen Kelly.

Yet Natasha, the orphan Queen Kelly had adopted, was precisely the one who guided him to meet Kelly.

All of this seemed like a cycle!

Daniel shook his head and pressed those chaotic thoughts deep into his heart.

The matter before him was the true priority.

Queen Kelly’s First Heaven-Sundering War had ended with her disappearance.

And now, Natasha was about to launch the second—

No one could predict how this would end.

Daniel silently clenched his fists.

It was time to act.

He wanted to see with his own eyes just how terrifying that so-called Sword of Divine Wrath truly was!