Not long after—
Inside one of the palaces of the Stellamaris Kingdom.
Queen Thalassa stood beside Ethan, both of them cloaked in the soft glow of the palace’s crystal chandeliers.
"Thalassa, I’ve got two tasks for you," Ethan said quietly, his gaze steady on her.
"Yes, my Lord. I’m listening," she replied, bowing her head slightly.
"First, I want you to keep a close eye on the Crimsonstar Kingdom. Watch their every move. Look for weaknesses—any opening we can exploit."
"Crimsonstar Kingdom?" Thalassa blinked, caught off guard. Then her expression shifted, eyes widening in realization. "My Lord... don’t tell you’re planning to—?"
She didn’t finish the sentence, but the implication hung heavy in the air.
Ethan gave a small nod, not bothering to hide it. "Yeah. I’m planning to make a move on Crimsonstar. Not right away, but soon."
"It’s true, then..." Thalassa’s face went through a storm of emotions before she took a deep breath and composed herself. "Understood, my Lord. I’ll do everything I can to dig into Crimsonstar’s secrets."
"Good." Ethan nodded. "Now, the second task..."
He leaned in slightly, lowering his voice. "Find soone you trust—soone discreet—and send them to the Gemspire Kingdom. They need to et with The Tidebreaker, Paxton. Tell him I’m planning to strike Crimsonstar. If he can convince Gemspire to back , I’ll cut them in—thirty percent of the spoils."
Thalassa’s eyes widened again, but Ethan wasn’t done.
"Also, Stellamaris can act as a representative of Erald Castle and offer an alliance with Gemspire. Make that clear."
"Gemspire Kingdom..." Thalassa murmured, her expression thoughtful. She clearly had questions, but knew better than to ask. Instead, she gave a firm nod. "Understood."
"That’s all for now." Ethan turned and walked away, his footsteps echoing through the marble halls.
...
Several days later—
Ethan moved in silence, keeping a low profile as he led Seraphina, Cicero, Kyros, and the others back toward the Arcane Mistsea—the domain of the Leviathans and Deep Sea Leviathans.
This ti, it wasn’t just them.
He’d brought in the heavy hitters: Balthazar, Lilith of the Dragonblood Elves, and the Bronze Golem Karnak. Practically everything he had—every asset, every ally—was riding on this mission.
He was all in.
The Bronze Golems, like Karnak, weren’t built for naval combat. But inside the Soulbind Shackles’ pocket dinsion? That was a different story. The space was tight, all solid ground—perfect for brutal, head-on clashes. Exactly the kind of battlefield where tal Golems thrived.
Sa went for the Behemoths.
This was it.
Their shot at becoming stronger—at breaking through their limits, maybe even soaring to heights they’d never imagined.
It all ca down to this one gamble.
This ti, we’re not just coming back.
We’re coming back to slay gods.
"We’re back again, huh..." Ethan stood tall on the deck of a Tier 4 warship, the skies above the Arcane Mistsea dark and brooding, waves crashing violently around them. His eyes burned with intensity, his voice low but charged with energy.
A guttural roar echoed across the deck.
"RAAAHH!"
"Glorious and mighty Master! Your loyal servant is ready for battle!" Seraphina shouted, her voice booming with excitent. "This ti, we’re taking them down for sure!"
"Master," Kyros chid in, stepping forward, "what’s the plan? Are we doing it like last ti—take out so of the regular Leviathans and Deep Sea Leviathans first?"
Ethan rubbed his chin thoughtfully, then turned to look at Auremax and Cicero. "What do you two think? Should we clear out the grunts first before going for the big one?"
Auremax and Cicero exchanged a glance.
Cicero was the first to speak, shaking his head. "I don’t think that’s necessary anymore. Once we’re inside the Soulbind Shackles, we can take out the regular units there. Then, we all focus on the Leviathan hero together."
He paused, then added, "We’ve got enough heroes on our side to drag the fight out if we need to. That’s our advantage. Out here on the open sea, the environnt’s brutal. We’d have to stay hyper-focused the whole ti, and the pressure on us would be way higher. One slip-up, and it could all go sideways."
Auremax nodded in agreent. "Cicero’s right. Without the Leviathan hero’s innate abilities countering us, the pressure drops significantly. Even if they’ve got numbers, we can whittle them down. And with Elyra and Cicero on our side, sheer numbers won’t an much."
Ethan nodded slowly, the logic settling in. Yeah... that made sense.
"Alright then. That’s the plan."
He turned sharply, his voice rising with command.
"Seraphina! Cicero! Karnak!"
"Yes, Master!" they responded in unison.
"At your command, my honored Master," Seraphina added with a fierce grin.
"When the battle starts, the three of you are on Leviathan hero duty. If it turns out you can’t hold him off alone, I’ll jump in and back you up," Ethan said, his tone serious, eyes sharp.
Truth be told, he wasn’t entirely sure if Seraphina, Cicero, and Karnak could hold the Leviathan hero on their own. But they had to try. Those Tier 13 Leviathans and Tier 14 Deep Sea Leviathans were no joke either—they were absolute monsters in their own right.
If they didn’t take out the regular units first, this fight could get ugly—fast.
Luckily, Ethan wasn’t exactly short on firepower this ti.
Seraphina, Cicero, Kyros, Karnak the Bronze Golem, Lilith of the Dragonblood Elves, Elyra the Unicorn... and himself.
Seven Hero Units in total.
And not just any heroes—every single one of them was at least a Legendary-tier. Three of them were Crimson Ultimate-tier, the highest of the high.
Add in Auremax and Balthazar—both Mythic Ace Units whose strength rivaled Legendary heroes—and they were looking at the equivalent of nine top-tier heroes.
If nine-on-one still wasn’t enough to take down that Leviathan hero...
Then hell, Ethan thought, maybe Crimson Ultimate heroes really are just that damn broken...
"The rest of you—your job is to wipe out the regular Leviathans and Deep Sea Leviathans," Ethan continued, his voice sharp and commanding. "We’ll split into three groups. Elyra, you’re with Balthazar. Kyros, you go with Auremax. As for Lilith... you’re on your own. Move independently and strike where you see fit."
"Understood!"
"Yes, my honored Lord!"
"Got it, Master!"
...
As Ethan’s orders rang out, everyone nodded in unison. The air around them buzzed with anticipation, their eyes gleaming with battle-hungry excitent.
They all knew what was coming.
The god-slaying battle was about to begin.
Ethan took a deep breath, steadying himself. Then he turned to Kyros, his gaze sharp as a blade. "Kyros. Go. Draw him out."
"Yes, Master!"
"RAAAHH!"
With a roar, Kyros launched himself off the deck and dove straight into the sea—his massive form vanishing beneath the crashing waves.
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOOOOOM...
Monts later, the already raging Arcane Mistsea erupted into chaos. The ocean roared with fury, waves towering like mountains, blotting out the sky. The sound was deafening—like the sea itself was screaming in rage. It was as if hell had cracked open beneath the water.
And then—shadows.
Massive, hulking silhouettes began to rise from the depths, dark and monstrous. A mont later, grotesque, writhing tentacles burst from the sea, lashing out with terrifying speed, whipping toward the warship like living nightmares.
"They’re here!" Ethan narrowed his eyes, his hand already reaching for the artifact at his side.
The Soulbind Shackles.
FWOOOSH!
Just then, Kyros exploded out of the water, his voice booming across the deck.
"Master! He’s coming!"
ROOOOOOAAAAARRRR!
A thunderous roar followed—so loud it shook the air and rattled bones. It ca from deep beneath the sea, and it was furious. The water churned violently as a colossal figure began to rise—easily tens of thousands of feet long. A monstrous Leviathan, its body a mass of writhing tentacles and abyssal flesh, surged upward from the depths, its presence blotting out the ocean floor.
Tentacles lashed out in every direction, all of them zeroing in on Ethan.
But he didn’t flinch.
"Now!" he shouted. "Soulbind Shackles—activate!"
THOOM!
BOOOOOOMMMMMM—
In an instant, the world around them twisted. Reality itself seed to glitch, colors draining into a cold, gray void. The sea, the sky, the ship—everything blurred and warped.
And then, a massive vortex of energy tore open above them, swirling with raw, arcane power. It sucked in everything—Ethan, his allies, the Leviathans, the monsters, the waves—all of it.
THOOM!
A chanical voice echoed in Ethan’s mind.
"Player Valkarion, attention!"
"Player Valkarion, attention!"
"Level 4 Strategic Artifact: Soulbind Shackles has been activated."
"Both sides have now entered the special domain—Soulbind Nexus."
"Within this space..."
The voice faded into static as the battlefield shifted completely.
The god-slaying war had officially begun.
...
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