"You didn't know…" Kaela realized as she studied him closely.

"No…" Vale admitted. "I had no idea. What kind of danger are you talking about?"

"Then listen to me." Kaela's voice became firm. "If you attempt it on your own, the rift could collapse. Or worse, demons could follow you into your world. That's why you must wait for my father. He alone can shield your passage. Otherwise…"

Her words trailed, but Vale understood. Otherwise, his attempt to return home might doom both realms.

Vale sighed as he certainly felt the weight of the risk.

If he made a hasty decision, he could alter the balance of the two realms. It's indeed better to stop for now.

But Kaela's father was away, busy in the endless war at the frontlines. With Demon Saints and even Demon Gods spilling into the realm, there was no telling when he would return. Days, weeks, maybe even longer.

Vale exhaled slowly.

'So I have no choice but to wait…'

But waiting didn't mean idling. He couldn't waste this time.

If he was to survive the chaos around him, he needed to be stronger.

He felt decisive as his thoughts drifted to his own path of advancement.

From Lesser to Earth Immortal, the requirement had been clear… it was the Confluence Baptism.

He had needed to elevate four of his Shadow Arts to the Perfect Realm, level ten, before combining them into one. That union had birthed his Umbral Dominion Spell, a power vast enough to elevate him into the Earth Immortal tier.

But Earth to Sky Immortal was different.

The third step was not about creating a new spell. It demanded the consolidation of an Immortal's entire foundation into a Stable Core of Divinity…

According to what he had learned, it was the crystallization of essence, will, and law that proved the practitioner's right to step into higher realms of existence.

Becoming a Sky Immortal was no longer just being able to cast stronger spells or possessing a special physique… it was being one with his Core Spell.

Vale couldn't understand how it worked. It was not like there was a manual on how to do it. It was different for every Immortal since they had different Core Spells.

Nonetheless, advancing from Earth Immortal to Sky Immortal wasn't just difficult, it was also dangerous.

This was the reason why many would stop at this stage and wouldn't want to risk further…

Failure to advance could mean the collapse of one's Core Spell, shattering divinity into fragments that could never be recovered. If it could not kill you, it could still destroy your Core Spell, dropping you down to a Lesser Immortal or even Half-Immortal.

Still, Vale had System. His Divine Extraction System had always been helpful to him… He had extracted a lot of Divinity, Essence, items, memories, and many others…

"I should extract a few more Sky Immortals." Vale muttered to himself as he realized that once he returned to the human realm, there was no way he'd be able to extract powerful Immortals.

***

In the meantime, within the human realm, the Shadow Domain had entered a tense stillness.

Though the Immortals that Vale had left behind had set their plans in motion and the defenses of five fortified cities were being bolstered daily, the Chaos Immortals did not come.

Four days had passed just like that…

In the other parts of the continent, however, the situation had grown worse. Entire kingdoms trembled under the Chaos Immortals' sudden strikes.

The disciplined armies of Immortals and Chaos Beasts advanced steadily, spreading destruction across the eastern continent for those who didn't want to work under them...

The Chaos Arts Practitioners steadily collected airships and improved them for their own use.

At this point, many of the Great Arcanists' Clans were beginning to lose ground as they had no choice but to either submit or escape while hiding their identities.

At this time, on the Shadow Domain and the Churches remained safe because, for some reason, the Chaos Immortals didn't want to provoke them…

"Hmph… Are they really being scared now?" Haruo, the angel from the Prison Realm, was still looking at the horizon above the highest tower within Clovis City.

After waiting for days, no airship dared to test them. It could be due to the threat of the Shadow Immortal and the other reason was probably because of the Dragons' Aura slowly spreading throughout the land.

The Chaos Immortals didn't know how strong the Dragons were, and they were definitely being cautious, as there could be hundreds of them…

"Vale was right… After spreading the Dragon's Aura, they suddenly become cautious." Haruo muttered.

***

"It's boring…"

Unlike the others, who kept themselves hidden in chambers or libraries to refine their techniques while waiting for the Chaos Immortals, Sreas spent her days in the open.

Every morning, she descended into the training fields outside the Marshall Academy.

There were dozens of mortal soldiers, volunteers from the Shadow Domain's cities, lined up before her. They were eager, but they were also terrified after learning that she was an Asura.

Sreas laughed at their nervousness.

"If you're afraid of me when I'm not even showing my strength, then you'll never stand against the Chaos Beasts. Fear me now, but learn to stand even when your spirit trembles. You are all Arcanists… You won't be fighting the Immortals, so don't be too nervous."

She trained them every day...

Her sessions were filled with illusory blood traps, curses, and sparring that left the Arcanists helpless most of the time...

"Mhmm… I'm not the best teacher for your Spells. But all I can say is that they're slow. Try to work on it… Chad mentioned it before. Right, the Phantasm State! You all should practice on it diligently."

Nonetheless, this wasn't the real reason she was with this small group of Arcanists.

In the afternoons, Sreas moved deeper into her experiments with Borrowed Flesh.

She would summon small fragments of her own essence and graft them into these Arcanists who dared to endure it.

Their bodies warped temporarily and their muscles swelled… Soon, their senses and reflexes heightened to a terrifying level.

She didn't want to do this, but there was an incoming war… She had been assigned to manage these 25 Arcanists, and she would do her best to make them strong!

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