The Empyreal Gem Master

Hundreds of miles were crossed in a short period of time.

Atop the radiant Sacred Gold Mountain, the vegetation and trees radiated abundance and wonder as in many other areas, the Mutated Gem Chimeras could be heard howling or growling as they kept their heads down whenever Alexander passed.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

For the Mutated Gem Chimeras who didn't die, they could not harm the new Owner of the Sacred Mountain.

Instead, they would be among the first line of defenders if the Sacred Mountain was attacked!

Alexander could see them.

Their hatred.

Their eyes radiated the same resignation he had seen in the eyes of the old man- they all seemed to say they unwillingly accepted the outcome of him becoming the Owner of this Sacred Gold Mountain!

But the more he saw them, the more he saw a similar light of coldness that was too singular.

As if a single apathetic will was coiling around the illusory old man and the Mutant Gem Chimera while observing and moving countless pieces.

An apathetic will he had almost made him think it was the Sacred Gold Mountain, but upon closer inspection, he thought the answer was even worse.

In those eyes, he felt like he could see the maddening rage of Ephesus itself!

Such a sensation made even him feel a sense of desolation as he came to the realization that truly, the very land he was born in wanted to kill him.

The very world he called his home wanted all beings on it decimated as it came to this logical conclusion in the face of constantly and endlessly depleting resources!

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It was a heavy emotion to stomach even as his mind continued to calm itself and maintain an intuitive state of mind.

He crossed hundreds of miles in a short period of time as he came to a stop in the skies near the Nurtured Tree. Discover stories at empire

His golden robe that seemed to be made of pure light and the stigmata of golden leaves behind it flickered brilliantly along with his crimson wings that were laced with golden tendrils of light.

Claire by his side, Vishpala, and all others under his banner of the Minion King Gem Recipe carried similar crimson gold wings as they looked otherworldly, while Jujugan and the array of Undead Summons simply looked dreadful when constructed with the deathly aura and pristine augmentation of the Gem Constellation, Light of the Void.

They descended the mountain and arrived before the Nurtured Tree that began to open up its round buds at this moment, those within looking at the unfolding light fearfully as the last thing they remembered were raging storms and cold winds that froze even Gem Masters!

Yet…

"Ah…"

Azazel stood protectively in front of Alexander's father as when their bud opened up, they didn't feel ravaging cold winds.

They didn't see a cloudy, dreadful sky.

They saw waves of golden radiance shining down, and when they looked up, they saw Alexander and the brilliant gold light that surrounded him.

All the buds of the Nurtured Tree unfurled as all those within witnessed this scene, the massive golden mountain and its grandeur presenting itself before them as when they saw it, they couldn't help but look at this mountain with hatred!

After all, it had risen and killed the millions of humans within Carthage!

Claire's father rose up while looking tenderly at his daughter, and Branch Leader Julius gazed towards Alexander with dazed eyes that seemed to be lost in thought as he asked.

"Is it over?"

His words held a sense of defeat within them as with his role as the Branch Leader, he felt like he utterly failed, and the lives of many were put on the line for it.

Even though he truly couldn't have foreseen any of this!

Alexander nodded lightly as he replied with a sense of gravity.

"The surrounding mountain is secured. There are a few Beasts, but they won't attack you. The mountain sprouted in the middle of Carthage and displaced everything, but there may still be survivors that held long enough in the cold storm that is now dispersed. We can only search and hope for the best."

…!

Alexander looked at his father.

And his Father looked at him.

In his eyes, he could see the tiredness…as well as the sense of unfamiliarity as he looked at him.

As if he couldn't believe that this was still his son.

He had, after all, changed far too much in this short period of time!

He could only nod and wave his hands to the gem masters on the massive Nurtured Tree as his voice loudly echoed out.

"Scour the periphery of the mountain! Retrieve any survivors!"

The words held solemnity and hope as an instant later, the Gem Masters of Carthage looked at each other with a sense of desolation before they began to move.

Many didn't hold much hope when they remembered how ravaging the cold storms had been!

Alexander looked towards his Beast Minions and Undead Minions as he also nodded towards them.

"Set up a perimeter around the Sacred Gold Mountain. Save any you can find."

It might have been a fool's job, but they could still try.

As many people dispersed around him, Alexander saw his Father moving with the others and giving commands as he raised his head to the skies and looked above.

"Spend some time with your father. Help him search."

He spoke to the girl beside him as he felt Branch Leader Axel nearing their position, Claire nodding towards him as his figure began to rise.

She didn't even need to ask him where he was going as at this moment, shrouded by wisps of golden radiance, Alexander simply rose higher in the skies.

He wanted to see.

He wanted to see Ephesus for himself and the shocking scale it had reached at this moment as he continued rising towards the skies, becoming ever faster!

He burst through the layers of clouds as seconds passed, feeling the air slowly change the moment he passed the massive peak of the Sacred Cold Mountain.

He faced immense cold miles away from the influence of the Sacred Gold Mountain as even this didn't deter him, his figure only rising higher and higher.

The Gem Constellation, Light of the Void, had bloomed an extremely shocking feature after being augmented by the Ruler's Covenant Authority.

Under Nature Defiance, there was Limited Vacuum Adaptation.

He could survive in many environments for a limited time.

One of those was space.

The stellar, wondrous allure of space.

He wanted to step into it- however limited he would be in time, and observe just how vast Ephesus had become!