ushernet Chapter 759: The Aftermath
Chapter 759: The Aftermath
Chapter 759: The Aftermath
Even through the Twilight Phoenix's cataclysmic impact that was unlike anything before-a deafening rupture that shook the entire range, rolling like a celestial thunderclap, splitting stone, and sending echoes of destruction through the very bones of the mountain-Northern
clearly had heard the system's announcement.
The Calamitous Maelstrom had been slain, burned to crisps.
Of course, under such an attack, it couldn't hope to survive. The sheer force had rippled through the peaks, causing distant cliffs to crack and shatter, avalanches collapsing mid-slide as the heat vaporized them before they touched the ground.
What remained was unrecognizable.
The once-frozen mountain was no more-its glaciers and snowfields reduced to blackened scars of molten rock and obsidian glass.
A large side of the summit had been sheared away, replaced by a yawning crater, its depths glowing with buried veins of magma now exposed to the surface for the first time in millennia.
The land that once lay beneath a pristine white expanse was now scorched raw, rivers of ice boiled into nothingness, their former paths now jagged trenches carved by the sheer intensity of heat.
The few trees that had once clung stubbornly to the frozen slopes had vanished in an instant, leaving only ghostly silhouettes of ash, crumbling at the faintest touch.
Even as the fires began to settle, the embers remained. They flickered in the cracks of molten stone, refusing to fade, their eerie glow leaving a reminder that something unnatural had happened here. The wind, once howling with icy breath, now carried only silence-the kind that follows an extinction event.
Northern stood at its center, blinking, quite unsure what to think.
The mountain had not just been destroyed.
It had been reborn-scarred, scorched, and forever marked by fire.
He had never doubted the power of a Paragon. Despite holding back so much, he had seen how much damage the Luinngard Emperor could still do to him.
Even with all his cards on deck, there was no way he could have won that battle. It would have ended in his utter devastation.
Seeing the destruction he had unleashed gave him reassurance of that fact.
Of course, the Paragon's talent in his hands had gone through several leaps and bounds of evolution and was now deadlier than it had been.
But Northern couldn't help tracing the catastrophic talent to its original owner, imagining what their battle would have been if the Emperor hadn't held back.
The entire kingdom would have been reduced to a flat plain. Even the tall walls.
'The rumors weren't selling it short. They really can reshape landscapes.'@@@@
He wasn't a Paragon yet, and definitely shouldn't wield such ruinous power. But that was the fun and beautiful part of it.
He did.
He was an abomination, a strange existence that should be abolished from its roots, forced out of the natural world's laws and concepts.
And her face... it was strange how Northern was only now noticing her features, freed from the
cloak's shadow.
The pale blue of her eyes had been a facade, an illusion. Instead, a strange golden light flickered in her gaze, perfectly matching her flowing, sun-kissed blonde hair with its golden
undertones.
She was hauntingly breathtaking, like a mortal goddess. If this were Earth, Northern was sure she could play Aphrodite in any Greek mythological epic.
'...She's very beautiful.'
Northern killed the thought before it could bloom, forcing his eyes back to the grave.
'Crap, I can't believe I'm thinking about that... forgive me, Gareon.'
He closed his eyes briefly, remembering the short time he'd shared with the leader of the
caravan.
Gareon's death pained him—it stung badly. He would have lived if he hadn't been so disobedient. But for some reason, Northern didn't want to think about it that way... even if it
meant lying to himself.
'What's wrong with me today... I hate lying to myself more than anything.'
He exhaled sharply and spoke, his voice cutting through the mountain wind like a cold blade.
"Should we try to meet up with the rest of the caravan ahead, or do you think we should head back home?"
He spoke in consideration of the girl... another thing he normally wouldn't do. But she was just human, and though she could hold her own, her strength would shatter in an instant
before true destruction.
So Northern thought to do her a favor and help her return home. Although...
The girl's hand trembled for a moment before she clenched it tight. When she spoke, her voice
was clear and steady.
"We need to meet up with the rest of the caravan and complete the mission. If nothing else,
for Captain Gareon's sake."
Northern sighed.
"Right."
'What was I expecting...?'