Elden: Ring of Calamity

Chapter 547 Divine Throne
As the turbulent spacetime currents surrounding him gradually weakened, Lucia took a deep breath and suddenly unleashed his divine power, dispersing all the spacetime forces that were restricting his movements.

Looking around, he found himself back at the joint encampment of the Godskin Cult and the remnants of the Holy Church. Most of the tents around him were empty, with only a few believers cleaning up the traces. A few steps away, Lady Olivia, who held the dual positions of Godskin Noble and Archbishop of Flame, knelt humbly on one knee, her gaze fixed on the ground, her shoulders trembling uncontrollably.

Seeing this, Lucia immediately understood the situation. He took two steps forward, scrutinized Olivia's trembling body, and sighed, "Raise your head."

Olivia obeyed and raised her head. Her beautiful face was now deathly pale, and her bloodshot eyes were brimming with uncontrollable tears.

"Tell me, what was her final order?"

Olivia moved her bleeding lips and lowered her eyes, saying, "Before His Majesty Katopella departed, he secretly summoned his subordinates and three other apostles, ordering us to retreat to the entrance of the barrier with our headquarters and the monks of the Holy Temple after the two emperors departed. Once Yuno lifted the seal, we were to immediately cross the barrier in the opposite direction, pass through the Sacred Tree Forest, and head north to Otina to meet up with General Oreg."

"Your subordinate will remain at the base and await your return. By order of His Majesty Katopella, from this day forward, all the current members of the Church, including myself, including the sixteen nobles, forty-eight apostles, and more than thirty thousand followers, will be under Your Majesty's command."

Including the Fated Death and the Greatsword for Hunting Gods that had been given to him long ago, this was almost the entire legacy of the Tibian dynasty that perished after the War of the Gods. Katarpaela was about to personally hand over the last power to him.

As a force that once rivaled the Golden Dynasty for a century without falling behind, the Divine Skin Cult is undoubtedly one of the most powerful groups in the border region. Even after years of dormancy, its foundation is by no means weaker than that of the Corrupt Cult and the True Cult. Whoever obtains it will immediately have the capital to contend for supremacy in the world.

Any ruler with ambitions to conquer the world, even the high and mighty Eternal Queen, would likely be shaken upon hearing that such power had suddenly been placed in their hands. However, Lucia remained calm and composed, as if everything she had just heard had nothing to do with her.

As Olivia sensed the new lord's indifferent, almost cold, demeanor, her heart sank lower and lower.

It wasn't that he felt his group was being neglected, but rather that His Majesty was willing to sacrifice himself, entrusting all his power, wealth, authority, and even his future to the person before him, yet he seemed completely unconcerned about His Majesty's life or death.

Was it all really worth it?
"Do you know what she's planning to do?" Lucia's calm question came from above. Olivia felt as if she were in a cold, silent desert; the oppressive atmosphere wasn't fatal, but it was suffocating.

“His Majesty never tells us the complete plan,” she replied mechanically, her face lowered. “However, I dare to guess that His Majesty has always longed to avenge the humiliation of the past, even at the cost of his life. The reason he entrusted us to His Majesty the Dragon King here is probably because this furnace ley line is the final link in the plan, and His Majesty himself is already prepared to die.”

“I understand,” Lucia nodded, her expression unchanged. “Let’s go back.”

".What?"

He raised his hand and threw out three dark gold marks imbued with his divine power. "Now, I command you to immediately cross the barrier, catch up with the main force, and escort them to Ottina at full speed. At the same time, I dispatch three apostles with my seals to Sol City, Frozen Lake, and North Pass respectively, and order Oreg, Neo, Politics, and Rosalind to execute Plan Four."

“Yes—” Olivia replied, but then suddenly realized something was wrong. Lucia had only told them about their arrangements, but hadn’t mentioned where she was going.

With Yuno and his followers having escaped, the remaining members of the Divine Skin Cult and the Holy Temple having all withdrawn, and His Majesty Katopella having sealed off the ley lines with a spacetime domain, this spatial barrier was no longer profitable. On the contrary, there was a risk that the Giants' Court might react at any time and launch a preemptive general offensive—what else could he do if he stayed here?
The figure, as towering as a mountain and as sharp as a sword, strode past her. Olivia abruptly looked up, her eyes wide, and exclaimed, "You...you want to..."

"The final battle has begun, but before that—I will bring her back."

"But...but there's still a spacetime realm over there, even for you."

"field?"

Lucia paused briefly in front of the tent, gazing at the spacetime turbulence that almost covered most of the barrier. A smile played on her lips. "So this is your domain. I thought it would be some kind of Black Flame Demon Prison where you could be roasted alive if you took even half a step inside. It seems you visited Sky City a long time ago. Maybe we've met before, even through the eggshell."

A white shadow flashed by, and Sherry skillfully clung to Lucia's trouser leg and jumped onto his shoulder, raising her little paws to point at that unfathomable spacetime domain, letting out a spirited cry.

“Shirley is right. Although you always pretend to be a confident and in control older sister in front of me, if I hesitate in the face of someone who has lost their destined death, and if I can forget everything you left to me—how can I bear the future you entrusted to me?”

The little fox paused for a moment, then withdrew its paw and scratched its chin, probably not expecting its cry to contain such profound meaning. But looking at the burning flames in those ice-blue eyes that were exactly the same as its own, Sherry immediately strengthened her resolve.

Master is right, that's exactly what Sherry thinks! "Awoo~"

The term "domain" in most cases refers specifically to the magical domain, which is the supreme technique by which masters who have reached the pinnacle of magic instantly cover a certain area of ​​natural space with their own magic power, greatly amplifying their own abilities within this range and fully suppressing their opponents.

Examples include Chief Mugram's Moon Tide Sword Realm, Princess Twin Moon's Netherworld Descent, and Queen Full Moon's Moonlit Star Sea.

Lucia had once wondered why he had only heard of the "magical realm" but rarely seen the corresponding "divine realm." However, after his in-depth discussion with Katopella about the origins of laws and gods, the answer to his question became increasingly clear.

He speculated that most of the world's gods had set up "locks" on the path of their own laws to prevent those who came after them from pursuing them. As a result, all those who walked the same path could only hope that the locks would be slightly unlocked and that they could share a sliver of the power belonging to their master through the cracks by worshipping and becoming their most loyal believers.

But how could those meager scraps that slipped through the fingers of the gods possibly support a powerful realm that made mortals comparable to gods?

Among the very few god-level beings who did not seal their own path, the Flame God was probably too dead to be sealed. Thus, through the efforts of the last high priest, Herunmur, the Giant King and the Giant Ancestor were created. Everyone has the ability of a domain. As for the Dragon King and the Dragon God, it is estimated that the laws of spacetime and divine control are too profound. Even if they were opened up, almost no one would learn them. There was really no way to deal with them.

Only the three moon goddesses opened up a path of magic with a wider range of applications, which has led to the current situation where most domain owners have mastered the magic domain. It is likely that only in time, when the demigods who are no longer restricted by the gods grow up, will the borderlands see a scene of various powerful domains flourishing.

The reason why Katpera can confidently keep him out of the domain is that his mastery of spacetime is not deep enough.

Given her deeper understanding of the laws, her initial advantage, and her ability to maintain her domain at full strength for an extended period thanks to the inexhaustible runes from the furnace ley lines, even if Lucia's eight attributes exceeded 100 on the spot and she instantly ascended to the realm of a true god, it would be impossible for her to force her way through by brute force.

But—who says that you can only use a spacetime domain to break a spacetime domain?

"Hoo!" Lucia exhaled a long breath of turbid air, facing the spacetime turbulence that was over ten thousand feet high, making him seem as insignificant as an ant. He spread his arms slightly, his palms outstretched, and dragon scales covered his entire body like flowing water.

With his eyes closed, he completely immersed his mind in the battlefield of memories. His greatly amplified spiritual power surged forth like a flood bursting its banks, roaring towards a bottleneck that existed faintly within his consciousness but was already riddled with cracks and on the verge of collapse.

"Magic Realm (Unlocked) Current progress: 99.3% - 99.4%"

Under the extremely high load of simulation, Lucia's silver-white dragon scales kept floating, and bursts of heat rose from the gaps. Large beads of sweat poured out of his forehead, which instantly turned into scalding steam under the high temperature.

At the same time, the domain simulation is progressing steadily, step by step.

"99.5%, 99.7%, 99.8%"

The rapidly refreshing information from the memory battlefield kept flooding into his mind, while in reality, a realm where the old and the new coexisted, and life and death intertwined, was slowly and steadily expanding the spacetime domain blocking his way, centered on his half-dragon body, and extending endlessly into all directions!

The turbulent flow of time and space is like raindrops hitting an umbrella. No matter how fiercely it bursts into countless droplets, it can never cross that vast and heavy forbidden zone!
"99.9% 100%"

Domain: Divine Throne - Unlocked!

In the distance, Katpela, whose mind was completely absorbed in the direction of the ley lines, opened her eyes in surprise.

Her spiritual vision caught sight of the vast, ever-expanding domain that was suppressing the spatial turbulence with the force of a mountain crashing down. The Queen's face turned deathly pale, and she staggered back several steps, muttering, "It's over, it's over... If he catches me, I... I..."

For some unknown reason, a blush suddenly rose on that stunningly beautiful face. The queen gritted her teeth, furious and embarrassed, and said, "Why did you hide this trick until now? Were you just waiting to use it on me? You bastard, you bastard!!!"

(End of this chapter)