novelraw Chapter 403 403: Miracle
Chapter 403 403: Miracle
Apollo and the rest of his friends stared blankly at the screen, their opinions no longer voiced as silence completely overtook them. The screen flashed with a different kind of light, one they could not take their eyes off.
At the capital, the sky had stopped feeling like a sky.
It no longer showed stars at night or even the sun during the day. The people of the Empire had lost their perception of time. The constant battering of energies made time warp into something unreadable.
Thus, none of them knew how long the war had stretched on.
It felt like the battlefield of gods.
One that shook the heavens and ground the earth to dust. Every streak of light reflected shadows that continued to devour their hope. The dome shielding the city from danger remained unscathed, but it did nothing to ease the fear that one day it might shatter and summon death upon its people.
Niccolo struggled to breathe as he drifted backward through the torn clouds.
Every movement sent pain through his ribs, through his arms, through the deep wound carved across his side. Every attack from the enemy rooted itself deep within him, striking straight into his core.
Light tried to mend him.
To close every wound.
His healing was faster than anyone else's, yet amidst the endless clash, the injuries he sustained failed to heal in time, and now they had begun to slow him down.
Even divine blessings had limits.
Across from him, the Knight hovered in perfect stillness.
Unharmed.
Untouched.
The surface of its armor remained intact, smooth as it had been before their battle began. Sacred Flame still burned along its wings, devouring fragments of cloud that drifted too close. Around its body flowed the authorities, waiting to be summoned whenever needed.
Two ruby eyes glowed from within its helmet, revealing a hunger that could never be satisfied.
That ominous gaze never left him.
A haunting stare that left his body frozen.
Niccolo tightened his grip around his sword.
His fingers trembled.
Not from fear.
From exhaustion.
This… is impossible.
The thought bewildered him because he had never experienced anything like this before.
He had fought demons.
He had fought other champions.
He had faced armies blessed by self-proclaimed gods.
But this creature…
It was something else entirely.
It wielded five authorities.
Not clumsily.
Not forcefully.
But perfectly.
As if the universe itself obeyed its command.
As if the Gods themselves had descended to judge the living.
That thought filled him with unspeakable terror.
Yet despite knowing he would lose, he did not lose focus.
Niccolo's foresight flared again.
The blessing of the Goddess of Light revealed flashes of the immediate future—
The Knight moving.
The blade descending.
Him attempting to defend—
Then failing.
The end of his life flashed repeatedly before his eyes, merciless and absolute.
Niccolo exhaled slowly.
The same ending greeted him again, filling his body with dread.
"So this is how it ends."
He could not help but close his eyes.
Within the void created by colliding energies, the wind screamed around him.
Below, the armada burned.
Above, the gods remained silent.
Yet his faith endured.
His eyes opened and drifted downward for a moment.
Thousands of soldiers still watched the sky.
Still hoping.
Still believing their champion could win.
While some wished for his death more than anything, there were still those who prayed for his triumph.
Even amidst this war—
Hope still existed.
Niccolo closed his eyes once more.
I'm sorry.
His sword lowered slightly.
Not in surrender.
But in acceptance.
"I cannot defeat you," he said quietly.
The Knight tilted its head.
Silence stretched between them.
Then, from that stillness, a voice devoid of emotion answered.
"Correct."
The reply was simple.
An absolute outcome that could not be avoided.
Niccolo laughed weakly.
"Honesty. I suppose that's refreshing."
He had accepted his fate.
He had no regrets left.
The Knight raised its sword.
Space bent.
Time slowed.
Reality itself prepared for execution.
Niccolo felt it clearly.
This strike would kill him.
Not merely wound him.
Not simply defeat him.
But erase his existence completely.
And yet—
Something stirred.
At first, it was faint.
A distant warmth deep within his chest.
Then another.
And another.
Niccolo's eyes widened.
The fire within him did not stop growing.
"…What?"
They were not his.
The power gathering around him felt familiar—
Yet it did not belong to the Goddess of Light.
It was something else.
Something he had felt before.
It was heavier, as though countless hands had suddenly pressed against him.
The wind shifted.
A different breeze brushed against his skin.
Alongside the cold gust, soft whispers echoed through the torn sky.
Voices.
Ones both unfamiliar and strangely known.
Niccolo…
Stand…
Do not let it end here…
One after another.
Gentle hands seemed to clutch his arms and back, as though shielding him from a greater foe.
Their emotions surged into him.
Memories flooded his mind.
Champions.
Warriors.
Those who had fallen earlier in the war.
Their lives had vanished from the world.
But their blessings—
Their authorities—
Still lingered.
Waiting.
Waiting for a vessel capable of fulfilling their final wish.
The accumulated wills of the fallen created a miracle no one could control.
The heavens trembled.
Far above, the watching gods shifted for the first time.
The Knight paused.
Confused.
For the first time since the battle began—
It hesitated.
Something that should never have happened, especially when it still held the advantage.
Yet even it could not understand how the situation had changed.
Divine power overflowed.
And it filled Niccolo's body with dazzling radiance.
Not one light.
But many.
Silver mist condensed around his shoulders.
The air filled with soft humming vibrations.
And beneath his feet—
Vines erupted from nothingness.
Green life burst across the empty sky.
The miracle had begun.
Niccolo felt tears sting his eyes.
"You… stayed behind…"
The voices answered.
We were waiting.
The power surged.
A calm drifting haze spread across the battlefield.
The Authorities of Dreams and Silence activated.
Silver fog rolled outward, slowing heartbeats, dulling instincts, pulling consciousness toward quiet slumber.
Even the Knight's movements slowed slightly as the dream mist touched its armor.
Then—
A vibration.
A single tone.
Pure.
Clear.
Within the layered divine authorities, sound itself began to distort.
Invisible waves rippled through the air like rings across water, warping space itself. The echoes shattered gravity distortions and disrupted fractured time, creating brief openings.
And then—
Life exploded into existence.
The Authority of Nature awakened.
Branches erupted from thin air, twisting and spiraling like living serpents. Vines thicker than ship masts coiled through the heavens, bursting with glowing leaves pulsing with divine energy.
The battlefield transformed.
A forest bloomed in the sky.
Niccolo gasped as the power flooded through him.
Three authorities.
Three fallen champions.
Their final gift.
A miracle granted only to those who fought for the gods until the very end.
Niccolo slowly straightened.
His wounds closed.
Light surged stronger than before.
Silver mist curled around his shoulders like wings.
Roots and vines spiraled beneath his feet.
His voice trembled as a bitter smile formed on his lips.
"…Then I will not waste it."
Across from him, the Knight studied the phenomenon.
Its head tilted slightly.
Processing.
Evaluating.
Finally, it spoke.
| New authorities detected |
A pause.
Then—
| Analysis complete. New battle plan installed |
Its wings spread wider.
Sacred Flame ignited once more.
Gravity twisted.
Space collapsed.
Time fractured.
Seeing his enemy prepare itself, Niccolo raised his sword.
Four divine powers burned within him now.
Light.
Dream.
Sound.
Nature.
For the first time since the battle began—
The sky itself seemed uncertain.
Niccolo smiled faintly.
"Then let's try again."
And the miracle clashed against the anomaly.