Extraordinary Rise: Starting Contract with the Silver Dragon Countess

When that pure and warm holy light gently yet irresistibly led Cohen Corleone's figure to her.

For the first time, Etherel's gaze fell on Cohen's face with such clarity and closeness.

That face...

With sharp features, he exudes the vigor and determination of a young king, yet his brows reveal a depth far beyond his years.

Yes, this is the face of an ordinary person, the face of a young king who rose to power in a small country on the northwestern frontier.

But why did the curve of her brow bone, the tightly pursed lips, the resolute gaze, and the calm demeanor she displayed even in the face of the gods stir up ripples in her heart, which had been dormant for millennia?
It's so similar, so incredibly similar, so strikingly similar to that unforgettable face deep in my memory, a face that has long since faded yet vividly resurfaces in every moment of deep sleep.

God of Shadows!

The lover and confidant who once stirred up the winds and clouds of the divine realm with his cynical way of doing things, yet warmed her eternally lonely divine heart with the deepest love.

is it him?
This thought, like the most frenzied vine, instantly entangled Aetherial's soul.

"To be able to access the Shadow Dimension, to possess such an unwavering will, and even to have such an appearance..."

He even took the initiative to ask to meet with me alone...

Aetherel's heart skipped a beat. Had he also sensed something?
Does he remember too?

The sheer elation from this guess nearly overwhelmed her reason.

If it really is him, if he still remembers, even just a tiny fragment of memory.

Her divine sense almost reached out uncontrollably, trying to tear open that mortal shell to see if the soul she had been searching for for countless years was hidden inside.

But just as this ecstasy was about to overwhelm everything—

A cold, rational voice resounded from the deepest part of her divinity.

That was her own voice, and also the warning Daphne had repeatedly warned her about:
No matter how one is reincarnated, the divine imprint of the deity, like a birthmark on the soul, will accompany one eternally. It is the essence of life and an ironclad law of the universe.

As if doused with cold water, Aetherial's violently fluctuating holy light suddenly froze.

Aetherel relentlessly explored every corner of the deepest recesses of his soul.

No!

No!

still none!

She could not sense even the slightest trace of the aura belonging to the Shadow God.

There was no familiar, profound, and distant divine energy, like the dark side of the universe.

There was also no mark of law imprinted on the origin of the soul, symbolizing the authority of shadow.

Not even a faint, residual ember of the shattered divine essence was found!

Cohen Corleone's soul radiated the brilliance of a human king's will, yet it was empty, devoid of any trace of a god.

Why...why not!
Aetherel felt as if an invisible giant hand was clenching his heart tightly, and an excruciating pain, enough to tear apart a god, spread from the deepest part of his soul.

The newly risen flame of hope, as faint as the dawn, was ruthlessly extinguished in an instant by this cruel reality.

Aetherel's figure, shrouded in holy light, trembled almost imperceptibly.

Flawless fingertips clenched slightly beneath the robe of holy light, as if struggling to suppress some urge about to burst forth—

Is it an embrace, an interrogation, or... a desperate cry?

Time seemed to freeze completely in this space isolated by sacred barriers.

Aetherel simply stared intently at Cohen.

Her gaze was incredibly complex—it held a longing that transcended eternity, a cautious probing, a fear of loss, an unspeakable sorrow, and a hint of desperate pleading, like a drowning person grasping at a last straw.

The two sides remained deadlocked, locked in a silent struggle.

The moment the sacred barrier that isolates all laws is completely closed, completely blocking out all external noise and prying.

Cohen's gaze finally pierced through the gentle, inviolable barrier of holy light, landing for the first time on the supreme goddess before him—Aetheril Dawn—who wielded light and redeemed all beings.

Time seemed to stretch out infinitely at this moment.

Cohen's pupils contracted sharply the instant he saw the face of the god before him.

An indescribable, overwhelming shock, as if his soul had been pierced by the purest light, instantly swept over all his senses and thoughts.

What he saw was not merely the awe-inspiring majesty and holiness befitting a deity, which was too terrifying to behold.

It is an absolute perfection that transcends the concept of divinity itself.

It was a beauty that defied description in any mundane language, a beauty that seemed to embody the very essence of the first rays of dawn at the dawn of the universe.

The face of the Goddess of Light is like the most perfect masterpiece sculpted by the Creator over the course of eternity; every contour and every inch of skin radiates a natural and flawless glow.

This perfect divine face, enough to make any mortal being bow down in worship and tremble with their soul, came into view, yet a strange thought arose in Cohen's mind.

There is actually a woman in this world who is just as perfect as the Queen's sister.

In Cohen's mind, Adele's beauty had long transcended mere physical appearance, even surpassing the radiance of the divine; it was a beauty that defined the rules.

Her very existence is the most perfect interpretation of "perfection".

He had often secretly wondered whether Adele was also the reincarnation of a powerful deity.
Or perhaps something even more ancient and primordial than the gods?
The perfection she possessed carried a purity that transcended divinity and was almost like the very essence of law.

Cohen firmly believed that Adele's beauty was unique and incomparable.

Even these goddesses who are high above and in control of the elements pale in comparison to Adel's perfection.

But at this moment...

Before me stands the goddess of light, Aetheril Dawn!

The perfection she displayed was an ultimate beauty that seemed to embody the primordial light of the universe, pure and flawless, eternal and indestructible.

It was in no way inferior to Adel, a completely different existence, yet on par with the ultimate level of "perfection".

Could this be the source of that sense of familiarity I felt when I saw her?
The thought flashed through Cohen's mind instantly.

Is it because they have all reached a certain "perfect" ultimate state that he had this subtle feeling?

He subconsciously shook his head, forcibly suppressing the disrespectful thought of comparison in his mind.

No matter how audacious he was, he wouldn't dare stare directly at an elemental goddess of godhood, especially since she was currently gazing at him with those starry eyes that seemed to pierce through his soul.

Cohen forced himself to lower his gaze slightly, maintaining the reverent posture befitting a mortal king towards the gods.

However, to his great surprise, the goddess of light, Aetherial Dawn, did not speak after seeing him.

She simply stood there quietly, enveloped in a soft yet vast holy light. Her eyes, which contained the endless galaxy, gazed at him with a complex emotion that Cohen could not understand at all, yet which stirred his soul inexplicably.

Cohen felt that gaze was like a physical shackle, pressing heavily on his soul, giving him an unprecedented, deep-seated pressure and unease.

He opened his mouth, his throat feeling dry.

He longed to break the suffocating silence; he wanted to speak and reveal the purpose of his trip—to make a deal for a demigod artifact that contained the will of the Goddess of Light.

However, when he mustered the courage to raise his head again and meet Aetherial's incredibly complex eyes, all the words stuck in his throat.

That look...

That gaze, seemingly piercing through time and space, carrying endless weight and sorrow...

For some reason, Cohen felt a chill run down his spine.

A fear and retreat stemming from the instinct for survival, a fear of the unknown and a torrent of immense emotions.

It was as if once he opened his mouth, he would break a fragile balance and unleash a monstrous wave that would completely engulf his soul.

In the silent gaze, hope and despair, like two venomous snakes, gnawed furiously at Aetherel's heart.

No, it wasn't him. He didn't have the mark of divinity. Daphne was right.

But the eyes, the tone of voice, they were so similar, so similar!

Contradiction! Torment! The agony of gaining and losing gnawed at her eternal soul.

Etheril ultimately decides to break her promise to Daphne and peek into Cohen's past and present life.

A cold and domineering holy light flashed in his eyes, piercing through time and space and peering into the origin of the river of fate.

Cohen felt an indescribable, vast will, like an invisible giant hand, instantly and brutally probing into the depths of his soul.

That will, imbued with irresistible divine power, disregarded all his defenses and resistance, directly stirring the deepest sea of ​​memories within his soul.

Countless images, sounds, and fragments of emotion—childhood laughter, national responsibility, the ferocity of battle, the tenderness with his queen sister, and even some blurry, chaotic images from the very beginning of life that he himself had long forgotten—surged uncontrollably and wildly like a raging storm stirred up by a hurricane.

He was startled, not understanding why the Goddess of Light was so interested in his past and present lives.

Just as he was about to react, a beam of azure light burst forth from the depths of Cohen's soul core without warning.

The light was not an attack, but rather transformed into an indestructible ice crystal barrier that blocked all prying eyes, forcefully blocking Aetheril's domineering golden divine light.

Cohen then realized that Daphne had somehow placed protective measures on him when they met.

A hint of regret flashed in Aetherel's eyes; she had ultimately underestimated her sister who held sway over winter and the end.

They underestimated her determination to protect that secret.

Cohen felt the excruciating pain in his mind and the turbulent storm of memories suddenly subside.

The terrifying feeling of being forcibly spied on vanished instantly, as if he had just been pulled out of a drowning abyss, panting heavily, his body uncontrollably staggering back two steps.

He suddenly raised his head, his face showing deep wariness. His eyes no longer held any of the previous awe and confusion, but only hostility and vigilance as if facing a deadly threat.

God?

This is God!
Cohen roared silently in his heart, looking down on ordinary people as if they were ants, wantonly probing their souls and trampling on their dignity!

Aetherel could clearly feel Cohen's gaze, which was as sharp as a tangible blade.

The wariness, anger, and hostility in his eyes were like cold, poisonous thorns, piercing her heart.

For some reason, seeing Cohen's wary and distant demeanor, Aetherel felt a sudden pang in her heart.

A sharper, more unfamiliar pain than the tearing apart of one's divinity instantly spread through the body. It was an emptiness and stinging sensation, as if one had lost something extremely precious.

Another deathly silence followed.

Finally, Cohen forcibly suppressed his surging anger and lingering fear.

He knew that anger was meaningless in the face of absolute power.

He must accomplish his mission.

He took a deep breath, his voice calm yet carrying a subtle, almost imperceptible detachment, breaking the suffocating silence:

"Goddess of Light, I would like to... make a deal with you."

As soon as Cohen finished speaking, the light in Aetherel's eyes gradually faded.

In the end, his request for a private meeting was all for the sake of a deal.

A deal with the gods.

A deal with Aetheril Dawn, the goddess of light.

It has nothing to do with any personal feelings or the past.

A barely perceptible bitterness appeared on Lady Dawn's face, which was hidden behind endless holy light and so perfect that it outshone the stars.

Aetherial's divine sense directly entered Cohen's consciousness:

"Speak, what is the deal?"

Cohen suppressed the lingering fear and anger after his soul had been spied on, and also restrained all unnecessary emotions.

At this moment, he was merely a king seeking a deal.

He took a deep breath and said slowly:
“I’ve heard that the Goddess has been searching for information about the God of Shadows. I have some information and would like to use it to make a deal with the Goddess.”

With a whoosh, the boiling holy light surrounding Aetheril instantly transformed into blazing white flames powerful enough to incinerate the void.

The flames carried an absolute destructive will to purify everything and incinerate all things.

The entire space within the fortress emitted a shrill, strained sound, like glass about to shatter.

Aetherel stared intently at Cohen.

She couldn't quite articulate how she was feeling.

Fortunately, the flames weren't directed at Cohen.

Just as Cohen was wondering, Aetherel's divine sense came again, but this time, the voice was hoarse and trembling with a soul-tearing pain.

The urgency and vulnerability it contains are completely different from the previously aloof goddess of light:

"Wh...what information?"

Cohen felt a chill run down his spine; he realized that he had touched a place that might be even more forbidden than he had anticipated.

But he had no way out.

He hesitated slightly, seemingly considering his words, but finally, he slowly revealed the trump card that could ignite everything:

"I can help the goddess find the Shadow Dimension..."

Before he could finish speaking, Cohen clearly sensed a strong fluctuation in the emotions of the holy and unapproachable goddess before him.

In a moment of distraction, that flawless, holy face was already just a step away from me.

too close.

Cohen, who was so close, could feel the goddess's breath.

Cohen was so close that he could clearly see that deep within those eyes, which held the promise of an endless galaxy, a storm raged that was powerful enough to bring down even the gods.

There was shock, ecstasy, disbelief, and a deep-seated longing!

He subconsciously took a few steps back, never expecting that these few words would elicit such a strong reaction from the Goddess of Light.

If it weren't for Daphne protecting him, he wouldn't have dared to say those words.

There was indeed such a background story in the game.

Several reckless gods attempted to infiltrate the Shadow Plane in search of treasure after the fall of the God of Shadow, only to be swiftly and decisively defeated by the enraged Goddess of Light, Aetheril Dawn.

The divine kingdom collapsed, the divine fire was extinguished, and its tragic end shocked the entire divine realm!
At the time, he thought it was just a game setting, a symbolic act by the Goddess of Light to protect her deceased husband's dignity.

But now, facing the blazing white holy flames that could incinerate time and space, and feeling the terrifying divine power that almost melted his soul, he truly understood.

That wasn't a symbol; it was a deep, unforgettable pain, a furious outburst of anger at having one's defenses broken, an absolute taboo that would not allow anyone to desecrate that place of rest for the dead.

For Aetheril Dawn, the Goddess of Light, the Shadow Plane is far more than just a lost divine realm!

That was the final resting place of her lover, the place where her eternal heartbreak was sealed, and a sacred forbidden zone that she would never allow any being to taint.

However, the Goddess of Light was not the master of the Shadow Plane, and as time passed, the Shadow Plane disappeared into the endless void.

Cohen believed that this goddess would be very interested in the Shadow Plane.

Trading my location in the Shadow Dimension for a semi-divine artifact seems like a perfectly fair trade.

With Daphne by his side, there's no need to worry about the other party resorting to force.

However, he underestimated the intensity of the Goddess of Light's reaction to the Shadow Plane.

Cohen instinctively took a few steps back, trying to keep his voice steady and attempting to steer the out-of-control conversation back onto the track of a "deal":

"I only acquired a spacetime portal to the Shadow Dimension under extremely accidental circumstances."

"If Your Majesty is interested in the Shadow Dimension, I can take you inside to have a look."

Aetherel's pupils trembled slightly, and even his divine sense trembled slightly:
"You...you can freely enter the Shadow Dimension and even bring others in?"

Cohen keenly sensed the unusual fluctuation in the Goddess of Light's tone.

He felt a little more at ease; it seemed that the information of "free access" was more impactful than simply the location.

He nodded cautiously, his voice carrying just the right amount of confusion and innocence:
"yes.

As for why it was me, and why it was possible for me to do so.

I honestly don't know why.

He attributed everything to the "unknown," which was the safest explanation.

The holy flames surging around Aetheril suddenly subsided, but he silently took a step forward.

He brought her flawless face, now tinged with an almost mundane urgency, closer to Cohen's eyes once more:
"Below the Gold Rank, mortal bodies are simply powerless to break the shackles of the laws that bind the barriers of secondary planes, let alone the supreme secondary planes that once gave birth to gods and bore the authority of divine kingdoms."

You only recently broke through to the Gold rank, which means that when you were at the Silver rank you already had... no, I heard from Daphne that when you were at the Bronze rank you already possessed a skill that allowed you to enter a sub-plane.

In other words, you are at the Bronze rank, a weak stage where even spatial ripples cannot be perceived.

"So, they can already ignore the laws suppressing dimensional barriers and freely traverse the Shadow Dimension?"

This information, like the final piece of the puzzle, instantly exploded deep within Aetherel's heart.

For the first time, a look of near-absent-minded shock appeared on her holy face.

Her voice trembled with a tremor she herself was unaware of:
“Answer me!

Yes or no!"

Cohen's pupils suddenly contracted, and a chill ran down his spine to the top of his head.

The Goddess of Light not only knew, but analyzed it with such precision and clarity.

This is no longer a simple interest, but an almost obsessive, meticulous investigation.

Being so closely watched by a deity of the highest order, I really don't know whether it's a good thing or a bad thing.

The Goddess of Light is right; only those of Gold rank or above can withstand the resistance of the dimensional barrier and enter and exit the sub-dimension.

This is why Cohen promised Grace that he would accompany her to the Hell Plane after reaching the Gold Rank.

Furthermore, even reaching the Gold rank doesn't mean one can frequently enter and exit sub-dimensions.

This is an indisputable point.

He instinctively wanted to refute, to cover it up.

But faced with those eyes that seemed to see through everything, any lie seemed pale and powerless.

Cohen could only force himself to remain calm and throw out the most "reasonable" and "safe" excuse he had prepared beforehand, his voice carrying a hint of deliberate confusion:

"Yes, I was indeed able to freely enter and exit the Shadow Dimension when I was at the Bronze rank."

However, I don't know why..."

He lowered his eyes slightly, avoiding Aetherial's overly sharp gaze:
"Perhaps this is talent?"
A special talent that I myself cannot understand?

He tried to steer the conversation back to the transaction itself, asking tentatively:
"Your Majesty, do you think my suggestion is feasible?"

Talent, huh...

Aetherel's divine sense softly repeated the two words, his voice ethereal.

You once told me yourself that the core barrier of your Shadow Plane was specially forged by your divine will, with the help of the forging god Ornn.

It was the last refuge you left me.

Even if a powerful god were to force its way in, it would have to pay a terrible price, shaking its very foundation.

How could a mere mortal who hasn't even reached the legendary level so easily come and go freely based on so-called talent?

unless……

Unless it's this mortal in front of me who claims to possess "talent"...

He wasn't "entering" the Shadow Dimension at all!
He was...

Go home! (End of Chapter)