By the eighteenth day of the game, the prison invasion had already reached 30% completion.

And the pace was only accelerating.

The amount of soul fire Rita could mobilize had grown so vast that she could barely spend it all.

Most of it was being used to envelop the already unlocked cube prisons, an attempt to lower the vigilance of the Overseer’s Eye.

The rest went toward increasing the players’ skill slots and soul fire limits.

All of this soul fire had originally been accumulated within the exile zone itself.

It came from countless dead Prisoners.

Once every prison had been conquered, she would theoretically gain access to the entire epoch’s accumulated reserves.

During one of their casual conversations, she openly brought this up to Ash Inspector.

Ash Inspector: [Was it really that obvious?]

[Maybe I calculated it.]

[Or maybe I overheard it.]

The statement was vague.

But Rita knew exactly what it meant.

Earlier, when Ash Inspector had said:

"Have you ever considered that perhaps B80 knew it would have plenty of time with you, while I know I only have thirty days?"

It had been indirectly revealing the date of the next catastrophe.

Twelve days from now.

The end of the Adjudicator Game.

The end of the Third Epoch.

And naturally, the soul fire she obtained would be the accumulation of an entire epoch.

StarseaPrisoner: "I wasn’t certain before."

"Now I am."

Ash Inspector: [Sometimes you make me feel like an idiot.]

StarseaPrisoner: "I know."

"It’s because you’re willing to cooperate."

As they spoke, Rita placed the final stroke upon the clock hand of Order Clock.

Over these past days, she had become accustomed to painting while chatting with Ash Inspector.

And now...

The painting was finally complete.

The deep Starsea.

Nebulous rivers of starlight drifting like a galaxy.

The sleeping silhouette of Order Clock, outlined in dark gold.

In the distance stretched countless crimson prisons.

Closer to the foreground, cube prisons drifted apart like a colossal starship breaking apart in space.

Soft moonlight radiated from their centers.

That single touch of moonlight gave the otherwise oppressive and dangerous painting a trace of warmth.

Ash Inspector had been hidden within the shadows of Starsea.

Its crimson mist concealed among the still-locked prisons.

Finding the Inspector within the dark composition would require careful searching.

But once discovered, it would feel like finding a hidden surprise.

A secret tucked into the painting.

The instant her brush lifted from the canvas—

A strange whisper echoed throughout the entire exile zone.

At the same moment—

Every Prisoner.

Every player.

Whether their prison had been unlocked or not.

All raised their heads toward the farthest reaches of the sky.

Then they saw it.

An eye.

An eye so enormous it occupied nearly half the heavens.

Slowly opening.

Its iris was the same deep blue as soul fire.

Silver starlight shimmered within it.

Cold.

Profound.

Mysterious.

The scattered points of starlight formed an incomprehensible symbol inside the pupil.

Beautiful.

And terrifying.

Beneath that gorgeous coloration lurked a killing intent so immense it made breathing difficult.

The Overseer’s Eye.

The entire exile zone fell silent.

Rita slowly stood.

From behind her easel, she met the gaze of that world-covering eye.

Her soul fire ignited between her brows.

World Sigh appeared beside her, radiating white-gold light.

Its pages fluttered restlessly.

The Bridges of Sighs connecting the prisons shook violently.

The strongest second-stage save automatically loaded.

Blue soul fire formed barriers around her.

She absorbed nearly all of the pressure alone.

The silent confrontation continued.

Only when every cube prison began rotating did the eye slowly close again.

By then, forty percent of Rita’s currently unlocked soul fire had been completely depleted.

She had already shared information regarding the Overseer’s Eye with the gods and world leaders.

The chat channels had exploded with discussion.

But Rita never joined them.

She remained standing exactly where she was.

Quietly staring into the empty sky.

Ash Inspector: [What are you thinking about?]

StarseaPrisoner: "I want that eye."

Ash Inspector: [???]

StarseaPrisoner: "I have a feeling."

"It suits me."

Ash Inspector: [My apologies.]

[I understood perfectly.]

[I was simply too afraid to hear it.]

It had actually started using honorifics.

Rita didn’t even need to look.

She already knew the painting on the easel could not become the final illustration of World Sigh.

Because it was wrong.

Both the stories within World Sigh and the illustrations accompanying them could contain minor artistic embellishments.

But their most fundamental purpose was to record reality.

And reality no longer matched the painting.

The background should not contain Order Clock.

Instead, it should contain the Overseer’s Eye she had finally seen for the first time.

Carefully, Rita rolled up the painting.

A smile unconsciously appeared at the corner of her lips.

Was arrogance really only one step away from confidence?

After succeeding again and again and again...

Faced with this painting, her first thought was not to redraw it.

Her first thought was to make reality conform to the ending she had envisioned.

And so what if it was?

Just as she had told Ash Inspector—

She truly had her eye on that thing.

What could possibly suit her better than the Overseer’s Eye?

What could better replace the power and authority she was about to lose?

Deceitful Bloom.

Foolishness.

Mistblade.

Lightchaser.

Their worries had never been baseless.

She was suffering.

Suffering terribly.

Just like that day high above BS, when logic and emotion had torn at one another.

She would rather have died alongside BS than allow responsibility, honor, status, and all those meaningless things to bind her to it forever.

And now it was happening again.

Her soul screamed:

Do not sacrifice the thing you treasure most.

Wake up.

Reason told her:

The writing of World Sigh had always been destined for this moment.

It was the only answer.

Perfect.

Seamless.

Emotion demanded:

Now is the time to discover whether your compassion is genuine—or merely hypocrisy.

She had ordered the people of Starsea and Quiet Mountain to follow her commands.

She had required every god and every leader to abide by her Order.

The most painful part had never been climbing upward.

The most painful part was reaching the summit—

Only to willingly step off and fall.

She truly hated it.

Where would she ever find so many gifts from so many worlds again?

Perhaps the surviving worlds of the Twelfth Epoch could do it.

If they had gifted her once, they could gift her again.

But how could she consume the moons that sat above those ruined world harbors a second time?

The sighs accumulated within Order Clock had long since been absorbed.

As the Writer, she understood better than anyone that those sighs contained far more than knowledge and civilization.

After scheming and planning every possible angle...

She had managed to trap herself.

And so, in that state of mind, she painted an illustration overflowing with oppression and despair.

But just as Ash Inspector had said—

There was no way she would simply surrender.

Once someone had stood at the very top of Starsea and Quiet Mountain...

They could never accept any other possibility.

And now—

She had found her answer.

She would save Starsea.

She would save Quiet Mountain.

And the Sovereign of Starsea and Quiet Mountain...

Would still be her.