[Ash Clone’s POV]
Silence blanketed the endless land.
An unimaginably vast expanse stretched across hundreds of light years, its barren surface remaining completely devoid of life as far as the eye could see.
There were no towering mountain ranges breaking the horizon, no forests filled with ancient vitality, and no kingdoms or sects claiming even the smallest corner of this region.
There was nothing but an empty battlefield prepared for a war that had yet to begin.
Although barely ten years had passed since the formation of the Realms, this place had already been designated as the future Immortal Battlefield.
Where the Heavenly Realm, the Abyssal Realm, and Eden Realm would one day clash for supremacy.
That day had not yet arrived, making the enormous battlefield eerily silent despite the unimaginable importance it held.
Standing at the opposite ends of this enormous battlefield were two incomparably gigantic dimensional gateways separated by hundreds of light years, each resembling a celestial monument connecting different worlds.
One continuously emitted an endless holy radiance that illuminated everything surrounding it, while the other quietly overflowed with a deep crimson-black aura capable of making even space itself appear heavier.
These were the very same Gate of Heaven and Gate of the Abyss that had once descended upon Akumia.
Compared to that time, however, both gateways had expanded countless times over, their enormous size making even planets appear insignificant before them.
Around each gateway, countless Angels and Devils stood guard in orderly formations.
Far beyond the perception of those guards, ten figures silently stood high in the air hidden beneath multiple layers of concealment, calmly observing everything unfolding below them.
Five clones quietly watched the Gate of Heaven.
The remaining Five observed the Gate of the Abyss.
None of them spoke.
Their eyes slowly swept across the battlefield, carefully noting the visible guards, memorizing the patrol routes, estimating the number of hidden experts, analyzing the surrounding formations.
One of the clones silently thought as his gaze slowly swept across the endless barren land.
The clone quietly shifted his gaze toward the distant Angels before another thought crossed his mind.
None of the clones felt the slightest fear.
In the first place, they did not have that emotion within them.
After observing the place for a while longer, the eight clones quietly shifted their attention toward the colossal gateways.
Although both the Gate of Heaven and the Gate of the Abyss remained completely sealed, a much smaller dimensional portal was opened beneath each of them, allowing individual Angels and Devils to freely travel between the Realms without opening the main gateways.
Ash silently thought as the clones calmly teleported next to the portals.
Protected beneath multiple layers of Concealment from the very beginning, neither the surrounding formations nor the countless Angels and Devils standing guard noticed anything unusual.
The eight clones simply passed through the heavily guarded region as though they didn’t exist, no body saw them as they did their duties.
One after another, the four clones assigned to the Heavenly Realm quietly stepped into the portal beneath the Gate of Heaven, while the remaining four entered the portal beneath the Gate of the Abyss, disappearing without creating the slightest disturbance.
At that exact moment, one of the Angels guarding the Heavenly Gate suddenly frowned as the portal before him flickered almost imperceptibly.
The thought surfaced inside his mind for only an instant before he shook his head.
"...Probably just a fluctuation."
With that, he dismissed the matter entirely and continued performing his duties, completely unaware that four unknown intruders had already entered the Heavenly Realm right before his eyes.
**
HEAVENLY REALM
The moment the four clones stepped through the dimensional portal, an incomparably pure energy immediately washed over their bodies.
It was Divine Energy.
A higher form of energy than Mana itself.
Unlike the Mana of Eden, which naturally existed in every element of the world, Divine Energy carried an unmistakable feeling of purity and holiness, making the entire Realm feel unusually tranquil while countless streams of golden-white energy quietly drifted through the atmosphere like an endless sea of light.
The four clones calmly glanced around.
The portal had led them directly inside an enormous hall built entirely from brilliant white stone, its towering pillars extending hundreds of meters into the air while countless intricate golden inscriptions covered every wall, ceiling, and floor.
Hundreds of Angels continuously entered and exited through the many other portals, while numerous others remained stationed nearby, silently carrying out their assigned duties without paying any attention to the newly arrived figures hidden beneath multiple layers of Concealment.
Without exchanging a single word, the four clones quietly walked out of the hall before naturally splitting into four completely different directions the moment they stepped outside the building.
None of them intended to remain together.
Spreading out would allow them to gather information much faster, and even if one clone was discovered, the remaining three could continue the mission without being affected.
One of the clones quietly left the flow of people before lightly pushing against the ground, his figure silently rising higher and higher into the sky until the entire region beneath him gradually came into view.
The sight before him genuinely caught him off guard.
He had expected a military fortress filled with countless Angel experts.
Instead...
What entered his vision was an incomparably vast empire.
Countless buildings stretched toward the horizon in every direction, their architecture dominated by white stone and golden decorations while broad streets connected district after district beneath the brilliant golden sky.
Angels and Half-Angels moved throughout the city without the slightest sense of urgency, some entering shops, others talking amongst themselves, while children could occasionally be seen running through the streets under the watchful eyes of their parents.
For a brief moment...
Ash almost forgot where he was.
The atmosphere before him felt no different from the great human empires of Eden.
People lived here.
Families existed here.
There were merchants, guards, cultivators, children, and countless Angels simply living their daily lives.
His gaze slowly drifted toward the enormous building from which they had just emerged.
Unlike every other structure surrounding it, this one stood at the very center of the empire, dwarfing everything else by an absurd margin while countless Angels continuously entered and exited through every direction.
Ash didn’t know whether it was their headquarters, a government building, or something else entirely.
But judging from its location alone...
Its importance was obvious.
He silently memorized everything he saw before shifting his attention toward the endless empire stretching beyond the horizon.
The clone quietly withdrew his gaze from the magnificent empire before taking one final look at the colossal building standing at its very center.
Shaking those thoughts away, he silently turned around before disappearing into the horizon, his figure moving farther and farther away from the empire until the bustling atmosphere behind him gradually gave way to endless plains and mountain ranges that seemed untouched by civilization.
The further he traveled, the fewer Angels he encountered.
The once crowded skies gradually became empty, with only the occasional figure flying across the heavens every now and then, each minding their own business without the slightest awareness that an invisible hunter had already entered their Realm.
Ash wasn’t in a hurry.
His objective had never been to recklessly kill the first person he saw.
Instead, he quietly observed every Angel that entered his perception, comparing their cultivations, and overall strength before silently dismissing them one after another.
Several more minutes quietly slipped by.
Finally...
A lone Angel entered his perception.
Three pairs of golden wings slowly flapped behind his back as he leisurely flew through the sky, seemingly returning from somewhere without the slightest sense of urgency.
Judging from the fluctuations surrounding him, his cultivation had only just entered the Saint Rank, making him insignificant compared to the experts Ash was truly interested in.
However...
Ash wasn’t interested in his cultivation.
He was interested in something else.
The clone’s figure silently vanished from where he stood and appeared just behind that of the flying Angel.
Only when an inexplicable chill crawled across the back of the Angelic figure did his expression suddenly change.
"...Who’s th—"
Before the words could even leave his mouth, a pitch-black claw silently pierced straight through his chest, its nails emerging from the other side without spilling even a single drop of blood.
The Angel’s eyes widened in disbelief.
He instinctively tried to circulate Divine Energy, but before he could react, Ash’s free hand had already grabbed the back of his head.
A terrifying force erupted.
Every strand of resistance was crushed before it could even form.
The Angel’s body instantly lost all strength as the light within his eyes rapidly dimmed.
"...Sorry."
Ash quietly muttered.
"I need something from you."
Without waiting another moment, he activated his ability.
[Sanguine Emperor — Blood Assimilation]
A crimson glow quietly spread across the Angel’s body.
The blood hidden deep within every vein began trembling before rapidly converging toward Ash’s palm, while strands of golden essence slowly separated from the ordinary blood and entered his body, merging into his own bloodstream without the slightest resistance.
Several moments later...
A familiar notification quietly appeared before his eyes.
{Angel Bloodline successfully integrated.}
{Current Angel Bloodline Purity: 10%}
"..Ten percent?"
After thinking for a brief moment, he shook his head.
"Never mind, as long as I can transform.....it’s worth it....."
[Morph]
The ability quietly activated.
Ash immediately felt the newly acquired bloodline respond to his command as a warm sensation spread throughout his body, causing his bones to shift and gather behind his back before three pairs of magnificent golden wings slowly unfolded one after another.
He quietly looked down at himself.
Everything about him was still unmistakably human.
Only the six golden wings extending from his back had appeared.
His gaze slowly drifted back toward the notification of Bloodline purity floating before him as a thoughtful expression gradually appeared across his face.
"Ten percent only manifested the external characteristics. If I want Morph to completely transform me into an Angel, then the bloodline itself probably needs to reach one hundred percent."
Rather than feeling disappointed, the corners of his lips slowly curved upward.
"So that’s how it works..."
With a casual wave of his hand, the six golden wings quietly melded back before disappearing back into his body.
Ash slowly swept his gaze across the endless golden sky, a thoughtful smile gradually appearing on his face as he silently organized everything he had learned from this small experiment.
Although Morph was more than capable of changing his outward appearance into that of an Angel, such a disguise would only deceive someone at first glance.
His aura, bloodline and countless innate characteristics unique to the Angel Race would remain completely unchanged, making the disguise meaningless against anyone with even a slightly deeper perception or any method capable of verifying one’s identity.
A true disguise...had never been about appearance alone.
Only after completely obtaining the Angel Bloodline could he transform into a genuine Angel, allowing every aspect of his existence to change alongside it.
**