Mystic Calling：Stone of Glory-Chapter 888: When Gods Decide Who Lives

Ethan stood high above, his gaze sweeping across the land below.

The Plane World where Stormhowl resided wasn’t particularly high-tier, but its core region held energy ores that were bizarrely potent—unnaturally so. That strange structure had thrown the entire world into a dangerously unstable energy equilibrium.

Even with Ethan’s current mastery over spatial manipulation, he couldn’t just uproot the entire world and move it wholesale.

So if he couldn’t move the whole thing—

He’d dismantle it.

Ethan didn’t hesitate.

He opened spatial gates at key nodes across the world, guiding the population out in waves. At the same time, Emerald Castle’s engineering corps moved into the core zone, launching a full-scale extraction of the energy veins.

As the core ores were stripped away, the world’s structural stability began to unravel fast.

Cracks split the sky. The ground trembled. Layers of space collapsed like a skeleton yanked from flesh—visible, violent, and irreversible.

The entire world was falling apart.

And just as it reached the brink—when collapse threatened to spiral completely out of control—Ethan unleashed a surge of spatial power. In one sweeping move, he anchored and transferred the relocated landmasses, resource frameworks, and ownership structures into a stable dimensional space.

In other words—

He didn’t just save the people.

He took their land, their infrastructure, their entire foundation for survival.

Stormhowl Castle wasn’t destroyed.

It had undergone a full-scale "world migration."

When the dust finally settled, and the people—who had watched their world crumble and then be reassembled before their eyes—realized what had happened, their trust in Ethan turned into something close to religious fervor.

To them, he wasn’t just a lord anymore.

He was a savior.

But Ethan didn’t even have time to process it all—

A sudden ripple in space near Emerald Castle caught his attention.

A powerful force was approaching—fast, urgent, and clearly weakened.

His eyes narrowed. His aura flared, and a thunderous spatial shockwave cracked through the sky.

A moment later—

Several figures were violently ejected from a spatial rift.

The one in front stumbled, barely catching himself before dropping to one knee, head bowed without hesitation.

Azrath knelt before Ethan, his voice hoarse but steady. "It was my mistake to lead the army against Emerald Castle. If you want to kill me for it, I won’t resist. But please—after you do, save our Phoenix Queen, Ignara."

"She’s a truly kind soul. She doesn’t deserve to die like this."

Ethan paused, eyes narrowing slightly.

He could sense it clearly—none of them carried any hostile intent.

Azrath had even sealed off all his energy, exposing his most vulnerable points without a hint of defense. It was the posture of someone offering up their life without resistance.

The others followed suit, dropping to their knees one by one.

"My lord... we have nowhere else to turn," one of them said, voice shaking. "If one life isn’t enough to atone, we’ll all die here. Just... please save our Phoenix Queen."

Only then did Ethan notice—

Behind them, a tall, regal woman had been carefully laid on the ground.

Her aura was faint. Dangerously faint.

The system interface displayed a clear readout:

[Phoenix Queen Ignara]

[Actual Tier: 32, Early Stage]

Warning: Currently suffering from severe poisoning and energy depletion. Output strength is rapidly declining—currently only at Tier 30 peak.

Her complexion had turned a sickly mix of bluish-purple and black. Her life signals were steadily dropping.

If nothing was done soon—

Death was all but certain.

Ethan’s gaze swept over the group. Without a word, he shifted back half a step, body subtly tensing as he slipped into a ready stance.

"Who exactly are you people?" His voice was calm but edged with caution. "The ones who attacked me before were from the Vorgar Empire. And when you led your forces, you were marching with them. So what’s your connection?"

The air tightened instantly.

Azrath stepped forward, urgency in his voice.

"We’re not with Vorgar!" he blurted. "We’re from the Phoenix Empire—a powerful faction in our own right. We never wanted war, but some of our core resources were running dry. That’s the only reason we sent out an expeditionary force. We never meant to become your enemy!"

He was about to say more—

But a harsh coughing fit cut him off.

Phoenix Queen Ignara’s body suddenly convulsed. Her chest heaved violently, and a moment later, she coughed up a mouthful of dark red blood. It splattered across the ground, glowing faintly with a sinister black-purple sheen.

The poison had already invaded her deep energy circuits.

Kirin, standing nearby, went pale. He dropped to his knees and slammed his forehead to the ground.

"Please save her!" His voice cracked, nearly breaking into a sob. "Our Phoenix Queen was betrayed from within. We had no choice but to flee here! If you can save her, we’ll give our lives without hesitation!"

Ethan raised a brow.

From the energy signatures and mental feedback, none of them seemed to be faking it.

And the woman lying on the ground—her life force really was teetering on the edge.

After a brief moment of weighing the risks, he spoke.

"I can save her."

Hope flared in their eyes.

"But before that," Ethan’s tone turned cold, "every one of you will submit to full control."

No room for negotiation.

Azrath was the first to raise his hands, no hesitation in his movements.

The others followed immediately.

It was the posture of people offering their lives without resistance.

Ethan didn’t waste words. He signaled his guards to bring out the specially designed energy suppression restraints. One by one, they were locked onto the group’s wrists and neck nodes.

The moment the devices activated, all energy fluctuations dropped to zero. They were no different from ordinary civilians now.

After that, the group was relocated to a secure holding area, placed under dual watch by Queen Seraphine and Queen Elowen.

Risk containment: complete.

Now came the hard part—treatment.

Phoenix Queen Ignara’s condition was dire.

The poison had fused deeply with her own energy, forming a dangerously stable hybrid structure.

If he tried to forcefully extract the toxin, it would inevitably tear away part of her core essence—causing permanent, irreversible damage.