"Just keep an eye on the scroll. Check it every now and then for a commission that suits your build."

Orion's eyes lit up immediately.

This wasn't just a list of fetch quests. It was a platform. A channel.

Accepting, completing, and turning in these commissions wasn't just about the loot; it was about the networking. It was a direct line to introduce himself to other high-tier Mages, expanding his contact list and his influence within the guild.

"Thank you, Deputy Commander."

Edward nodded, waving a hand to dismiss the floating Relic set back into his inventory. He glanced around his laboratory, assessing the space.

A moment later, a pulse of white light rippled out from his position, sweeping through the room like a scanner.

In an instant, the laboratory began to reconfigure.

The floor undulated like liquid, the walls retracted into the void, and the endless shelves of alchemical apparatus folded themselves away into hidden sub-dimensions. Within seconds, the environment had completely shifted.

Orion was now standing in an endless, open-air plaza. High above, a colossal Magical Formation slowly rotated, humming with latent power.

"Now," the Deputy Commander said, his voice echoing in the vast space. "We begin."

It was time to resurrect Violet and Caelus.

Orion took a deep breath, suppressing the surge of nervous energy. He didn't pull out the Miracle Divine Tree yet. Instead, he reached into his inventory and retrieved the item he had looted only recently: the Abyssal Springhead.

It looked like a miniature, slowly rotating black hole. The moment it materialized, the very fabric of the magical dimension shuddered.

Miles away, on the summit of Blade's Edge Peak.

Commander Thresh was lounging in his tent, a wine in one hand, a piece of straw chewed between his teeth, legs crossed. He was the picture of relaxation.

But the second Orion pulled the Abyssal Springhead from his inventory, the Commander froze.

In a blur of motion, Thresh was on his feet, standing at the precipice of the cliff. His gaze pierced through rock and distance, locking directly onto the laboratory beneath Thunderhold.

Back in the underground plaza, Orion handed the Abyssal Springhead to the Deputy Commander.

This item was the condensed remains of a Stage Five Demigod. If the Virtue Knight Alveron had left behind any nasty surprises or dead-man switches inside it, Orion knew he wouldn't survive the trigger.

Honestly, even the Deputy Commander might not be able to tank it.

But it was an inanimate object, and Edward was currently a Stage Two Demigod. It was worth the risk. Besides, they were in the Valkorath Realm. If things went sideways, there was a safety net. Someone else was watching who could clean up the mess.

"This is the Abyssal Springhead?"

The Deputy Commander stared at the singularity in his hand, his brow furrowed.

Even with his Second Stage power, he found the object baffling. It defied the laws of magic he understood. What kind of devastating supernatural ability did one need to compress their entire existence into a cosmic anomaly like this?

"I don't see any traps," Edward said finally, his tone a mix of relief and slight disappointment.

Disappointment, because he couldn't crack its secrets. Calm, because he knew where he stood. In the Valkorath Realm, under the Commander's watch, even if Alveron resurrected right here and now, he'd have to kneel and behave.

"Of course you don't."

The voice didn't come from Orion.

It was familiar, rough, and commanded instant attention.

Commander Thresh materialized next to the Deputy Commander without a sound. No teleportation flash, no displacement of air. He was just there.

"I'm actually curious," Thresh said, snatching the Abyssal Springhead from the Deputy Commander's hand. "How the hell did you two manage to loot something like this?"

The Deputy Commander shook his head. He wasn't surprised by the intrusion. It wouldn't be the first time the boss had micromanaged a dangerous experiment.

Both senior officers turned their eyes to Orion.

"Commander." Orion nodded respectfully.

Thresh looked him over, eyes twinkling with curiosity, waiting for the debrief.

Orion didn't hold back. He recounted everything—the descent into the sixth layer of the Abyss, the events in the Shattered Space, the battle, the loot. He even detailed the complications with the Relic set he had discussed earlier.

"I have to say," Thresh chuckled, though his eyes remained sharp, "you two have some serious nerve."

"Every entity that ascends to the Demigod realm possesses the power to threaten the world itself."

Thresh's gaze shifted from Orion to the spinning black hole in his hand. His smile lingered, but his next words sent a chill down Orion's spine.

"You ignite the Divine Fire within your Divine Power. In that fire, you forge the Soul. Within the Soul, you realize your Divine Calling. And from that Calling, you eventually birth a Divine Spark."

"Every single step on the Demigod path is a metamorphosis. It's a complete rewrite of your existence."

"For a Second Stage powerhouse," he said, glancing at the Deputy Commander, "killing a First Step Demigod is as easy as crushing a bug."

Orion, not being a true Demigod, had no frame of reference for the scaling. He had assumed the gap was smaller.

"Junior, you're getting cocky," Thresh said, his tone shifting to that of a strict mentor scolding a reckless student. The "blade" in his voice was pointed at the Deputy Commander.

"Orion doesn't know any better; he's a rookie. But you? You're a Stage Two Demigod. You should know exactly how wide that gap is."

"Curiosity," Thresh warned, "doesn't just kill cats. It obliterates souls."

As a Grand Mage, Edward had an insatiable lust for the unknown. It was why he had agreed to help with the Miracle Divine Tree and the Abyssal Springhead so eagerly. He wanted to see how they worked.

"Igniting the Divine Fire in your power is already incredibly difficult. Even among those who reach the Demigod threshold, maybe one in a hundred survives the transition."

"To move from the First Step to the next stage requires more than just hoarding Divine Power and Faith. Your Will and your Soul have to survive being scoured by the Divine Fire."

Orion realized he was auditing a masterclass. Thresh was the professor; the Deputy Commander was the grad student getting grilled. Orion was just the intern taking notes in the corner.

"Then comes forging the Soul in the fire. It is a process of absolute compression, destruction, and regeneration. It is agony beyond description."

"The True Soul is built from the ruins of your old self, pieced together within the flames."

The Deputy Commander listened intently, a strange light flickering in his eyes. Thresh was lighting a beacon for him in the distance. As long as he didn't give up, as long as he kept walking toward that light, the next level was attainable.

"However," Thresh continued, lifting the black sphere, "what I am holding is the crystallized essence of a Stage Five Demigod."

"If this were the old days, even I would consider this a hot potato."

Suddenly, the Commander's eyes erupted with light. It wasn't just a glow; it was thousands of stored Blade Flashes—sword intent he had banked away years ago for a rainy day.

The energy poured from his eyes like silk threads, weaving into the Abyssal Springhead.

"A Stage Five Demigod has not only birthed a vast Divine Kingdom but has also condensed a genuine Divine Spark."

Thresh's voice changed. It became distant, indifferent, and crushingly mighty.

"An object created by such a being is not something you children should be touching."

For a moment, Orion and the Deputy Commander felt like they weren't standing next to a guild leader, but a literal God.

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