Divine Sea could not help but stare at the seed with a mixture of surprise and wonder. The object pulsed faintly in her hand, a subtle rhythm that seed to echo her own heartbeat. Within its core, she could sense an imnse potential for growth—sothing not yet awake, yet brimming with latent power.
She, like many others, already knew of the Scarlet Leviathans and how they were the key to the rapid growth of those who walked the Ego Eternal Path of Power within the Scarlet Path.
But she was not so reckless as to accept it without thought.
After all, this was no simple artifact. This was a living entity that would take root within her very Soul Dinsion, binding her in ways she could not fully predict. Much more importantly, it would create a direct connection to the Scarlet Throne—an artifact and power source so fearso that it could seal the souls and minds of ArchDeities for all eternity.
Cain, of course, noticed the caution in her eyes. The faint curve of his lips suggested amusent rather than offense. Without pressing her, he simply set the seed gently on the table between them.
"Feel free to use it when you see fit," he said, his tone calm and without demand.
He offered nothing further, only a radiant smile and a respectful nod before turning to leave the residence. Monts later, he stepped beyond the gates of her Heaven, his figure leaving the blood tornado.
Divine Sea found her gaze following him until he vanished from sight. Only then did she reach forward, fingers curling around the Scarlet Seed. She turned it over in her hand, probing it with her senses—searching for hidden traps, for any secret tether that might serve as a backdoor into her mind or realm.
She found nothing. No malicious intent. No concealed threads of compulsion. It was exactly what it appeared to be: a seed capable of birthing a psychic entity. Nothing more, nothing less.
Still, her thoughts were far from settled.
The eting had gone unexpectedly well. She had gained much, yet given so little in return. And that troubled her—not because she feared hidden costs, but because of the manner in which the Scarlet King conducted himself.
He was straightforward, even transparent. His intentions were not masked behind layers of false diplomacy. He made no attempt to disguise his ambitions or to hide his emotions behind the polished masks so common among the Archdieties. He spoke as though weakness did not exist for him, as though there were no fear in letting others glimpse his true self.
It was... different. Unsettling, in a way she could not fully define. She was not used to dealing with such people—especially not in her position.
In the end, she placed the small seed within her Inner Universe, sealing it behind her personal wards. Then, with a final glance toward the horizon, she turned and walked deeper into the heart of her residence.
As for what she intended to do next, only she would know.
...
Cain, for his part, was more than satisfied with his visit to Divine Sea’s Heaven. But he was not finished—not by far. Divine Sea was only the beginning. His true aim was far greater: to spread the influence of the Scarlet Alliance across the entirety of the Everstrife Empyrean World, forging a coalition powerful enough to stand against anything the Divine Calamity’s Lord might send against him.
Now, he was already moving toward the ho of another Archdiety.
The journey took him over an imnse ocean, the waters below churning with the energy of ancient tides. His stride through the air was unhurried, a faint smile playing across his lips as he imagined the web of his influence spreading wider, binding realm to realm in allegiance.
Then—
His entire body halted mid-step.
The smile faded.
Red fla and golden light burst in his eyes as he froze, his gaze snapping sharply to the side.
In that instant, the air itself seed to tighten.
A figure stood in the sky—not approaching, not retreating, simply there. The man was clad in black, jagged armor that devoured the light around it. A sword rested in his grasp, its presence as imposing as the man himself.
Cain’s eyes widened—not from fear, but from the realization of what had just happened. This man had co within five thousand ters of him—nothing more than the blink of an eye for beings of their caliber—without Cain sensing his presence. Even the [A.I. Chip Module], with its scanning field capable of piercing dinsions and sensing across shifting flows of ti, had detected nothing until it was too late.
That alone made the man dangerous.
The stranger’s form was at once solid and fluid, as though he existed half within the current of ti and half outside it. Reality seed to bend subtly around him, the edges of his being distorting the air. Around him, gravity and ti flowed in a perfectly controlled harmony—so subtle that a lesser being would fail to notice it at all.
The sword in his hand was a paradox given form. Its edge shimred with a white-hot glow, like the last flare of a dying star, yet its weight felt as if it carried the crushing pull of a collapsing world. Cain could feel the promise in it: one swing would not rely wound—it would pass judgnt. For the struck, ti would freeze, gravity would crush the breath from their lungs, and in a blink, they would cease to exist—erased without scream, without blood, without even a shadow left behind.
And then Cain saw it—behind the man’s form, a colossal, shadow-wreathed snake. Its molten white scales burned with internal embers, its blazing eyes cold yet all-seeing. The creature radiated an aura of entropy itself, as though it existed to watch the monts of creation burn away into nothingness.
Cain’s fists clenched slightly. All questions were pushed aside for now. The only thing that mattered right now was the purpose of this man.
But just as Cain studied him, the stranger was studying Cain. His gaze soon fixed on the white star-shaped sigil that floated like a crown before Cain’s forehead.
"Primordial," the man said at last.
Cain’s eyes sharpened at the word, his fist tightening briefly before his composure returned. Calm and wisdom settled over his features as he t the man’s gaze.
"Depravita," Cain replied.
The armored figure gave a slow nod. Around him was an aura of absolute emotional control—no heat of anger, no cold of malice, only a steady and deliberate presence. It caught Cain slightly off guard, as it did not resemble the mutated and flawed Depravitas of Dark Sky. Instead, he carried himself like a True Depravita—one who had risen above his nature, mastering himself and his powers completely. A rarity akin to the Demon King or ylin.
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