Chapter 8: God Of Destiny, New Champions of Lyron

Unknown Location.

Deep within a Golden Temple adorned with mysterious symbols, golden energy flowed everywhere.

It was the conceptual manifestation of Destiny itself.

Inside the main throne room, upon a luxurious golden throne, sat Anak — The God of Destiny.

Bright golden hair framed his sharp features, and his matching golden eyes shone with divine authority.

His garments radiated an indescribable brilliance, woven from threads of destiny.

Yet at this moment, he was far from his best condition.

Cough!

Anak spat out a mouthful of golden blood, each drop containing tremendous divine energy. The temple trembled faintly.

From outside the massive doors, panicked voices echoed.

"MY GOD! THE TEMPLE JUST TREMBLED!"

"DO WE PREPARE FOR HOLY WAR?!"

"No."

Anak spoke only once.

The two voices fell silent immediately.

’Why did this fail?’ Anak thought grimly.

He had performed the ceremony three times before. Though there had been minor fluctuations, it had always succeeded in the end.

But this time, it had failed completely, as if some higher power had interfered directly.

’Did they begin interfering...? No. Even if they did, they would have no reason to meddle in my affairs.’

His golden eyes darkened.

"Was it you, Lyron? But if it was, why didn’t you interfere the previous times?" Anak asked into the empty hall.

No one answered.

Then suddenly, a golden system prompt appeared before him.

It hovered in the air, radiating cold authority.

[We have tolerated you long enough. Now that the promised time is near, do you truly intend to flip the board, God of Destiny? Did you not consider that there would be retaliation?]

Anak’s jaw tightened.

Anger surged through him as the threads of destiny around the temple began to tremble violently.

"Fine! If you want war, then we will have war!" he roared.

Golden energy erupted from his body.

"I will not remain imprisoned in this cage after glimpsing the hope of freedom! It is I WHO DECIDES WHERE I STAND AND WHAT I BECOME!"

Cracks spread across the golden throne beneath his grip.

Suddenly, hundreds of invisible chains materialized from the void.

They wrapped around his limbs, his torso, his neck – binding him with absolute authority.

"AHHHHH—!"

Anak’s scream echoed across various planes.

The Destiny of the entire world trembled.

Across continents, subtle changes began to unfold.

Threads of destiny began to shift.

But poor Anak and even Lyron did not know that, their small clash had been over a child who had been kidnapped before even being reborn, while still in the process of entering the world.

***

Imperial Capital – Arkenor, Arkhe Empire

Within the Imperial Palace.

"Hahaha, Susie, catch me!"

A girl about nine years old with striking purple hair ran across the Imperial Garden, which was filled with some of the rarest flowers on the Earthly Plane.

Behind her, a big chubby orange cat, with sparkling cheeks and two lightning-shaped markings on its face chased after her enthusiastically.

But suddenly, the cat stopped.

"Meow~"

The girl froze mid-step.

A strange heaviness pressed down on her body. Her vision began to blur as a mysterious aura spread around her.

Hidden within the garden, her guardian immediately sensed the change and transmitted a report to the Emperor.

The Imperial Princess was awakening.

Meanwhile, the girl herself understood what was happening.

She remained calm.

A translucent system screen appeared before her.

[Connection to the Global System Successful]

[Congratulations! You have been selected by Lyra]

[Savior of this world, this is your world and this world needs you.]

[Oh Savior, please protect it.]

Her eyes widened.

These were not the standard awakening notifications.

’Who is Lyra?’ she wondered.

Before she could think further, information flooded her mind as she felt a terrible headache.

Overwhelmed, her body gave out and she collapsed.

The orange cat immediately rushed forward, positioning itself protectively beside her.

At the same time, several hidden figures in the garden moved into action as the girl suddenly became unconscious.

After all, the girl was Amara va Arkhe.

The First Princess of the Arkhe Empire.

And one of the successors to the throne.

***

Morvendrell Dukedom, Zenith Empire.

Lord’s Castle – Training Grounds.

A twelve-year-old boy with dark brown hair was training in swordsmanship.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

He performed consecutive slashes in smooth succession, displaying remarkable control.

"Not bad. Your basics are already perfected, and your foundation is solid. It’s no wonder you were able to learn the family’s technique so easily," an old man commented while observing his stance.

The boy paused and looked at him.

"No Sir Ronald, I still have a lot to learn."

"Ha." The old man chuckled lightly at his humility before shifting his gaze elsewhere.

His eyes landed on the younger brother.

Even at the age of five, the child was lazy and refused to train seriously.

Sir Ronald’s expression darkened.

"Ethan! Learn something from your brother!" he shouted.

"Yeh, yeh. I’m learning by watching..." Ethan replied in a strange tone while casually picking his nose.

Sir Ronald’s face darkened even further.

’Even though he’s young, he’s been spoiled far too much,’ he thought.

"Hey, Ethan. Why don’t you join me? I can see you’re ready to do anything," Eren called out gently.

But Ethan’s spine chilled.

He knew his brother’s hidden personality.

He could even hear the unspoken meaning behind those words.

’Bastard, are you enjoying watching me suffer? Join now, or prepare for a sparring session.’

’Damn it!’ Ethan thought, sometimes he was too sharp for his own good.

Forcing himself to comply, Ethan began jogging toward them.

Halfway there, his body suddenly felt heavy.

His vision blurred as a mysterious aura radiated from him.

Sir Ronald and Eren’s gazes sharpened instantly.

They were witnessing an Awakening.

"Watch over your brother," Sir Ronald said before disappearing from the training grounds.

Eren nodded, smiling deviously as he stepped closer to Ethan.

Meanwhile, several system messages appeared before Ethan’s vision.

[Connection to the Global System Successful]

[Congratulations! You have been selected by Aion]

[Savior of this world, this is your world and this world needs you.]

[Oh Savior, please protect it.]

’Morning big shit!’ Ethan thought as a splitting headache assaulted him.

He collapsed the next second.

"What the—?!" Eren muttered, startled by the strange development.

He quickly caught Ethan before he hit the ground and carried him toward the medics.