Chapter 110: The Floating Isles and the Sky-Sick Thief
The ascent to the 'Floating Isles of Celestia' was not a journey made by horse or foot, but by the sheer, terrifying power of Von's new wings. As they pierced through the upper atmosphere, the air turned thin and sweet, smelling like ozone and expensive perfume. Below them, the world was a patchwork of clouds and distant, miniature mountains.
"Von! I'm gonna puke! I'm really gonna puke!" Aki screamed, his fingers dug so deep into Von's obsidian leg armor that he was probably leaving permanent scratches. "Why is there so much 'up'?! Humans were meant to stay on the ground, near the dirt and the taverns! If the gods wanted us to fly, they would have given us feathers instead of this crippling sense of vertigo!"
Rena, holding onto Von's other side, looked mesmerized by the view. "Aki, look at the islands! They're made of solid 'Aether-Quartz.' They aren't just floating; they're anchored to the stars themselves."
Sai was dangling from Von's belt, his heavy shield acting like a rudder. "Less... talking... more... holding on!" he grunted, his face a shade of green that matched the emeralds in the Capital's crown.
Von (Volt) didn't flinch. Every beat of his black-lightning wings sent them hundreds of feet higher. "Brace yourselves. The Celestia Detection Grid is about to hit us. They don't like uninvited guests, especially ones carrying six-sevenths of their nightmare."
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: Entering 'High Celestia'. Environmental Effect: 'Divine Weight'. All non-divine skills are 30% less effective. Warning: Aki's stomach contents are at 95% capacity.]
The Landing and the 'Golden Poodle' Incident
With a sudden decelerating burst, Von slammed onto the white-marble docks of the First Isle. Aki immediately rolled off, kissed the ground, and then proceeded to have a very loud, very dramatic conversation with his own stomach.
"I'm never... leaving... this spot," Aki wheezed, hugging a marble pillar. "This pillar is my new best friend. We're getting married in June. You're all invited."
Suddenly, a group of 'Celestial Sentries' approached. They weren't the hulking Paladins of the surface; they were slender, elegant warriors with wings of pure light and dogs—mechanical, golden poodles made of solar brass—that breathed literal fire.
"Halt, intruders!" the lead Sentry commanded, his voice like a choir of angry angels. "You stand upon the soil of the Gods. State your business before we feed your souls to the Solar Hounds."
Aki looked at the golden poodles. "Wait... you have robot dogs? Do they do tricks? Can they fetch a stick, or do they just fetch the souls of the damned?"
The lead Sentry narrowed his eyes. "They fetch the heads of thieves."
Aki jumped behind Sai. "Okay, Bonesy! Wait, I forgot Bonesy died. Sai! Use the shield! The golden puppies are angry!"
One of the Solar Hounds lunged, its mechanical jaws snapping. But instead of attacking, it stopped mid-air. Von had simply looked at it. His violet-gold aura was so dense that the dog's internal gears began to grind and smoke.
"Your pets have good instincts," Von said, stepping forward. "They know their master has returned. Now, tell me where the High King is hiding, or I'll turn this 'Holy Isle' into a very expensive pile of floating rubble."
The Maze of Glass and the Seventh Fragment
The Sentries, realizing that a frontal assault against a six-fragment Demon King was a one-way ticket to oblivion, retreated to the secondary defense line: The Maze of Refractions.
"We have to get through that maze to reach the High Temple," Rena explained, pointing to a structure made of mirrors that stretched for miles. "It's not just a physical maze; it shows you your worst failures and your deepest fears. If you lose focus, you'll be trapped in a loop forever."
"Failures? Fears?" Aki scoffed, adjusting his silk scarf. "I'm a thief! My life is a series of failures! I once tried to steal a necklace and ended up accidentally joining a cult. I'm immune to psychological trauma!"
They entered the maze. Immediately, the mirrors began to shift.
Sai saw himself failing to protect his village. Rena saw herself being expelled from the Academy in disgrace. Von saw the faces of all the people he couldn't save a thousand years ago.
But Aki? Aki was looking at a mirror that showed him as a fat, wealthy merchant with a mountain of cheese.
"Oh no!" Aki screamed, pretending to be horrified. "Look at that! I'm eating Brie instead of Camembert! The horror! The inhumanity! Von, help me! This nightmare is too delicious to bear!"
Aki's sheer lack of a tragic backstory (or perhaps his excessive love for cheese) caused a localized glitch in the maze's magic. The mirror cracked. Then the next one. And the next.
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: Achievement Unlocked: 'Too Shallow to Manipulate'. Aki has broken the Maze of Refractions through the power of greed and snack-lust. Reward: +10,000 XP.]
"I did it!" Aki cheered, stepping over the shattered glass. "Who knew that my love for dairy products would save the world? Von, you owe me a cheese wheel. A big one."
Von shook his head, a small smile appearing on his face despite the seriousness of the situation. "I'll buy you a whole farm, Aki. Just get us to that temple."
At the end of the shattered maze, they stood before the 'Gate of the Sun'. Behind it, they could feel the final, seventh fragment of the Crown. It was pulsing with a power so immense it made the entire floating island tilt.
But standing in front of the gate was not a guard, or a dog, or a maze. It was a man who looked exactly like Von—except his eyes were gold, and his wings were white.
"The shadow and the light must finally merge," the Doppelganger spoke. "One of us is the King. The other is the Error. Let the Heavens decide which is which."
Von drew his scythe, the black lightning crackling around him. "I've already decided. And I don't take orders from mirrors."