Samuel_Mafua_7207

Jean Luther – The youngest daughter of the powerful Luther Clan and the Emissary of Light, chosen by the goddess Celeste. After graduating from the prestigious Luther Academy as a Master-ranked swordsman, she is sent on a compulsory two-year assessment to qualify as an Envoy Knight, the elite warrior order of the Luther Clan composed of Transcendent Masters. Upon her return, she must take part in a brutal Succession War to determine the next Patriarch of the clan. With her divine guardian, the dire wolf Whitney, Jean sets out to become the strongest swordsman in the world.

EMISSARY OF LIGHT: CHRONICLE OF JEAN LUTHER

They thought it would end with the heartstone's shatter.

As Antares plummeted from the sky, a silence spread—stunned, awed, trembling. Then his broken wings snapped wide. A shroud of scorched aura burst from his chest, darker than shadow, redder than blood.

The shattered pieces of the heartstone hovered, pulsating. Not lifeless shards—but kindling. Antares' fury ignited them anew. Black fire surged across his frame, threading through muscle and sinew like molten veins. His eyes, once filled with wrath, now burned with purpose deeper, colder. Death, perhaps, had only peeled back a mask.

"Did you think me defeated?" His voice boomed across the world. "I am no beast of flesh. I am the fire before your fire. I am the wound your gods cannot close."

From the scorched heavens descended more dragons—dozens, hundreds, ancient beasts awakened by their master's agony. Each a kingdom of flame and death unto itself.

Karen's spear trembled in her hand.

> "We broke his heart... and still he breathes."

"Worse," whispered Ilyana, "he remade it."

Jean steadied herself, Whitney crouched low beside her, growling. Celeste's light still glowed within her, but now the warmth had turned to searing frost. Divine energy burned just to hold.

> "He was waiting for this," she said. "He wanted to fall."

> "To rise reborn," Silvia said grimly. "Without limitation."

Across the battlefield, the wounded rose. Envoy Knights and Magistery Sages reformed ranks. Raigen shrieked overhead. Vaelros muttered a curse beneath his breath, the broken black egg in his hand pulsing faster.

Even Erin Magus, bloodied and weary, turned to her son Ryan with grim resolve.

"Hold nothing back," she said. "This is no longer war. This is survival."

Then Antares spread his wings again—and a storm of pure death swept across the field. Aura shields cracked. Mountains buckled. The air itself ignited.

And only gods, monsters, and mortals with hearts like steel could stand.

CHAPTER 70.