Chapter 435
As his proclamation echoed and he dropped the rune pillar, the sky above him cracked open. A great, spiraling vortex of silver and deep blue unfurled, an ethereal bridge stretching into the divine realm. The moment his foot touched the path of silver light, the air around him shifted. His mortal shell could no longer contain the power surging within him—his body shimmered, his form unraveling into pure divinity.
The mortal world faded behind him. Ahead, a vast emptiness stretched, waiting to be shaped by his will.
Maul closed his eyes and let his essence expand, his very being merging with the forming world. He did not seek warmth or paradise. His domain would reflect his soul—a frozen abyss, vast and unforgiving, yet unbreakable in its silent embrace.
The land took shape, sculpted from ancient ice, deeper and denser than any in the mortal world. Towering mountains of frost loomed in the distance, their peaks cutting into the starless void above. Below, endless fields of snow stretched beyond sight, a land untouched by time or warmth.
At the heart of his realm stood a great frozen fortress—Helwinter Keep—a citadel of black ice and shimmering silver, radiating an aura of both sanctuary and judgment. It was a place where the weary could seek shelter, yet where the condemned would know no escape. The howling winds that once tormented him now served as sentinels, carrying the cries of those who had perished by his hand.
Deep within the core of his realm, beneath layers of unyielding ice, lay the Frozen Abyss, where the souls of his enemies remained bound—chained by their own hatred and fear, their suffering an eternal echo in the halls of his vengeance.
As his realm solidified, his divinity pulsed through its very foundation. The sky above was dark yet clear, illuminated by an eternal aurora—a silent, watchful guardian over his dominion.
Finally, he stood atop his throne, carved from the purest ice, his presence casting long shadows across the frozen expanse. He had ascended.
As the ascension of the demigods on the surface reached its conclusion, the focus shifted to the two who remained beneath the waves.