The violet spiderwebs in the night sky burned away completely, and the rising air currents they created condensed the moisture into towering rain clouds. Drizzling raindrops struck the windows, colliding with the glass in a series of sharp, fragmented taps.

At this moment, rain was falling across the entire Gospel Kingdom. This was no ordinary downpour. It was a ritual symbolizing the celestial spiderweb descending and spreading into every corner of the Gospel Kingdom.

The moment Ashe noticed the rain outside, information he should never have known surfaced in his mind. When I inherit the throne of the Gospel's First, this sacred rite shall awaken. It shall become the extension of my divine will, and my commands shall traverse the vast dominion of the Gospel, carried upon the breath of fate itself.

It was an extraordinarily strange sensation, as if an iceberg lay hidden within his mind. Whenever he looked at something, the corresponding portion of the iceberg melted away, instantly granting him an understanding of all its underlying causes and consequences.

He did not doubt that once this iceberg completely melted, he would come infinitely close to achieving omniscience and omnipotence. Yet the enormous waves created by the melting iceberg would also drown his entire sense of self. He had no means of stopping it.

The Divine Spirit wearing his face was currently prying open his skull bit by bit, stirring his brain, tearing open his chest, and kneading his heart. Eventually, it would wear Ashe's skin and step into the future known as Aine.

This final period of transition was both cruel and merciful. Its cruelty lay in forcing him to watch helplessly as his own will was crushed and assimilated by a greater existence, like an executioner slowly carving apart a condemned prisoner. Its mercy lay in ensuring he did not disappear in ignorance; he was acutely aware that this was neither accident nor misfortune, but...