The synchronization process continued for several seconds after I accepted the request, the system screens shifting rapidly while the space in front of us slowly began twisting inward. Golden cracks spread through the air before collapsing into themselves, forming a massive vortex that rotated silently above the ruined land.
Then someone stepped out.
The figure looked nothing like the projections we had seen earlier.
A tall man in his twenties emerged calmly from the vortex, blond hair falling loosely around his face while golden eyes scanned the surroundings with mild curiosity. He wore black and gold clothing and despite the calm expression on his face, the pressure surrounding him was enormous.
Knight blinked once. "That’s Goldius?"
The man looked toward him and smiled slightly. "A fragment of my own yes," he replied. "Or more accurately... the version of Goldius from when I stood at level one hundred and ninety-nine."
I looked at him quietly for a moment.
"So basically before you became arrogant."
Knight snorted immediately.
The blond man sighed faintly. "Children truly have no restraint anymore."
"Children?" Knight repeated while looking offended. "You literally look younger than me."
"And honestly," Lyrate added while crossing her arms, "for a god I expected something more dramatic. Maybe glowing eyes. Floating throne. Bigger muscles."
Goldius simply smiled at that instead of reacting. "You three are strangely relaxed considering the circumstances."
"You don’t feel very threatening," Knight replied casually.
"That may be because this body is limited to system regulations," Goldius answered before finally turning his attention fully toward me. "But even now, I would still prefer not to waste potential like yours."
"Here we go again."
He looked at me steadily. "Join me. Truly this time. The path ahead of you is far larger than this world, and standing against beings like the Crimson Authorities without allies is far more foolish than you currently understand."
I smiled faintly.
"You keep making the same mistake," I replied.
"And what mistake is that?"
"You think standing beside you is some kind of reward."
For the first time, the smile on Goldius’ face weakened slightly.
I continued calmly. "You’re strong, sure. Probably absurdly strong outside this system." I shrugged lightly. "But you’re still not someone I’d follow."
Knight nodded seriously beside me. "Yeah honestly your recruitment speeches need work."
Lyrate sighed dramatically. "No charisma at all."
Goldius closed his eyes briefly before shaking his head with a small laugh. "Children."
Then he raised his hand.
Golden particles gathered instantly around it before condensing into a long sword formed from pure shining light, the blade humming softly as immense energy gathered across its surface.
The atmosphere shifted immediately afterward.
Even with the level synchronization, the pressure leaking from him intensified sharply as his golden eyes locked onto me again.
"Very well," he said calmly. "Then prepare yourself."
I looked at him for a second.
Then chuckled.
"Knight."
Goldius’ expression changed slightly. Space folded behind him instantly.
Knight vanished from beside me and appeared directly at Goldius’ back in the same moment, his blade already moving before the god could properly react. Darkness wrapped around the strike while space itself bent around the edge, and the blade passed cleanly through Goldius’ neck before the golden sword in his hand could even rise fully.
Goldius remained standing for half a second longer before his head separated cleanly from his body.
Lyrate stared at the collapsing figure before letting out a disappointed sigh. "Wow," she said, "that was anticlimactic. He really overestimated himself."
Knight flicked the bloodless blade lightly before sheathing it. "To be fair," he replied, "he did say this was the level one ninety-nine version."
The body dissolved into golden particles before it even touched the ground.
Then the system notifications appeared.
[Divine Conflict Completed]
[Victor: Defier Authority Holder]
[Conditions Fulfilled]
[Believer Intervention Nullified]
[Conflict Resolution Complete]
A final notification appeared above all the others.
[Defier Victory Confirmed]
[World of Oriel Officially Claimed Under Defier Alignment]
The system notifications continued appearing one after another after the divine conflict ended, the golden particles left behind from Goldius slowly fading into the air while the pressure surrounding the world itself began changing.
[Tutorial Conditions Fulfilled Ahead of Scheduled Completion]
[Preparing Global Announcement...]
[Informing All Participants Currently Within Tutorial Space]
The moment the notification finished, the sky above Oriel lit up.
A massive golden dome began spreading across the planet from horizon to horizon, expanding far beyond anything I had created with my own domain earlier. It moved silently over mountains, oceans, forests, and cities until the entire world sat enclosed beneath a faint layer of golden light.
Knight looked upward slowly. "That’s... big."
"That’s the system itself," Lyrate muttered.
Then something appeared in front of me.
A key.
It materialized slowly from golden particles before stabilizing fully in the air, crimson engravings running across its surface while faint pressure leaked from it continuously.
[Reward Delivered]
[Crimson Fortune Key Acquired]
I reached out and took it quietly, the moment my fingers touched it I felt a strange pull from somewhere impossibly distant, as if the key itself was connected to another reality entirely.
The system continued.
[Tutorial Ending Process Initiated]
[All Remaining Participants Will Be Returned]
[Safe Zones Stabilizing...]
Then suddenly—
Across Oriel, countless presences appeared all at once.
I could feel them instantly through my perception, millions of humans materializing across cities, forests, roads, safe zones, and ruins throughout the world as the tutorial finally ended and everyone returned at the same time.
The reactions came immediately afterward.
Confusion.
Shock.
Fear.
People staring at destroyed cities. At altered landscapes. At skies still cracked from earlier battles.
Then the system voice spread across the entire planet.
[World Announcement]
[With the defeat of the Believer Faction and the elimination of God Goldius’ influence, the artificial restrictions placed upon the World of Oriel for level 199 cap will now be removed.]
The moment those words finished, golden chains appeared across the skies.
Gigantic chains.
They stretched across continents and oceans alike, wrapping around the atmosphere itself like restraints locking the world down, and for a brief moment the entire planet trembled beneath their presence.
Then the chains cracked.
One after another.
Massive fractures spread through them before the restraints exploded apart into countless fragments of golden light that scattered across the sky like shattered stars.
The pressure across the world changed instantly afterward. The laws themselves deepened. The air became heavier with energy.
The world had just grown.
Another announcement followed immediately.
[World Announcement]
[The victor of the Oriel Conflict has been determined.]
[MVP of the Defier Faction: Ryan Heavens]
[Recognition Granted For:]
→ Conquest of the Empire of Heavens
→ Conquest of the Castell Empire
→ Elimination of Believer Resistance
→ Victory in Divine Conflict Against Goldius
The announcement echoed across the entire planet.
Knight looked toward me slowly before grinning. "Well," he said, "that’s one way to introduce yourself to the world."