As soon as Rameel and Alden saw Jinx guarding the door, they needed no more confirmation of his identity.

The other higher-ups watched in confusion as to why the two of them had a sudden change of heart, but they didn’t explain their reasoning.

After instructing a few Transcendents to secure the area, Rameel returned to his management of the Wandering Sellswords.

All except Alden remained there, with her trusted subordinates.

She was given responsibility for the Hidden Eyes, an organization whose main agenda was resting there in the house, so she couldn’t go back to her business.

. . .

Half a day went by when everyone was informed that Lord Raven and Zier had returned to the City of Refuge.

Once again, a crowd of the upper echelons gathered in front of the house.

It was a strange situation, watching the two Empyreans stand respectfully in front of the house, waiting for the man inside to come out by himself. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

Both of their faces were lit up for the first time in years. If not for the resting cat at the front door, they would have already barged in.

Raven also had a folded white sweatshirt and a simple black trouser in her arms. She had never forgotten that duty.

A few seconds after their arrival, something clicked, and the door was pushed open.

Ozul, wrapped in the Purity, lazily stretched and looked down at the cat at his feet.

"You... If you were this powerful, why didn’t you help me back then?" he muttered to Jinx, almost hoping she would speak up and answer.

He couldn’t put an upper limit to it, but for the first time, he could actually feel her power.

Only Raven and Zier heard his mumblings, and just like Jinx, they ignored it.

Finally, looking up, he calmly stared at their faces.

"You two are still weaker than this cat."

The crowd in the distance couldn’t believe their ears. The unassuming man from whom they couldn’t sense even a speck of Spiritual Essence was making such an absurd claim.

Just the coldness he spoke with was enough to infuriate most of them as everyone held Raven and Zier in the highest regard.

The two people in question, however, didn’t mind his words. If he said it, it must be true.

Ozul then took the clothes from Raven’s hands and the Purity expanded around him before it shrunk and disappeared in a second. From inside, he walked out wearing the clothes.

Before he could say anything, he found himself wrapped in arms and a teary-eyed head on his shoulder.

"We thought... we would never see you again," she mumbled with great difficulty.

Others watched, stunned at this display of weakness. The Lord Raven they all respected had always maintained a stone-cold front. It was for the first time that they had seen her waver.

Alden had made sure only the few upper echelons were allowed near the house, or the rumors would have weakened Raven’s image in the public.

Normally he would have pushed her aside already, but knowing that more than a century had passed, he let it be.

The mess of emotions he could feel from both her and Zier made it clear that he couldn’t get out of the hug.

Strangely, it didn’t feel uncomfortable.

’Am I afraid to admit it?’ He questioned, as a hesitant thought appeared in his mind:

It feels warm.

. . .

A little while later, Ozul was in a big room, leaning back on a comfortable chair around the table.

The upper echelons of the City of Refuge, Wandering Sellswords, and the Hidden Eyes were all crowding the room.

As Zier and Raven were sitting, none else dared to take a seat across them.

Raven had immediately ordered all operations of the City of Refuge to halt until further notice.

As the two of them explained the situation, he pretended to listen until they started recounting the recent details.

"With the Heavenly Emperor stepping in, things have suddenly changed.

The ongoing battles on multiple Realms ceased without any conclusion. The Lord of Shadows seems to have thought up a plan to deal with him," Raven concluded.

Ozul learned the Lord of Shadows had the upper hand after his victory against Kami, but now things were uncertain.

"Old Gu?" He asked.

That old man had sealed him, but his final moments before that remembered his plea for forgiveness.

Raven and Zier exchanged glances, thinking that they were going to go after the old man.

"He is siding with the Lord of Shadows," she answered.

This further confused him. With their previous conversation, Old Gu had proclaimed his desire to protect the interests of the Heavenly Emperor even if it meant killing him.

That conversation had given him an idea of why he might have been sealed in that place for over a century. But now, he had to reconsider. He had estimated that anyone else in place of him would have been trapped there forever.

"Have you been to that Realm?" Ozul asked.

Raven understood he was asking about the Realm home to the Lord of Shadows. She replied, "Only once. Every single soul in that Realm wishes to die for him."

Ozul had considered an alliance with that man against the Heavenly Emperor.

However, the complex nature of the overall situation did not give him confidence in convincing the man. After all, even Old Gu was siding with him after showing loyalty to the Emperor.

Despite being able to feel emotions and understand feelings, Ozul couldn’t help but think, ’Human nature is complex.’

"How strong are your forces, Lord Raven," he asked out of the blue.

The others quietly listening to their conversation didn’t feel anything odd, but Zier couldn’t help but pass a teasing grin.

Raven blushed with embarrassment.

She had grown accustomed to that title, but from his mouth, it felt shameful. Nothing could have prepared her for that attack.

At that time, she wanted to bury her face under a rock.

She coughed, "I..." Taking a deep breath, she mustered up her strength, "We are not nearly strong enough."

The Hidden Eyes prided itself on its extensive network rather than its strength.

Meanwhile, the Wandering Sellswords provided Sage-ranked mercenaries, but their combined strength was still only comparable to a single force on one Realm. That too only when subtracting the Celestial Beasts and the Heavenly Virtues.

As Raven briefed him on the numbers, Ozul nodded.

"That should be enough."

Anyone under the Transcendent Realm was already useless to him.

Meanwhile, if he was simply strong enough, the strength of the forces under him mattered little in his pursuit of answers.

Just then, he paused, feeling the familiar presence closing in on them.

As he turned to face the wall to his right, a flash of confusion painted all other faces in the room.

But soon, their questions were answered as the wall was taken down effortlessly, and in its place stood the man feared as the ’Ice Monarch.’

Blaze was in a far-off Realm in a battle against another Empyrean, so the news reached him late. He rushed back to the Realm of Abezan as soon as he was informed of Ozul’s return.

He went to his knee and muttered with guilt and shame locked in his breast, "Master."

The upper echelon of the City of Refuge showed yet another wave of shock, but now they had started getting used to it. This man they had taken lightly initially was much more important than they could imagine.

"I told you not to call me that," Ozul replied, waving his hand and continued, "Raise your head. It was not your fault."

Blaze had never forgiven himself for Ozul’s imprisonment. It was evident from the dark cluster of emotions that he carried with him.

Hesitantly, he raised his head.

"I am simply lacking..." He started, "No matter how much I try, the walls between me and that man remain standing. The difference is inhuman."

The man in question was precisely Old Gu. Blaze wanted revenge above everything else.

Nodding, Ozul replied, "That difference... It is divine. Your efforts were not lacking."

With his current abilities, he had already ’gleaned’ the limitations of normal cultivators.

With his estimates, it was impossible to take a step further, reaching the level of those Heavenly Virtues. At least not with the usual methods of cultivation.

Not just the three of them, but the Empyreans of all Realms were facing the same obstruction. No matter how much they pushed, overcoming their current cultivation level seemed impossible.

"With these numbers," Ozul glanced around the room. There were about twenty-five Sages crowding the room. His stone-cold eyes caused their backs to stiffen.

"... It should be enough."

Zier tilted his head, "For what?"

Before Ozul could continue, however, a voice came from afar.

"Killing war veteran Sages was more boring than I thought... " Vesta entered the room, boredom was even visible in her eyes.

"So, why are you all gathered here?" She questioned while walking inside.

As she recognized the familiar figure and their eyes met, she paused.

Not feeling any hostile emotions, Ozul turned his face back to Zier and answered,

"These numbers should be enough for war."

The boredom in Vesta’s eyes faded instantly.

She flashed a wild smirk and declared, "Exciting..."

. . .

In the Land Above All, the palace hall of His Excellency, the Heavenly Emperor was lit up with bright lights, and soldiers covered in golden armor were lined up one after another.

The row of soldiers were all Sage Realm cultivators.

At the outset, two peak Empyrean soldiers stood tall with an intimidating aura eclipsed by none other than the figure sitting on the throne.

"Prince Kami has requested a meeting to discuss the war strategy, Your Excellency," bowed and reported one of the soldiers.

The Heavenly Emperor stared blankly in the air as if his sight could see far beyond the palace walls and something there interested him more than anything else.

. . .

The Lord of Shadows had gathered the three Virtues aligned with him. Many Empyreans stood around the room as well.

"This will be the last confrontation. Either that God dies or I will," the man declared resolutely.

The somber atmosphere in the room did not allow anyone to speak.

"It is time..."