The Arcane Plane was still unsettled.
Fragments of distorted mana drifted through the air like invisible scars, reminders of the chaos Ashen had left behind. Spirits hovered uneasily, their forms flickering, while elementals stood in clusters—some rigid, some restless, all wary.
Minami stepped forward.
Her presence alone quieted the murmurs.
"What happened here was not your doing," she said, her voice calm but firm. "You were manipulated."
A ripple passed through the gathered beings.
"You were deceived by a Blight who went by the name Ashen," Minami continued. "He stirred chaos within the Arcane Plane for his own amusement, twisting conflicts and fueling hatred where none needed to exist."
The name alone caused several spirits to recoil.
"We defeated him," she said. "But victory does not erase loss. Some of you were destroyed. Some bonds were broken beyond repair."
Her gaze softened slightly.
"I will not pretend that pain can simply be forgotten."
She straightened.
"But hear me clearly."
"I am Minami, Goddess of Elythra."
The Arcane Plane reacted instantly. Mana surged, stabilizing as if responding instinctively to her authority.
"I swear this to you—never again will a Blight use you as tools. Together with the Five Steps, I will stand between Elythra and its destruction."
She raised her hand.
"Humans. Vampires. Spirits. Elementals. We will reclaim this world from the Rot and the six Blights. Together."
For a long moment, no one spoke.
Then a spirit cried out.
Another followed.
Soon the Arcane Plane was filled with sound—roaring elementals, radiant spirits flaring brightly, their approval echoing through the domain. The fractured mana currents slowly realigned, as if the plane itself was choosing to believe her.
Hope returned—tentative, fragile, but alive.
When the gathering dispersed, Minami found Yun standing nearby, his expression thoughtful.
"I didn't evolve this time," Minami said quietly.
Yun nodded, unsurprised. "Yes. That was expected."
She looked at him. "Why?"
"The amount of merit required to advance to a higher divine rank is extremely high," Yun explained. "Much higher than what you've accumulated so far."
"And my merits?" she asked.
"Temporarily depleted," Yun replied. "Until the remaining three Blights are defeated."
Minami frowned slightly. "So my growth is… stalled."
"For now," Yun said. "It's a limitation, not a failure."
Fei, standing nearby, exhaled slowly. "That also means no sudden power increases for us."
Minami closed her eyes briefly, then opened them. "Then we adapt. We've never relied solely on power."
Shortly after, Minami convened a private meeting.
Only four were present.
The Spirit Supreme Navi, the Vampire King Dracula, Kamed, and Minami herself.
"I received a message," Minami said once the chamber was sealed. "It wasn't clear, but it pointed toward something ancient.
Something deeply connected to Elythra."
Navi's expression sharpened. "Then there is only one possibility."
"The World Tree," Minami said.
"The Groven," Navi confirmed. "The Oracle of Elythra."
Dracula leaned forward slightly. "The Groven's roots are said to spread throughout the entire world. They regulate fertility, vitality, and the stable flow of mana—along with other forms of energy."
"And more than that," he continued, "the Groven remembers."
Minami frowned. "Remembers?"
"All events," Dracula said. "All memories. Every war, every truth buried by time. It is said the World Tree can answer any question."
"But no one knows for sure," Navi added. "Because the elves have never revealed its location."
Minami raised her hand. "Then teleportation should still work."
She focused, drawing on her authority.
A portal formed.
But instead of a forest—
A vast wasteland appeared.
Cracked earth stretched endlessly beneath a pale sky. Jagged stone formations dotted the horizon, and dust drifted slowly across the ground.
"That's the Shagan Waste," Kamed said. "It's home to intelligent beasts and demi-humans who united long ago."
"To form the United Nations of Monsters," Minami said quietly. "The UNM."
"But why would teleportation lead here?" she asked.
Kamed inhaled. "Because the Dragonoids, elves, and monsters are bound by something called the Spirited Gateway."
"They formed an alliance," he continued. "One designed to protect their lands."
Navi nodded. "They erected a barrier that negates all forms of direct teleportation."
Minami's brows knit together. "So the path is fixed."
"Yes," Kamed said. "If you wish to reach the land of the elves, you must first cross the Shagan Waste."
"From there," Navi added, "you must pass through the UNM's Spirited Gateway."
"After that," Kamed continued, "you arrive in the lands of dragons and dragonoids and pass through their gateway."
"And only then," Minami said, "do you reach the Great Forest of the Elves."
"Mistritone," Navi added.
Minami was silent for a moment. "Why go to such lengths?"
"Because of the Cymrids," Navi replied.
"The Transcendent Treasures of Elythra."
Dracula's expression darkened. "Each of the three nations guards one."
"The UNM holds the Tregon Vault," Navi said. "Which contains weapons capable of defying the laws of reality."
"The Dragonoids protect the Petrium
Library," Kamed added. "It contains spells and techniques that were erased from history."
"And the elves guard the World Tree," Minami said.
Navi nodded. "Two hundred years ago, the ancestors of humans, vampires, spirits, and elementals grew greedy."
"They attempted to seize the Cymrids for themselves," Dracula said quietly.
"That betrayal led to the Alliance of Cymrid," Navi continued, "and the creation of the Transcendent Barrier of Mlist."
Minami exhaled slowly. "I understand."
She lifted her head. "I'll go to the Shagan Waste. I can't allow the Blights to act freely."
Minami returned to Saytar shortly after and gathered the Five Steps.
She explained everything—the World Tree, the Spirited Gateways, and the forced path through Shagan.
Kai frowned. "Doesn't this seem strange?"
"What part?" Minami asked.
"A barrier that blocks teleportation," Kai said, "yet the Blights still managed to get through."
Yun nodded. "That inconsistency has been bothering me as well."
Nei hesitated. "You're suggesting an external force?"
"Possibly," Yun replied. "Something outside Elythra."
"Another god?" Nei asked.
"Or something worse," Yun said.
"But why interfere at all?" Nei pressed.
Yun shook his head. "I don't know."
Far away.
Deep within the Great Forest of the Elves.
A presence emerged.
The Blight stationed there stiffened as space distorted before him.
A tall figure stepped forward, its pressure suffocating, the forest itself recoiling.
"Haden," the figure said. "What is taking you so long?"
His voice cracked with barely restrained fury.
"Why is the world not yet covered in Rot?"
"The new goddess has proven troublesome," Haden replied. "She has slain the Spider, the Succubus, and now even Ashen."
A hand closed around his throat, lifting him effortlessly.
"Do not fail me," the being hissed.
"Master… please," Haden choked. "I have altered the Order of Three. This will accelerate everything."
The grip loosened.
"This is your final grace," the figure said.
Then he vanished.
Haden collapsed to the forest floor, gasping.
Slowly—he smiled.