The rust-streaked key shed its flaky corrosion under mana’s cleansing flow, revealing its true form etched with intricate Array Patterns. Clutched tightly in the black-robed woman’s palm, stray mana coalesced into two carving knives, slowly peeling away the surface glyphs.

These Array Patterns were exquisitely crafted from no ordinary material. Breaking them seemed impossible without expending all her mana—but doing so would shatter the concealing Formation, alerting satellites above to the Seeker’s location.

With a sweep of her hand, the black-robed woman sent all Seekers back to the tower. There, the Divine Eye—specialized equipment that had already discerned the weaknesses—would make unraveling the Formation trivial.

Inside the Seeker’s high tower, countless bookshelves stood crammed with volumes. Books lay scattered across desks, floors… literature filled every visible inch.

Pulling a wall lever revealed an inner laboratory, fully equipped. A light dusting covered the instruments, but it hindered nothing. The inner wall rotated, bringing forth a massive Eye Orb—tall as three men—now facing inward. Veined with bloodshot threads, it retained a faint trace of vitality, rotating slowly.

Placing the ancient key on the table, she let it gradually unlock the Eye Orb. Both key and orb trembled slightly—a barely perceptible shiver. Clearly connected, yet tenuously so.

Seekers flooded in from both sides, flanking the orb and murmuring prayers. Then Chapter Three—the black-robed woman—channeled mana and Abyssal Aura into the orb.

Infused with power, the Eye Orb whirred to life. It concealed the surface cycle count, imprinted the key’s Array Patterns, and projected them outward. Within those patterns lay finer mana channels—sometimes decisive for structural integrity, as Night Frost’s father’s journal noted. Ordinary eyes might never discern them, but the Divine Eye rendered them crystal clear. Two precise cuts from her would shatter the pattern.

Wielding the carving knives, Chapter Three manipulated mana with surgical precision, severing the inner channels. Deprived of vital pathways, the Array Pattern collapsed inward. Within seconds, the key’s true form lay bare in her palm. A voice echoed in her mind—a decree from the deep void, a divine oracle.

It pointed to a modest nature reserve housing a vast lake. Beneath its waters hid a gate—the key’s destined resting place. Unlock it, and under the gods’ gaze, she would attain the Ultimate.

Without hesitation, she shot above the lake. With a sweep of her hand, invisible force lifted the waters. The earth split open, revealing the metallic walls of the Divine Cult Modification Center.

“You are… a Seeker?”

Unmasked, the blue markings on her face betrayed her origin. Coupled with overwhelming power, her identity was unmistakable: Leader of the Seekers.

The fish-monster manager leaped from the water, face tight with displeasure—but dared not advance. Chapter Three’s power was absolute. *Just a minor Cantata Two-level augment. What ripple could he make?* She recalled: no one here matched Chapter Three. Only the neighboring Order Keeper posed a threat—their strengths were evenly matched. If she arrived, the prize would be contested.

Move fast. Eliminate the underlings. Claim what lay below.

“I won’t harm you if you stand down. I only want *that*.”

No time for labyrinthine searches. Brute force was swifter. In seconds, the earth melted into a passage.

Yet in those moments, the Divine Cult Modification Center’s elite forces assembled: the owner, the towering mechanical augment Xu Zhou, and the fish-monster manager. Even united, they held no confidence against her.

The owner knew why he built here—a hidden gate. A decade ago, rumors and a scientist’s assistant’s whispers led him here, dreaming he’d one day unlock it himself. But the key belonged to the Seekers’ Chapter Three. Her power was absolute. The outcome? Death. Had they possessed a Chapter Three, he’d stand firm. They did not. The treasure was indefensible.

“Naturally… we yield it.”

Resentment changed nothing. Resistance meant ruin. At least this path allowed rebirth.

“You’ve got sense. I’ll go easy.”

Lake water sprayed skyward, becoming torrential rain. Mana pierced straight through the center, down to the deepest dark.

There, a gate hovered, woven with arcane Array Patterns. The black-robed woman raised the key high and tossed it down. Mana-wrapped, it slid smoothly into the invisible keyhole—just as a figure shot from the Order Keeper’s direction.

The figure radiated enigmatic aura, yet she suppressed it mid-air, hovering before the black-robed woman.

“Seems I’ve grown slow.”

“Causing such a commotion while hiding it from the Order Keeper? Move fast or lose it all!”

The District Twenty One guardian narrowed her eyes, tapping her brow. Below lay what both Seekers and Order Keepers craved: the gate to the Ultimate, the key now united with it. Only a turn remained. Greed burned openly in both eyes—power to rule the world, to become gods on earth, to claim all realms.

“No pretenses now. Only one attains it.”

“The hell you say! I found the key *and* the gate. One sentence puts us equal? Pull the other one!”

Neither would yield.

“Report! Other Districts’ Chapter Threes are en route!”

The guardian maxed her communicator’s volume. The disturbance was too great. Minutes—not ten—the desperate Chapter Threes would arrive to claim shares. Time was wealth. Two contenders meant chaos. Nothing for either.

“No time to think.”

*She has a point… like hell!* Why yield? She dove. Mana surged upward toward the guardian.

The guardian stabilized the flow with a Magic Spell, face darkening as she chased. *No honor.* Mid-dive, she flicked a finger, sealing the hole with a temporary mana barrier. Evenly matched, no gap closed. During descent, the black-robed woman twisted the key.

Dormant runes stirred—writhing like tentacles, clinging to fractured walls, crawling upward. Black light spread layer by layer, reassembling stone, then coalescing on the floor into a new gate. Before it fully opened, both plunged inside.

Endless darkness. Thick with floating Abyssal Aura. A venomous glare passed between them. Then, chanting:

“Divine mercy, Magic Armor sacrifice!”

“O great gods, grant your decree! Star rivers forge the hall, eternal lamps pave the stairs. We offer aspirational desires, the Blood of the Earth…”

“Unseal it now!”

Their voices fell silent. From the void emerged a colossal brain, entwined with countless Spirit Threads. A tidal wave of spiritual energy surged. Bathed in Abyssal Aura, their own power rose—climbing, climbing—until it brushed the threshold of the Ultimate.

“Merely staying yields such benefits…”

Before the guardian finished, the black-robed woman shot forward.

“To obtain it—isn’t that godhood?”

“The day of ascension… is today!”