Their Light

The glacier, eternally frozen across countless miles, should have been an endless expanse of white, pristine and crystalline in its chill.

Yet now, it was dyed crimson.

As far as the eye could see, across those endless miles, not a speck of white remained.

Like blood-red mandrakes blooming along the paths of the underworld, they covered every inch of the land.

It was the red of blood seeping into ice.

The stench of piled corpses hung thick in the air, and floating remains drifted in the frozen rivers.

Bodies lay strewn in their millions.

At a glance, it almost resembled the neighboring realm of Infernal Flames.

Both were the same fiery red.

A single look was enough to convey the brutality and sorrow of this war.

Only one or two out of ten had survived.

Yet those who remained wore smiles that seemed utterly out of place on this battlefield.

They had won this war.

Even if it was a narrow victory, it was still a victory.

The Sovereign had said that once this war was won, they could go home!

Countless soldiers clad in battle robes darted through the icy skies, spreading word of the Sovereign’s decree to withdraw.

Laughter and cheers spread across the glacier, so much so that the blinding crimson before them almost seemed like the red silk their families would drape over them in celebration upon their triumphant return.

Some were already preparing to depart at their encampments.

A young man in silver armor hurried through the air before landing swiftly on a patch of ice.

The frigid cold of the Endspirit Frost had turned his face red, but despite rubbing his hands and breathing warm air into them, his expression was brighter than ever.

The moment he landed, his general turned to him with a hearty grin.

"Yun Chu, come! Have a drink of General’s Return to warm yourself!"

The youth was but a lowly soldier under the general’s command, and hearing his name called, he flushed slightly before stepping forward shyly.

"Here, take a sip!" The general boisterously handed him the flask.

"Once we finish this wine, we set off for home!" The general’s weathered face broke into an unrestrained smile.

At his words, the men around them erupted in cheers, shouting and roaring in delight. Even the high-ranking cavalry, who rarely had mounts, soared into the sky in excitement, circling and whirling in jubilation.

Yun Chu accepted the flask and grinned broadly before raising it high and downing it in one go.

"Home!" His excited cry pierced the heavens.

"Home!!" The general’s troops echoed instantly.

"Home!!!" The entire army roared in response, their voices trembling with emotion.

The deafening cheers shot straight into the firmament, as if trying to shatter the barrier sealing away this frozen realm beyond the galaxy.

The soundwaves struck the few figures standing high above—even they were stunned into silence by the sight.

The scene was so overwhelming that even Nightwind, who was usually quick with flattery and empty boasts, stood solemnly in awe.

Before long, the army below had gathered their belongings, ready to leave this place.

The general soared higher, his voice booming as he rallied his men.

"The Sovereign has spoken—once this war is over, we return home."

"Now that the battle is won, we depart at once!"

"However, to leave this Dual-Forbidden Cosmos, we must first cross the Infernal Flames ahead!"

The Dual-Forbidden Cosmos was the battlefield they had fought upon.

One half was the Frozen Cosmos, a realm of endless ice; the other was the Infernal Cosmos, a land of scorching flames.

The Infernal Flames the general spoke of lay within the latter.

The Infernal Flames—also known as the fires of hell.

Beneath the Infernal Flames lay the turbulent Convection Layer of the Scorching Crown, a seething mass of radiation. Within that layer resided energy capable of annihilating entire star systems.

For countless millennia, the convection layer had remained stable, never once erupting.

But… when excess energy occasionally leaked from it, even the slightest wisp was enough to unleash cataclysmic flares upon them.

These were the Infernal Flames.

The fires of hell.

To traverse this forbidden land… everyone knew it would be no easy feat.

If luck was on their side, they might reach the end without encountering a single flare.

If not, even one brush with the Infernal Flames could reduce them to ashes.

Yet now, none of them cared.

Their hearts and minds were fixed on just two words—

Home.

How long had they fought in this war? A thousand years? Ten thousand?

It had lasted so long that they could barely remember the faces of their homeland.

They were the one or two who had survived the slaughter.

Nine deaths for every life spared.

But they had lived.

Compared to the countless comrades buried on this battlefield, their lives were nothing but borrowed time.

And now, against all odds, they had hope—hope of returning home. How could they not be elated?

Even if it meant braving the Infernal Flames, even if it meant walking through hell itself, they would press on!

Because beyond it lay the path home.

The biting cold of the Frozen Cosmos suppressed their cultivation, yet despite their weakened state, their eyes burned with determination as they gazed up at their general.

The general looked down at his men.

He knew their hearts yearned for home.

And was he any different?

His gaze swept over the army below.

Though battered and broken, nothing could dim the light in their eyes.

"The Sovereign also said," the general continued, his deep voice resonating across the vast expanse, "that he will send someone to meet us at the edge of the Infernal Flames."

"And then… he will lead us home."

The Sovereign—the supreme being they served. The focus of their loyalty, their faith, their unshakable devotion.

Hearing that the Sovereign himself had spoken, the men erupted in fervor.

Every last one of them trembled with excitement.

He was their light. Where the light led, they would follow!

For it was the path to their homeland.

As his words faded, the battlefield erupted in a deafening roar.

"Through the Infernal Flames, the Sovereign leads us home!!!"

"Through the Infernal Flames, the Sovereign leads us home!!!"

"Through the Infernal Flames, the Sovereign leads us home!!!"

"..."

Wave after wave of voices rose, stirring the winds of the Dual-Forbidden Cosmos—a thunderous, ecstatic cry that shook the heavens.