Magical Soul Parade

Chapter 396: End of An Era (Conclusion)

“I refuse,” the Soul Transcendent wheezed, his voice laced with absolute finality. “There are no longer any chaotic soul masses for my authority to govern or command. My power has no place in this new world you are building. I will not spend my remaining years fading away as a servant. I choose to end it here.”

Finn looked at him for several moments, but eventually he nodded. He understood the giant’s logic. He then turned his head, peering into the far distance, locking his eyes onto a specific position among the battle ruins.

The Chaos Transcendent was standing there. He could hear Finn perfectly, as Finn had intentionally allowed his voice to travel across the vast distance to find him. This was only the second time Finn had ever seen the Chaos Transcendent face to face throughout his entire existence.

The first time had been back in that past timeline inside the tent, but this second time, the head of the Harvester Cult was simply stepping forward to give himself up to die.

The natural, uncanny chaos and crazed light still flickered behind his eyes, but he offered no resistance.

Finn spent a moment analyzing the man’s choice. It made sense. These Transcendents were ancient, powerful individuals who had not climbed to the apex of the world by being foolish. They could see the reality of things clearly for what they were.

The Chaos Transcendent knew this was the definitive start of a new era. Remaining alive would only serve as a false beacon of hope for the surviving members of the Harvester Cult who followed his banner. No matter how hopeless the situation became, there would always be some of them looking up to him, waiting for some sort of future comeback.

But he knew with absolute certainty that there was no chance for a comeback at all. The Errant Heretic, Finnegan Slade, was now the absolute ruler of this plane.

Finn had literally written the new laws of reality, ending the era of Transcendents and Ossuarists completely. Any hope of changing this outcome was a total illusion. By choosing to die now, the Chaos Transcendent was permanently cementing the reality of this new era in the minds of his remaining followers.

Immediately after, Sue stepped forward from the shadows of the ridge. The thief, the Transcendent of Copy, and the most ardent Enforcer of the Harvester Cult, had arrived at the exact same conclusion.

Her eyes were fixed on her leader. She could not imagine living in a world where she could no longer continue the legacy of the cult. Since the Chaos Transcendent had chosen to end his path here, she saw no reason to keep hoping for a future that did not exist.

Aside from the Soul Transcendent, the Chaos Transcendent, Sue, and a few other minor, no-name individual Ossuarists who belonged to the Harvester Cult, no one else chose to end their lives on the field.

Finn stood silently, giving them the space to execute their final choices.

The Chaos Transcendent went first. He voluntarily ignited his entire soul essence from within. The energy swelled inward for a single microsecond before bursting outward in a silent, absolute expansion, vaporizing his vessel instantly.

Finn spread his divine senses across the area, tracking the spiritual threads to ensure the destruction was total. The Chaos Transcendent had erased himself completely.

Sue followed right after, burning her soul without a single cry. The remaining minor cultists and the wounded Soul Transcendent executed their souls in the exact same manner. Within moments, their auras vanished entirely from the battlefield.

Finn remained silent for a full minute, honoring the passing of the old powers. He then turned back to the remaining survivors, his gaze hard.

“The terms are set.” Finn said.

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Over the weeks and months that followed, the retribution of the Errant Heretic materialized across the three continents. Finn systematically brought every single remaining Transcendent who had participated in his forced summoning into the binding pact.

Casmir, the Space Transcendent, signed the terms while kneeling in the dirt. Himothy, the Glory Transcendent, bound his remaining years to the oath, his golden pride completely dismantled. Lyris, the Combustion Transcendent, accepted the decree from her sickbed, her fiery authority permanently capped.

Even Priest, the Truth Transcendent, who had not been present on the battlefield, was not spared from Finn’s retribution. Every single one of them was forced to swear the pact before the Great Dao.

Now that Sage Limitless was gone, the path to gathering faith and touching divine power was fully accessible to them for the first time in millennia. Yet, by the terms of Finn’s contract, they were legally forbidden from ever touching a single strand of that power.

It was an exceptionally cruel sentence. They were destined to watch their souls slowly fray and disperse over the years, losing their strength day by day, while being entirely unable to use the one source of energy that could save them.

Why they chose to endure this slow, agonizing mortality instead of ending their lives like the Chaos Transcendent remained a mystery…

Perhaps they felt a deep sense of remorse for the era of chaos they had sustained, or perhaps they viewed this continuous decay as the proper retribution for their historical transgressions. Or perhaps some of them were simply curious, wanting to live long enough to see what kind of world the Errant Heretic would build from the ruins of their old empire.

Regardless of their reasons, they accepted the pact and went to work, serving the common humanity they had ignored for centuries.

With those oaths bound to reality, the retribution of the Errant Heretic was fully completed. The old era was dead.

Yet, as Finn floated above the world, he knew the score was not entirely settled. Deep within the recesses of his own soul, a familiar, parasitic presence remained completely untouched by the global decay.

…Arros was still there.

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A/N: With this, we’ve come to the end of the fourth volume – “Retribution.” I really appreciate everyone who has supported this book so far, either with Power Stones, Golden Tickets, Gifts, or even just comments and reviews. Thank you very much for enjoying the story. 🙂‍↕️

Cheers 🍻

Astrl

Hey everyone! So as you all know, I’d planned another volume after this one. But in the end, I’ve decided to close the story here instead.

I do have an idea for what comes after, but it would follow a new side character instead of Finn, an aftermath story set hundreds of years later, with Finn and Althea only appearing in maybe 30% of it towards the latter ends mostly.

Most readers don’t love an MC-less POV, and multiple POV shifts, so rather than force that into the main book, I’d rather keep it separate as a possible side story. I’m not working on it right now though, but we’ll see how things go. If there are enough people that wanna see it, I’ll work on it.

In any case, I thank you all who’ve read this far. Thank you to everyone who’s enjoyed the story and sent gifts, power stones, golden tickets, and more.

Many thanks to Preet_0, Dragon Azrael, Daoistchii, Bjarne_H, Gabriel Anjos, Kemyinka, Danirew, Midnyt_Guardian, and everyone who’s supported the book with gifts, Golden Tickets, and Power Stones. (Can’t name everyone… XD)

Thanks for your support.

Cheers,

Astrl.