The Ruler of Light and Darkness suddenly came to a halt in the roaring Sea of Void.

The boy who had been brandishing his sword before him a moment ago now had the air of a master who had triumphed over countless enemies in his lifetime.

An oppressive aura was now weighing down on him. This was an opponent he could not afford to be careless with.

Link was standing in an entirely different plane at that moment. He looked down pitifully at the ruler, waiting for him to repent for his sins.

Fear had crept into the heart of the Ruler of Light and Darkness. He even had a sudden impulse to kneel before Link. However, this was only a moment’s weakness. The ruler soon managed to recover from it. Rage now filled every fiber of his being.

“No one can judge me! No one can punish me! I am the undisputed Ruler of Light and Darkness! I am the realm devourer! I preside over the fates of millions of lives! I’m the one who decides who gets to live and who gets to die! I can choose to either honor all life, or grind it to a pulp beneath my heel! Including you, Lord of Ferde!”

At that moment, the Ruler of Light and Darkness had revealed the most despicable side of his godhood.

He was the one who ruled over all existence, or so he proclaimed.

Link’s alignment was in direct conflict with the ruler’s. He was the first God of Freedom to ever exist. His existence ensured the right of all life to choose their own paths.

Seeing that he could not force the Ruler of Light and Darkness to step down, Link let out a sigh. Maybe I was just too naive to believe that I could actually get him to surrender. Bloodshed is inevitable at this point.

In the next second, he had left the realm of Firuman and entered the Sea of Void, hurtling towards the Ruler of Light and Darkness at top speed.

“Come at me! Show me what you’ve got!” roared the ruler as he lunged at Link.

Though a huge distance still separated both of them, their wills were already clashing against each other. From afar, both of them looked like two knights in the middle of a joust.

Both sides had attained godlike power levels. Power surged forth from them in waves. The white mist in the Sea of Void parted in their wakes. The negative-energy pitfalls, Void vortexes and other dangerous phenomena were all ripped apart by the turbulent energy both sides gave off. The sinister creatures that lurked in the Sea of Void had peeked out of their hiding places, looking to take a bite out of the two gods, only to be ground to dust by the waves of energy emanating from them.

At that moment, Link and the Ruler of Light and Darkness were the most powerful beings in the Sea of Void!

From afar, it seemed as if two huge swords had carved two wide arcs across the Sea of Void and were about to hit each other.

After what seemed like an eternity, the two swords finally struck each other.

A shockwave exploded across all time and space at that moment. The white energy fog around the two gods was completely dispersed, leaving only absolute nothingness in its place.

Time, space and matter no longer existed. Only the two divine beings remained.

No one knew what lay in this corner of absolute nothingness. Everything inside it was now in a state of “unknowingness.”

The only frightening thing about all this was the ever-expanding ripples across the white mist of the Void. The ripples had swept away everything in its path like a fishing trawler pulling its haul to god knows where.

Other realms in the distance soon felt the effects of the ripples, including Firuman.

Storms and cyclones had appeared everywhere in the realm. A couple of regions were rocked by earthquakes, others by volcanic eruptions, which spewed clouds of dust into the sky and blocked out all light.

It was as if the world was about to come to an end.

Everyone in the realm, regardless of race, began to pray, hoping that all this would come to an end soon.

However, their prayers had gone unanswered. The calamities continued. Cracks had appeared across the realm as torrents of Void energy washed across it. The Void creatures had also taken refuge inside the realm while the turbulence in the Sea of Void raged on.

The Firuman realm had descended into chaos.

The Magicians of Ferde had set up a huge magical barrier around the ports to prevent the city from being swept away by the freak tidal waves. The Earth Elemental Magicians were also struggling to contain the volcanic eruptions by slowly releasing the pent-up pressure beneath the ground.

It soon became clear that the Magicians and Ferde’s Mage Tower were rapidly losing power as they tried to contain the natural disasters, which showed no signs of stopping.

The council of Ferde was now discussing the possibility of evacuating the entire city.

What mattered above all else now was the safety of everyone in the city. They needed to evacuate everyone as soon as possible before Ferde’s magical defense system failed.

…

The Isle of Dawn

The island had lost the World Tree’s protection. The High Elf King had mysteriously disappeared. Most of the members of the High Elf Elder council were either injured or killed by the strain of carrying out the Realm Fusion process. The Isle of Dawn was now without a leader. Earthquakes and tidal wives rocked the entire island, causing huge cracks to appear on the ground.

The Isle of Dawn had transformed into a literal hellscape. Half of the High Elf populace had perished. This once-proud race was now on the brink of extinction.

There was talk of leaving the island. However, the island was completely surrounded by the unceasing tidal waves. A Silver Storm Sparrow would not even stand a chance against such a terrifying scene.

The only thing the High Elves could do now was to wait for their inevitable demise.

The same thing was happening in other regions like the Golden Plains and the Aragu continent. The entire realm was now on the verge of collapse.

Existing superpowers had collapsed in the turbulence, while new ones were brought to a complete standstill. All semblance of order in the realm had crumbled completely.

The shockwave of the two gods’ duel had profoundly affected the entire realm.

Scholars had scribbled down detailed accounts of the event. This most turbulent moment in history would later be known by many names, such as “the Tide of Destruction,” “the Tyrant’s whip,” “Beginning of a New Era” and even “Ragnarok.”

The calamitous event persisted for three years.

Three years later, 80% of the realm’s population was completely decimated. Whole races had gone extinct. Countries were completely wiped out. Only a few organizations managed to survive the ordeal. Ferde’s council of Magicians was one of them.

Three years later, the sky had cleared up. Golden rays of sunlight were finally able to pierce through the thick clouds in the sky and bring light and warmth back to the mortal plane. In the middle of Girvent forest, Eliard was now staring out into the distance from the top of the Mage Tower.

In the distance, a hole opened up in the clouds. Sunlight gushed out of it like a waterfall. At that moment, peace and tranquility reigned over the land.

Eliard gazed at this fantastical scene in silence. Almighty one, have you actually done it?

Though he did not expect to receive an answer, one came to him all the same. A woman in a dark red robe had appeared before him. She was wearing a black crystal crown on her head.

Powerful Destructive aura wafted from the woman’s body. However, her face was serene. The golden sunlight reflected off her eyes, while starlight glinted from the depths of her pupils. “My master had defeated the ancient Nightmare Demon.”

“Are you the God of Destruction?” asked Eliard as he curiously looked over the woman before him.

“That used to be my name. I am now the Almighty One’s most loyal follower,” replied the woman, who then smiled at Eliard. “My master has sent me to inform you that the Ruler of Light and Darkness has been defeated. However, the ruler is a god. His Sacred Fire can never be extinguished. It can only be dispersed. As of now, his Sacred Fire has scattered to all corners of the Sea of Void. Only by spreading my master’s divine message of freedom to the other realms will the Ruler of Light and Darkness be prevented from coming back to life.”

Eliard was happy to hear that Link had won the fight. However, he was also worried that his friend might not be able to handle such a daunting task.

After a few seconds of silence, he asked, “Will I be able to see the Almighty One?”

The woman smiled. “He has vanquished his greatest enemy. His power has spread to all corners of the Sea of Void alongside his message. Look at the sun above you. Look at the world around us. He is everywhere. You’ll know where to find him when you light your own Sacred Fire.”

Eliard let out a sigh. He was slightly disappointed by her response. However, optimism now swelled in him. “I understand.”

As soon as his words left his mouth, the woman before him vanished into thin air.

Just then, there was a knock on the door. It was one of his disciples. He had brought with him a message for Eliard. “Eliard, Her Highness is gone. She’s left a letter for you.”

The only one who could be referred to as “Her Highness” among Ferde’s council was none other than the Lord of Ferde’s wife, the Red Dragon Queen Gretel herself.

Eliard took the letter from him. After glancing over it, he nodded. “Tell the dragon elders to leave her be.”

The queen had decided to follow Link. This was her choice. Neither he nor the dragon race had any right to interfere.

“Understood, advisor.”

When his disciple left him, Eliard muttered, “We’ll meet again someday, old friend.”

…

North of the Golden Plains, at the edge of the Hengduan Mountain Range.

A man was riding his horse along a narrow mountain pass. After a while, he came upon a dead end. The man rode his horse directly into the mountain wall in front of him.

The mountain wall disappeared. Beyond it lay a valley filled with the song of birds and trees. A cottage stood on one side of a stream in the valley. Two women were sitting on a smooth rock near the stream, smiling at the man as he approached.

The woman on the left was Celine Flandre, while the woman on the right was the Red Dragon Queen Gretel. The man was Link, who had given up all his power after defeating his enemy.

After losing his power, his only wish now was to lead a normal life. If the need ever arose, he could simply ask for it back from the realm.

Link smiled at the two women. “I’m back.”

“Welcome home.”

(End of story)