"Why... why would you treat me this way? Am I not worthy of your love?"
Snow Dream’s voice trembled, but her eyes still searched his face, clinging to a final, desperate hope.
"Why? That’s a question you should be asking yourself." Orson’s anger welled up, cold and sharp. "You had every chance to stand by me."
He thought back to the SSR match-fixing scandal. She could have warned him. She could have stood against it. Instead, she had chosen to stay silent, to sink with the rest.
He’d replayed the semifinal of Sword and Conquest against Sword Soul Guild a thousand times in his head. If just one teammate had sided with him—one—the match could have been won. That victory would have carried them straight into the world championship.
But no one had stood with him.
And even more than that, he remembered Sienna’s illness. The suffocating debt. The desperation as he went to Wedge and Reaver for help. The way every teammate turned away. Even Snow Dream, the one he thought most likely to stand with him, had slammed the door in his face.
He had never understood it. A simple gesture, a small act of kindness—why had she chosen not to?
But now, the truth was clear. She couldn’t stand Sienna’s existence. She had wanted her gone. To claim him for herself.
"Heh... if I stood with you, I know what would happen. You’d never choose me. You’d always choose her."
Snow Dream’s laugh was brittle, filled with pain.
Orson was silent, staring at the lake’s still surface. Sienna’s place in his heart was untouchable. He knew it. Emma knew it. And it was unfair. But still... Emma had chosen to stay by his side.
"Enough. Bring out everything you’ve got." Orson turned, his voice low, unwilling to waste more words on emotion. The Abyss Node device in her hands wasn’t just a weapon. It was a threat to the entire world.
They had no choice but to fight.
"I don’t need to. You’ve already lost. You’ll sleep at the bottom of this lake with me, forever."
Snow Dream’s cheeks glistened with tears.
"You think I’ll believe that? Whatever promises the gods gave you, I’ll shatter every one of them."
Orson’s face hardened. Her blind confidence infuriated him.
"Too confident?" Snow Dream shook her head, voice thick with tears. "No, Master. It’s you who are blind with confidence. The Aurora Goddess foresaw everything. Even the fall of the divine weapons was part of the prophecy."
Her voice cracked. "I only wanted to hold the hand of the man I love... to stay with him until the world’s end. Why won’t you let me?"
"You’re insane!" Orson roared. He remembered Sakan and Xinala’s dying words, their mention of prophecy. A chill spread down his spine.
"Aurora Grail. Soul Seal fusion."
Her lips whispered the words.
Orson’s eyes widened. Six divine Soul Seals spun into the air, glowing with dazzling light. A golden chalice rose above her palm, radiating a brilliance like the sun’s first dawn.
A notification flickered across his vision.
[Godly Relic: The Aurora Grail]
Buzzing filled the air.
"Master, my cauldron! It’s trying to fly away!"
Berenice’s muffled shriek came from inside the inventory, her tiny claws gripping the trembling Chaos Cauldron. The relic vibrated violently, resonating with the chalice.
A cold dread crept up Orson’s back. The Aurora Goddess... she wasn’t just another divine being. She might stand on the same level as the Goddess of Chaos herself.
And the Grail was whole. Unlike his incomplete cauldron.
If the two clashed now, the consequences could be catastrophic.
"Death isn’t the end. Death is the gateway to rebirth."
Xinala’s voice echoed faintly.
"Thanks to you, I’ve shed that broken body. When I return, I’ll burn all ties to Earth."
Sakan’s laughter followed.
Orson’s breath caught. "What? They’re dead!"
But their voices flowed into two glowing Soul Seals. The seals merged with Snow Dream’s set, then plunged into the Aurora Grail.
The chalice rang like a bell, shaking violently. Then it stilled. Within, a cup of radiant divine liquid shimmered like liquid starlight.
"Master... no matter what happens, remember this: I liked you. I really, really did."
Snow Dream smiled through her tears, her eyes filled with pain.
Orson’s heart plummeted. That look—it was the look of someone determined to drag him down to hell with her.
His fists clenched. Rage boiled inside. Years ago, his moment of weakness—his compassion—had planted this seed. And now, it had grown into the nail on his own coffin.
She raised the chalice to her lips and drank it down in one swallow.
"No!" Orson’s roar shook the lake. The Supreme Arcane Blade erupted with light, his eyes bloodshot with fury.
The Aurora Goddess. It had been her game all along. Snow Dream was just a pawn. A crucial pawn—but still a pawn.
"Snow Dream! Wake up!"
But she only shook her head, smiling faintly. "My wish has come true, Master. I’m sorry."
Her body erupted in light. Blood streamed down her pale skin, her hair wild as her form twisted into something grotesque.
The lake boiled. Mountains cracked. The world itself shuddered.
From her back, two wings burst forth. One was pure white and holy. The other, shriveled and demonic.
Divinity and corruption, bound in one body.
Orson forced himself to check the interface.
[Sacrament Fusion: Snow Dream]
[Lower God: Aurora Saint]
[Fusion Progress: 60%]
[Fusion Progress: 70%]
"A lower god? Born from a mortal vessel?"
Orson’s stomach twisted. Why hadn’t she fused earlier? Why wait until now? Snow Dream wasn’t stupid—she would never make such a blunder.
There had to be something more.
Orson’s face hardened. A golden skull mask slid over his face, chaos aura roaring skyward.
"The one who should be sorry... is me!"
His roar split the sky.
The Supreme Arcane Blade pierced forward, straight into her chest.
[Fusion Interrupted!]
[Aurora Grail Integration Failed!]
Her body trembled. Her brows knitted in pain—but her lips curved in relief.
And still... she clung to him.
Orson’s vision blurred. A single tear traced his cheek.
Snow Dream collapsed against him, her voice faint, fragile.
"You haven’t held me... in such a long time. I wish this moment... could last forever..."