30 minutes before the island was reduced to dust, at the Authority of the Continents towers—
The alarm lights had no time to flicker. They were swallowed by the light outside.
"WHAT'S GOING ON? Samuel, WHAT'S GOING ON? WHY IS THERE A SUN IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT?!"
The Chief's voice sliced through the room like a blade through mist. His hand was already clenched into the collar of Samuel's coat before the poor man could even respond.
"I-I dunno, sir! It seems like… like there is some sort of artifact causing this—"
"AN ARTIFACT? ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?!" His spit landed on Samuel's cheek. "YOU'RE TELLING ME AN ARTIFACT IS WAKING EVERYONE UP?! DO YOU SEE THAT LIGHT?! IT'S AS BRIGHT AS THE SUN—"
He didn't finish. Instead, he shoved Samuel's head toward the reinforced glass, forcing the trembling man to stare directly into the blinding horizon.
"DO YOU SEE IT?!"
Samuel's voice cracked, "Yes, Chief! I'm sorry! But that's the only explanation I can give! With the amount of steam being released, it's likely a Primordial-tier artifact… or a Catastrophe-tier one!"
---
[Lesson Time]
Artifacts aren't simple. They never were. To understand what Samuel just said, here's a breakdown of the artifact classification system—engrave it in your mind, well because it clarifies things:
Common Fish-tier: The bottom of the barrel. Useless for anything major—boosts minor stats, like giving a normal person the strength to lift a couch. Dirt cheap.
Towering Horse-tier: Functional. Industrial-grade artifacts used to mass-produce rare materials or power low-tier forges.
Raging Bull-tier: Battle-ready versions of Towering Horse. Enhances physical capabilities by up to 5%. Not bad in war zones.
Wise Scholar-tier: Used for clarity, world understanding. Wanora and Heide used this tier to prevent a deity from stealing their bodies. Rich people call them junk. The poor sell their lives to afford one.
Wind Dragon-tier: Upper-tier artifacts. Cannot be mass-produced. Eyes of Ruin fall in this tier. Creation only possible by geniuses.
Legendary Leviathan-tier: Potentially city-leveling if mishandled. Dangerous, volatile.
Blooming Sun-tier: As powerful as Leviathan, but constructive instead of destructive. Heals lands, purifies oceans. Rare and sacred.
Null Artifact-tier: Doesn't fit any category. Can act like any of the above, depending on circumstance.
Primordial-tier: The origin. Artifacts that birthed phenomena on this planet. No known creation method. Ten discovered. Six remain. Two with the Authority. The rest—lost or destroyed.
Catastrophe-tier: The balance to Primordials. Born to counteract them. Seven found. Four are currently under the Authority's constant supervision, guarded by Clarion elites trying every day to destroy them.
Remember these tiers. They will be used to explain artifacts in the future
---
"CONTACT THE EMPEROR AND REPORT HIM THE NEWS IMMEDIATELY!" The Chief barked. "DO NOT TAKE ANY RISKS AND LET IT SIT AS IT WISHES. GET THE BUBBLE OF SEPARATION FROM VAULT 4 AND USE IT. ALSO, CALL KATHERINE!"
"Yes sir!" Samuel's feet barely touched the floor as he sprinted away, terrified tears streaking behind him.
The Chief stood still. The light cast a divine glow on his weary face as he stared into it.
This might be the end…
Creak.
The door slowly opened.
"Ugh. Listen, Joy, you need to get the door fixed…" Her voice carried casual mischief. Her eyes caught his frozen expression and softened. "For a name called Joy, you aren't really in a joyful mood."
"Stop with the jokes, Katherine. I want you to collect whatever artifact that is… soon after the pillar of light ends."
She nodded, eyes narrowing with resolve. "As you wish, Chief."
"But are you sure about using the Bubble of Separation?" Her voice lowered. "(Primordial-tier)"
"Yes… If that immense light is from heat, and with the steam Samuel reported—then it's likely that artifact could cause large-scale shifts, even earthquakes. We can't take chances. The bubble will put that entire light in a seperate dimesnion until it's gone then we remove the bubble"
"You can prepare. Make sure you gain control of the artifact causing this light."
She gave a teasing smile. "Of course. I am your loyal servant… and soon wife."
He turned away. "Don't talk about the last part. We're in the middle of work."
"Well, no one's here…" she smirked, stepping closer. "Besides, isn't it rude to send your fiancée to collect something that could burn her precious skin?"
He flushed. "Shut up. You do realize you were a thief before?"
"Oh? Thought you told me to forget that." She grinned wider.
"Fine, fine. Don't go."
"Oh no," she cooed, kissing him briefly on the cheek. "I was kidding. I'll get anything for you." She waved her hand. "Byeeee!" And vanished into the corridor.
---
"WANORA, ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!"
She didn't flinch. Her eyes weren't joking. The choice was clear:
Either let the outer deity infect the entire continent…
Or burn it all down.
I didn't care about me. But Evena? The girl who barely lived her life?
I looked at the upper walls—the place where the blob had managed to seep in. They were already burning.
She was preserving us.
She was shouldering all the heat herself to keep us alive while burning the threat away. And the toll—it would take her years to do something like this again.
"FINE!" I screamed. "KEEP EVENA WITH YOU!"
My voice cracked as I jumped toward the ground.
Wait.
No.
I didn't have to.
The Octagon.
I'd shrunk it earlier. If I could just reach it…
I could still pull something off.
I tapped the floor with my foot. My hands gripped my head as seconds ticked like hours.
Minutes. I need minutes. If not, I'll die. Fuck…
Where is it? Where is the Octagon?!
My eyes scanned, but nothing stood out. No signal, no glow.
I slammed my hand on the ground and split it open.
Underneath—
Flesh. God-flesh.
I touched it, and my brain felt like it was tearing apart from the inside.
Not the hard part.
The real challenge was this: the artifact I used was preventing the deity from taking over my body.
But just touching divine flesh made it try to control me.
It found me interesting.
But my artifact was barely holding it back.
I gritted my teeth. Focus.
I forced my mind to look.
To dig.
To suffer through what I didn't want to see.
There!
I see it!
The small Octagon, hidden within the folds of divine tissue.
"WANORA, BLOW IT UP!"