Every once in a while, one of the systems of the Holy Stars would decide that the roaming band of foreigners and ex-cultists had to be stopped. They took it upon themselves to attack and defeat their most vile of foes. The problem? They barely even believed in themselves, and they most certainly didn't have the support of the rest of their people's hearts and minds.

It didn't matter if they weren't a real threat. It still bothered Chiara. But she did her best to wear a smile on her face the whole time. Even when it was incredibly frustrating.

"You can stop now," she said, performing her best smile as a woman held her hand through Chiara's chest.

"I'm going to rip out your false heart, tainted by lies!"

Internally, Chiara commented that she was going to do the same. Whether it was literal or not was another matter. She was leaning slightly towards literal.

Both individuals happened to be made of flame at the moment. Cultivators of the Burning Heart could become incorporeal, and while it was possible to overcome… clearly the other woman couldn't do so. She was an angel that possessed numerous wings. She might have had a chance to ascend to divinity someday.

"Bernaia," Chiara calmly spoke to the woman. "You are only wasting your energy."

"You merely have two wings remaining! I will defeat you, Chiara, and your false divinities with you!"

Chiara wondered if she had ever been so embarrassing. She at least liked to think she had been slightly better after her capture, but she couldn't say that for certain. "My wings don't matter. And yours… are pathetic."

Certainly, Bernaia had wings. Many of them. At one point, that would have made her strong. However, rather than signifying a vast amount of faith, what they currently represented was her unwillingness to let go of the past. They could hardly be called wings in their current form. Her flaming energy tried to replicate their former feathered glory, but they were little more than a skeletal representation of what they had once been.

Chiara calmly grabbed the woman's wrist and pulled. The woman's whole body moved, as she refused to bend her arm. Regardless of whether or not it hurt, Chiara didn't prefer to have any limbs impaling her chest. Once they were a handsbreadth beyond her, Chiara breathed a gout of flames across Bernaia. The woman protected herself, but she couldn't save her body and her wings. Their structure wasn't even real. It crumbled to dust at the slightest loss of energy flow.

Meanwhile, Chiara felt herself growing stronger. It was impossible to completely change her cultivation path in just a few years, but she knew far more about the truth of how the Holy Stars operated and the path of Unity that the Lower Realms Alliance followed. She was quite happy to exploit how the Holy Stars was to gain power to improve things. The people who were watching the 'battle' merely witnessed Chiara's presence, while they had long lost faith in Bernaia. Otherwise, the woman would have come as part of some greater force. Chiara merely didn't try to maximize superficial metrics such as wings.

Chiara forced Bernaia back into a physical form, at the same time locking shackles around her wrists. "If you had used words, I would have been happy to battle with them. But if you rely on strength, then I will have to use that."

Was Chiara able to be so confident because she had two Unity cultivators backing her? Absolutely. But that was actually precisely the point. She wasn't sure a divinity had ever truly supported their angels. Everything was meant to flow only in one direction, with some amount of coincidental aid for subordinates when it served the purposes of the top.

Meanwhile, Unity cultivators focused on everyone. That did happen to include themselves, of course. They were a powerful center for the whole flow of energy that made everyone stronger. Not always all at once- sometimes over centuries of careful planetary development- but they didn't need to be in any rush.

"My brethren of the Holy Stars," Chiara spoke below. "You have heard my words time and again, though the message was doubtless distorted on occasion. I will speak the truth of my heart, so you know it well. I only want you to prosper… despite everything. The love I once had, the faith I once felt… these have changed. But the Lower Realms Alliance is not some horrific foe that we needed to hunt down. After all, our head is beneath their heel at this very moment- yet they haven't crushed us as we were told would happen."

Everyone had a sense of the lies of the divinities. They just didn't want to admit that. Chiara transmitted far more than her words to them, aided by Aerona. Some would be stubborn, of course. People always were. They could come up with any excuse to not believe the truth. Having a strong will would have done them good, if they could have directed it in the right direction previously. However, they didn't know better. Nobody did. The Holy Stars had been arranged in precisely such a fashion over a long period of time, and it was almost good for people.

But rather than that, it merely did its best to maximize the appearance of good. Chiara knew that now. It was strange how little it took to shift her perspective. Yet at the same time, Aerona had spent years trying to get simple things through to her and even then she had to witness how the divinities acted in person. Against their foes- theirs, but not hers.

-----

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

They were getting closer. Chiara knew this. Yet she was still chosen to take the lead. Whenever she needed aid from Devon or Aerona they gave it, but they didn't even speak to her people. That was her job. There was one place in particular, one person, that they had to confront.

Chiara knew it would be the end, one way or another. The last of the divinities, Oriana of the Sublime Branch. Chiara was nervous.

"You should be," Aerona commented. "Nervous, I mean. It is your body telling you to take things seriously. Of course, it also very much helps to be calm in the moment."

"I… I've never met her," Chiara said. "As an angel… I was only ever in direct contact with a couple of them. I don't know her."

"Then you will have to go with what you've heard. What others know," Aerona explained. "At the very least, we've been to places where she has set her feet. People have experienced her. Learn what you can from them."

Interviewing person after person was not only inefficient, it was impossible. How many people could Chiara speak to in a given day? A thousand? It would take years to manage a modest city, and she probably had days at most. But of course, this was exactly the problem that Aerona was best equipped to solve. "If you could aid me, I would much appreciate it."

Aerona nodded. She reached out to the people of the system. She had been able to do so before Unity, and here she was more of a conduit than actually part of the Holy Stars. Little by little, impressions of Oriana filled Chiara's mind, slowly taking hold inside her heart.

She pushed aside those that were of no use. Thoughts of distance. Of greatness. Divinity and power. These impressions were what she wanted to present. That had nothing to do with the woman herself.

Smaller things were what mattered. Was she kind? Many thought so, at least by comparison. Most relevantly, there were few truly negative impressions in that regard. She was not taken with casual rudeness, at least. Obviously one such as her would hide her flaws in public, but it was something. Others had been known to similar extents and Chiara had picked up more negative impressions about many of the now-dead divinities.

Apparently, Adelardo had been pretty terrible. Chiara probably would have seen it, but for her desire to believe. Everyone wanted a shining perfect world, and the Holy Stars almost successfully convinced themselves that they were. Until they came upon others who were better- yet aware of their own imperfections. That could only prove that there were far more among the Holy Stars.

-----

Chiara wondered if she would have run. Obviously she had never and would never be in Oriana's shoes. She hadn't become important enough. Two Unity cultivators was a frightening thing to face- even if Aerona wasn't dangerous in the same way as one would expect. Oriana didn't run, but whether that meant she was resigned to her fate or looking towards the future was something Chiara wouldn't know until they actually met face to face.

It would be less than an hour now, as the woman came from the closest neighboring system. They had made known their intentions to meet, and Oriana had agreed. So far, there were no signs of a massive fleet of combatants with her. No, how could there be? Most of the able combatants had died during the war… either from the war itself or the immediate consequences of destroyed faith that came after.

Oriana came into Chiara's view, and she was glorious. She stood proud and tall like a grand tree. Her wings sparkled as light reflected and was produced by them. It was the sort of image that in the past would have made Chiara drop her head.

It was also empty. Chiara had seen Lev slumped against his tree, after the final battle. He looked like nothing more than an exhausted common fellow. But external appearances weren't all that mattered, and somehow that image had been far more majestic.

"I come to speak."

Somehow, Oriana couldn't manage the words at your request. She almost made it seem like it was her idea to begin with. Yet that image was no good when Chiara already knew the woman had nothing but her outer shell, so carefully held in place.

"Let us speak in private," Chiara commented.

Devon cut off the flow of energy to the world outside the palace they were occupying. There were many such palaces, devoid of inhabitants. Wasteful in their grandeur. Aerona had suggested museums, and Chiara thought it would be an interesting concept.

"You wish to discuss our terms of surrender," Oriana nearly deflated. "Our continued existence."

Oriana was focused on the two behind Chiara. But Chiara was still the one to speak.

"Enough damage has already been done. The only question I have is if you have the heart to save the Holy Stars… or the will to turn it into something better."

The slightest sparkle in her eyes. That was the only sign Chiara noticed. "I have only ever wanted what was best for the Holy Stars." An echo of emotion rocked through Chiara. The words were… true enough. The following lines helped solidify that. "But it seems we have only led everything in the wrong direction."

"It is far easier to do what seems best than to accomplish what is best," Chiara agreed. "If you truly mean this, however, know that there can be no more divinities."

Oriana tensed, reaching for her heart. "I have those I care about beyond myself- more than the average devotee, of course. If that is how it must be…" her words trailed off.

No doubt she thought her life was forfeit regardless. If she could gain something for it, it wasn't much of a sacrifice. But of course, that wasn't quite what Chiara meant. "It will be harder than you think. If for a single moment you raise yourself up as a divine icon, you will be eliminated. And you will have a long time to make mistakes, because you will have to work for the future you say you believe in. One which I have seen with my own eyes… in these systems that were assaulted for greed."

Oriana tilted her head. "I might… live?"

"The Holy Stars need something to believe in while the hearts of the people heal," Chiara said. "A structure does not stand long should the entire foundation be shattered beneath it. And just in case you get the wrong idea… I don't intend to place myself in the position of divinity." She made certain her words revealed her lack of respect for that title. "Let me tell you of Unity, and how we might salvage these stars we have made our home."

It was simple, really. So simple. So similar. Yet it made all the difference. If the Holy Stars had Unity, their strongest cultivators dying would not have caused so much turmoil. Sadness, certainly. Fear, to some extent. But they wouldn't have been on the verge of collapse with only two deaths within their own borders.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.