Chapter 24: The Price of Victory Part 2: The Emperor and the Man Adrian entered the ruins of the Celestial Golden Sky Citadel. The battlefield was already silent. Only broken stones and fallen feathers remained. He searched through the destroyed city. The reason he came here was not for treasures. The first guardian he needed to create required rare materials. Materials that could only be found in the ancient treasure vault of the Garuda clan. The vault was already damaged. But the remaining treasures were still protected by ancient formations. Adrian entered. Inside were countless rare materials collected throughout generations. Ancient metals. Divine crystals. Materials from powerful beasts. He took only what he needed. Nothing more. After leaving the ruins... Adrian looked back one final time. The Celestial Golden Sky Citadel was gone. A civilization that had existed for thousands of years had disappeared. He remained silent. Then he turned away. The battle had ended. But the consequences had only begun. The ocean below began changing. The energy released from the final battle disturbed the entire region. The calm ocean became violent. Waves rose. The sky darkened. A massive typhoon formed. The storm grew larger and larger. Adrian looked toward the endless ocean. The wind screamed. The waves reached the heavens. He wanted to stop it. But after the battle... His power had been heavily consumed. Even with his current strength... The storm created from the clash of two ancient powers was not something he could easily erase. Adrian watched silently. Then he turned away. He knew. Some things could not be undone. He returned to the Naga clan. The Naga King and elders waited for him. They understood what had happened. They did not celebrate. Because they also saw the cost. Adrian said goodbye. Then he returned to his home. The journey back was quiet. Too quiet. When Adrian arrived... He turned on the news. The report immediately caught his attention. "An unprecedented typhoon has formed over the ocean region." "China has experienced massive flooding." "Many areas are suffering from extreme weather conditions." "Large numbers of animals have died due to the disaster." Adrian remained still. The screen showed flooded cities. People suffering. Families losing homes. Then another report appeared. "Heavy rain continues in Myanmar." Adrian lowered his eyes. He knew. The storm was the result of their battle. The final clash between the Immortal Emperor's sword and the Garuda ancestor's power. He could have stopped it before. But he had no strength remaining. Adrian sat quietly. For the first time... He felt tired. Not physically. But inside. He looked at his own hands. These hands had protected the Naga clan. These hands had destroyed an entire race's homeland. These hands had ended the lives of countless warriors. A memory appeared. The Immortal Emperor. Aetherion. The strongest existence of the previous era. A being who stood above all. A being who destroyed enemies without hesitation. Adrian closed his eyes. "Am I still Adrian Voss?" "Or..." "Am I becoming Aetherion again?" He did not know. The memories. The feelings. The power. Everything had returned. The line between the current life and the past life had become difficult to see. He remembered being merciless. He remembered standing above countless corpses. He remembered the fear his name created across the universe. But he also remembered this life. His family. His emotions. His hesitation. His sadness. For the first time after awakening his memories... Adrian felt confused. He had won. But the victory felt heavier than any defeat. The image of the broken Celestial Golden Sky Citadel remained in his mind. The fallen warriors. The crying children. The empty sky. Adrian finally closed his eyes. His body was exhausted. His mind was exhausted. Without saying anything... He fell asleep. The world continued moving. But Adrian remained silent in his dreams.