CHAPTER 339: THE END OF THE EVENT

Leo slumped to the ground as the weight of everything that had happened came crashing down on him. Rachel had released her magic on Leo as she could tell from his current state that he was no threat.

Penny had reluctantly followed suit but unlike Rachel, she had chosen to keep her distance from Leo. She still didn’t understand why he had raged like that and she had no intention of getting close to him until she had some answers that satisfied her.

Tears were welling up in Leo’s eyes as he kept glancing around at the bodies scattered around him. Their faces twisted in pain and horror. This was his fault. He had done this. Rachel had tried to comfort him and tell him that these people all had blood on their hands and that they were murderers too but it made no difference to him.

Then as if on cue, the black and white glow coming from each of his eyes faded as two system messages appeared before his eyes.

[System Notice: Bonded Zodiacs have chosen their Paths. Of the Current (6) Zodiac Bonds, 3 have chosen the path of Light and 3 have chosen the Path of Darkness. Perfect Balance has been achieved.]

Hidden Personal Quest Complete. Details shall be Unlocked

Personal Quest: Perfect Harmony

Details: Without any instruction to your numerous companions, they must equally choose to walk the two different paths. By following the balance, you may continue to exist as you are with a reward for their efforts.

Reward(s): New Form Unlock, Innate Form Shift.

Before Leo could figure out what any of that meant, a loud ding had rang out through everyone’s ears. It was the system chime. Two hours had passed.

[Thank you for participating in the First event prepared by Ascension of Souls Online. The results are now in for the Prime City. As a result of the actions of many. The quest has ended in favour of....Heroic Nature. The Rewards for Heroic Nature shall now be revealed.

Quest: Heroic Nature Complete

Details: Protect the powerless from those who chose to Rampage and become a villain. Do so out of the goodness of your heart and prove that Humanity can arise above its base destructive nature. While no great reward can be promised. Your Kindness and Heart will propel Humanity to greater heights if you succeed.

Objective: Protect Citizens and the City around you.

Time Limit: 2 Hours

Quest Reward: City Wide Revival, Villain Deletion, Increase technology level of Humanty, Advanced Medical knowledge for Humanity. Increased Longevity for Humanity. Increased Durability for Humanity.

Dots of light began to appear around Leo as the corpses around him began to glow.

The light dots then began to float upward like fireflies, casting a soft glow over the battlefield. At first, Leo didn’t understand what he was seeing. Then he noticed that the corpses around him were beginning to shimmer. Their wounds closed. Twisted limbs straightened. Color returned to lifeless cheeks. Blood pulled itself back into their veins, vanishing as if it had never spilled.

Rachel gasped and took a step back, staring wide-eyed as the dead began to breathe again. Penny’s voice was low and cautious as she watched from a few paces away.

"Is this... resurrection?"

But it wasn’t just the people who were returning.

Buildings that had been reduced to rubble began to rebuild themselves. Cracked pavement healed with smooth, clean asphalt. Destroyed cars pulled themselves together, glass shards flying back into place, engines restoring, doors slamming shut. Streetlights that had been bent or shattered were now standing tall once again, casting their glow as if nothing had ever happened.

Leo stared at the scene in silent awe. His mouth was slightly open as he tried to process what was happening. This wasn’t just healing. This was something far beyond it. The very fabric of reality was being stitched back together. Whoever or whatever had done this had power that dwarfed anything he had seen so far.

People around him began to stir. Survivors who had been brutally slaughtered were now blinking, breathing, and slowly getting to their feet. Some looked dazed, others confused. A few wept in disbelief as they embraced one another. The hatred, the fear, the violence that had consumed the city was being washed away by a flood of light.

Rachel dropped to one knee beside a man who had been crushed earlier. He looked at her with shaking hands, whispering as if afraid to believe it.

"I... I died."

"You did," Rachel replied softly, helping him sit up. "But you’re alive now."

Penny stayed where she was, arms crossed tightly as her gaze swept over the city. She didn’t speak. She didn’t smile. She didn’t relax. Whatever force was at work here, it was far too powerful to trust without question.

Leo looked down at his hands and felt no joy. His actions had still led to this destruction. Even if the world was being restored, the memory of what he had done remained burned into his mind.

"I killed them," he whispered. "They might be standing now... but I still killed them."

Rachel turned to him, eyes filled with quiet empathy.

"You weren’t the only one who fought. We all made choices. And the system judged in the end. It chose this outcome."

Around them, the light continued to spread. The wind carried the soft hum of renewal. More system messages flickered across their vision, but Leo didn’t look at them.

He was focused on the sounds around him. People laughing. Crying. Whispering thanks to gods or forces they couldn’t begin to understand.

Then something shifted inside him. A quiet pull in his chest. Like something ancient and unfamiliar had just opened its eyes.

That was when he saw it. The black balls of flame floating above some of the corpses that did not revive. The scent of blood had clung to them even in death and it didn’t take Leo long to figure out what this was.

Those were the souls of the men and women the system had labelled as villains. He then remembered the system had stated something along the lines of Villain Deletion. Without being able to act, the black balls of flame slowly descended onto the remaining corpses.

Within seconds, the bodies caught fire and were quickly reduced to ash. A faint breeze scattered the remains, removing any remaining evidence they had been there in the first place.

Rachel felt sick seeing all of this. They had been threatened with account deletion before and she couldn’t help but think that this may have been them if they had failed.

And that thought terrified her