The battlefield had become completely chaotic.
Water exploded across the ruined landscape.
Massive waves crashed against the earth while countless attacks tore through the surrounding battlefield.
At the center of it all...
Aviana stood alone.
Her breathing was heavy.
Blood covered parts of her body.
Her clothes were torn.
Her essence reserves were already dangerously low.
Yet she remained standing.
Across from her...
The Ocean King slowly raised his sword.
His expression was cold.
Emotionless.
For two months, they had fought.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Neither had been able to completely defeat the other.
But now...
Aviana could feel her limits approaching.
The Ocean King stepped forward.
A terrifying pressure spread from his body.
Then—
WHOOSH!
His sword flashed.
A blade of condensed water shot toward Aviana's chest.
The attack was so fast that an ordinary Initiate wouldn't even have seen it.
Aviana's eyes narrowed.
At the final moment—
She moved.
The sword passed beside her.
But she didn't have time to relax.
The Ocean King raised his other hand.
Ten arrows made entirely from compressed water appeared around him.
They were completely transparent.
Almost invisible.
Aviana's expression changed.
"Ten?"
The Ocean King flicked his fingers.
WHOOSH!
The arrows shot forward.
All ten.
At once.
Aviana immediately slid backward.
One arrow passed beside her ear.
Another pierced her shoulder.
A third struck her thigh.
Another tore through her side.
Another grazed her abdomen.
The remaining arrows followed from different directions.
Aviana twisted her body desperately.
She couldn't avoid everything.
So she made a decision.
Protect the vital organs.
Everything else...
Could be sacrificed.
One arrow pierced her arm.
Another entered her side.
Blood sprayed across the battlefield.
Aviana gritted her teeth.
But she didn't stop moving.
She endured.
She redirected her body.
She allowed the arrows to pass through places that wouldn't immediately kill her.
Then—
BOOM!
The final arrow struck the ground beside her.
The explosion sent her tumbling backward.
Aviana rolled several times before forcing herself back onto her feet.
Blood flowed down her body.
Her breathing became ragged.
The Ocean King slowly approached.
He didn't give her time to recover.
He pressed one foot firmly against the ground.
The surrounding water particles immediately gathered around his leg.
One layer.
Then another.
Then another.
The water compressed.
Solidified.
A layer of hardened water formed around his foot.
The Ocean King's body suddenly disappeared.
Aviana's eyes widened.
Too fast.
The next moment—
BOOM!
His foot slammed directly into her abdomen.
An uppercut.
The impact sent Aviana flying into the air.
Her body spun violently.
She crashed onto the ground several meters away.
The earth beneath her shattered.
Blood poured from her mouth.
For several seconds...
Aviana couldn't move.
Her body felt as though it had been struck by a mountain.
The Ocean King walked toward her.
Calm.
Silent.
Certain.
Aviana slowly pushed herself upward.
Her arms trembled.
Her knees nearly collapsed.
She could feel her essence approaching exhaustion.
But she wasn't finished.
Not yet.
Aviana closed her eyes.
Then—
She activated her enchantment.
"Defendable Body."
Golden essence spread across her body.
The enchantment strengthened her physical defense.
Her skin hardened.
Her muscles became denser.
Her bones became stronger.
The pain didn't disappear.
But her body became capable of enduring more.
Aviana slowly stood.
The Ocean King attacked again.
His foot slammed into her body.
BOOM!
The impact sent her tumbling across the ground.
She rolled several times before finally stopping.
Silence.
Blood flowed endlessly from her injuries.
Aviana remained on her knees.
Her hands pressed against the ground.
Her breathing was ragged.
For a moment...
She simply stared at the blood beneath her fingers.
Two months.
Two entire months.
She had fought.
She had suffered.
She had tried to reason with the Ocean Nation.
She had tried to explain why the war was pointless.
She had tried everything.
And still...
They continued fighting.
Aviana slowly raised her head.
Her golden eyes became cold.
Then she shouted.
Her voice carried across the entire battlefield.
"YOU OCEAN NATION!"
The fighting gradually slowed.
Thousands of Ocean Nation warriors turned toward her.
Aviana's voice echoed across the battlefield.
"WHAT ARE YOU FIGHTING FOR?!"
The Ocean Nation soldiers froze.
Aviana clenched her fists.
"I've already agreed to let the moon return!"
"You've already gotten what you wanted!"
"So tell me!"
"What exactly are you still fighting for?!"
Silence.
No one answered.
Aviana's eyes swept across the battlefield.
Then she shouted again.
"If you don't know why you're fighting..."
"...then come together with me!"
Her voice became louder.
"Hand to hand!"
"Stand with me!"
"And kill your king!"
The words shook the battlefield.
For weeks...
Aviana had wanted to say those words.
For months, she had watched people fight and die without even understanding the reason behind their war.
She had watched families lose fathers.
Children lose mothers.
Friends lose friends.
All because they were following orders.
All because they believed they had to continue fighting.
Now...
She would force them to choose.
Aviana raised her hand.
A powerful enchantment spread outward.
Crimson and golden essence flooded across the battlefield.
It entered the bodies of the Ocean Nation warriors.
Then—
A command was established.
Anyone who genuinely didn't know why they were fighting...
Would turn against the Ocean King.
Even if they didn't want to.
Even if their hearts resisted.
Even if their minds screamed at them to stop.
The command would force their bodies to act.
Aviana had poured an enormous amount of essence into it.
Far more than she could comfortably afford.
Her already weakened essence reserves dropped even further.
Her vision blurred.
Her body trembled.
But she didn't stop.
Then she turned toward her own people.
"SKY NATION!"
Her voice echoed across the battlefield.
"RETREAT!"
The Sky Nation warriors immediately obeyed.
One after another...
They turned.
They began retreating from the battlefield.
Aviana watched them leave.
Only then did she turn back toward the Ocean Nation.
The battlefield had changed.
Thousands of Ocean Nation warriors suddenly turned their weapons toward the Ocean King.
Some looked confused.
Some looked terrified.
Some desperately tried to resist.
But the command had already entered their minds.
Those who tried to reject it felt an unbearable pain erupt inside their heads.
The resistance grew stronger.
So did the pain.
Some screamed.
Others collapsed.
Some tried to force themselves to move toward Aviana...
Only to have their minds attacked again.
The command didn't allow them to escape.
Several warriors died from the strain.
Aviana's expression tightened.
She hadn't wanted them to die.
But she couldn't withdraw the command now.
If she did...
The Ocean King would slaughter everyone.
Across the battlefield—
The Ocean King finally moved.
His sword flashed.
One warrior fell.
Then another.
Then another.
The Ocean King killed his own people without hesitation.
Those who attacked him were cut down.
Some Ocean Nation warriors managed to maintain control of their minds.
They still believed in their king.
They turned their weapons toward Aviana.
They fought beside the Ocean King.
But there were fewer of them now.
Far fewer.
Aviana slowly turned away from the battle.
She reached into her storage space.
A shard appeared in her hand.
The same shard she had promised to use.
The shard that could restore the moon.
She stared at it for a moment.
Then whispered,
"Enough."
Aviana walked toward the center of the battlefield.
Every step hurt.
Her body was already approaching its limit.
Her essence was almost completely dry.
Yet she continued.
Finally...
She reached the place where she needed to plant the shard.
She crouched.
Her trembling hand touched the earth.
Then—
She planted it.
The moment the shard entered the ground...
Silence.
Complete silence.
The entire world seemed to stop.
Then—
BOOOOOOM!
A wave of divine energy exploded outward.
The ground trembled.
The oceans began moving.
The heavens changed.
A cool sensation spread across the entire world.
It traveled through the earth.
Through the oceans.
Through the mountains.
Through the skies.
Then—
Day immediately turned into night.
Darkness covered the world.
Everyone looked upward.
The Ocean Nation stopped fighting.
The Sky Nation stopped retreating.
Even the Ocean King paused.
Above them...
Something began appearing.
Slowly.
Quietly.
A pale sphere emerged from the darkness.
A moon.
At first, it was only a faint glow.
Then it became brighter.
Brighter.
Until the entire night sky was illuminated by its light.
The great ocean gleamed beneath it.
Every wave reflected silver light.
The entire world looked different.
The Ocean Nation stared upward.
Some dropped their weapons.
Others fell to their knees.
Many simply stared in disbelief.
For generations...
They had waited for this.
The moon had returned.
Then—
A gigantic symbol suddenly appeared across the sky.
Aviana's eyes widened.
She knew that symbol.
It was the mark of the Ocean God Sealing Sorcery.
The ancient curse.
The symbol remained suspended above the world for several seconds.
Then—
CRACK.
A fracture appeared across it.
Another.
Then hundreds.
The entire symbol shattered.
Fragments of divine light scattered across the heavens.
And immediately—
Rain began falling.
Not ordinary rain.
The droplets carried an ancient power.
They fell across the oceans.
Across the mountains.
Across the cities.
Across the Sky Nation.
Across the Ocean Nation.
Across the Earth Nation.
Across the Flame Nation.
Across the Shadow Nation.
Across the Star Nation.
Across the Time Nation.
Across the Beast Nation.
Across the Blood Nation.
Everywhere.
Every nation beneath the heavens witnessed the phenomenon.
Everyone looked upward.
No one understood what they were seeing.
But the Sky Nation understood.
The first drop touched the ground.
Then another.
Then another.
The moment the rain touched the bodies of the Sky Nation...
Their expressions changed.
A strange energy entered their bodies.
Their dormant power began moving.
Something that had been asleep for generations...
Was awakening.
The Sky Nation warriors trembled.
Their essence surged.
Their blood began burning.
Their ancient inheritance responded.
They could feel it.
Power.
The power that had been sealed away.
The power they had been denied.
The power that had belonged to their ancestors.
It was returning.
Aviana watched from the center of the battlefield.
She was on her knees.
Her body barely remained upright.
When she planted the shard...
It had consumed almost everything she had left.
Her essence was completely dry.
Her vision blurred.
Her arms trembled.
Yet she continued staring at the sky.
The moon.
The rain.
The awakening.
It was happening.
After everything...
It was finally happening.
Across the nations...
The strongest beings began noticing another change.
The ranks of the people awakening varied.
The highest rank the awakened people could reach was Master.
Only a very small number reached that level.
Most remained below it.
Some became Awakened.
Some became Elite.
Others became Initiates.
But regardless of their rank...
They were awakening.
Their dormant power was returning.
Their inheritance was no longer sealed.
The Sky Nation had finally received what had been taken from them.
The Ocean Nation felt something else.
Peace.
A strange, deep peace.
For the first time in generations...
The ancient conflict felt as though it had finally reached its end.
The moon had returned.
The curse had shattered.
The rain was falling.
Their people no longer needed to fight.
Their hearts became strangely calm.
But one person felt none of that peace.
The Ocean King.
His eyes remained fixed upon Aviana.
She was still kneeling.
Exhausted.
Almost completely drained.
The Ocean King slowly clenched his fists.
Then—
He moved.
BOOM!
His body exploded forward.
He rushed directly toward the kneeling Aviana.
His expression contained no peace.
No gratitude.
Only rage.
His hand rose.
Ten arrows made entirely from compressed water formed around him.
They pointed directly toward Aviana.
He released them.
WHOOSH!
The ten arrows shot forward.
And Aviana...
Was still on her knees.
Then—
A yell echoed across the scene.