Nova and Annelie returned to find the grand chamber transformed. Heaps of metal covered the marble table—piles of iron braziers and bands, stacks of copper ingots, and mountains of silver coins that shone under the warm light from the chandeliers.

Sar and Helen were no longer present, but a few priests had joined the room, carrying the metals to the table.

"Welcome back," Cardinal Victoria said, rising from her chair. "I trust you found what we need."

Nova nodded, studying the quantities with approval. "This should be plenty. We will only need the silver, though." He moved to the table, already planning the formation in his mind. "Have you confirmed that the ritual for undoing possessions is working?"

"Yes, it seems to work well." Cardinal Collier's eyes followed Nova's movements with keen interest. "Your ritual worked perfectly. However, we were notified that the language was... challenging. The best performer only achieved an adept mastery of the skill."

"Then I hope you'll trust this formation as well." Nova began clearing space on the floor, readying himself to develop a formation. "We'll need five focus points for the five of you, arranged in a perfect pentagon. This will only be a small version, so you'll need a space to make the real one."

His essence started flowing out across the naked floor, gently illuminating the marble. "The silver will act as a sealing force, severing the connection between our world and the void," Nova explained as he worked. "Each of you must channel your essence through these exact points..."

Cardinal Petyr leaned forward, studying the growing pattern forming on the floor's surface. "And this will close the rift?"

"If done correctly, it should. But there is no guarantee. Too many unknown factors." He took a deep breath, preparing for the hard part. "Now I'll need to focus."

[Fragment of Nova Gorton equipped.]

He would likely have been able to do it without the divine focus, but it certainly wouldn't hurt. His eyes closed, and his concentration sharpened to the human limit.

The initial form of the formation was simple, but combining it all into one cohesive formation was a challenge, even for him. This was especially true due to the many components, like the silver placed in the middle and the five energy points—not to mention the complexities of spatial magic, which multiplied the difficulty once more.

But the runes fell into place, like a giant game of puzzles—each individual piece connected to the ones nearby, guiding the energy with precision.

He heard a silent gasp of admiration from his side, where Cardinal Collier stood. "Creating a formation from thin air, indeed… And at this level of complexity! This is beyond talent–far beyond anything I've ever seen…"

Nova heard him, but the words didn't register. He was too focused on his task.

'Spatial lock, celestial energy, spatial force, greater amplification, shared burden, auto-synchronization, charge formation, core… This should be close to their limit. I can't add anything else. But it should work.'

He stopped his focus, letting the essence burn itself into place on the floor.

[You have created the skill: Spatial Silver-thread PentaStitch (Grandmaster - 100%) {Grade 12}]

[A formation requiring five individuals and two tons of silver. It targets any nearby rifts in space and locks them in place, while using the celestial essence of the silver to stitch the rift together slowly.]

[A newly created skill has no basis for mastery. You have been chosen as the baseline.]

'Whew, grade twelve, you say? I'll take your word for it…'

"There. It's completed." He unequipped the fragment once he was done, saving it for later. "You all just have to create this at twice the diameter, put all the silver on top of the circle in the middle, and pour your essence into it at the same time."

'This had better work. If they fail, we'll have to try something far more dangerous...'

The silent Cardinal—whose name Nova still didn't know—finally stirred in her chair. Her red eyes studied the formation intently. "We can use it anywhere?"

"Sure, sure." Nova waved a hand dismissively. "All you need is enough space. And to be within the city limits."

"Can you arrange the preparation, Petyr?" Cardinal Collier's dark fingers drummed against the marble. "We might have to use the main hall for this."

Cardinal Petyr walked up to the formation on the floor, studying the patterns. "It will take me a few moments." A shimmering blanket of essence spread from his hands, covering the floor briefly. The patterns transferred perfectly onto the new layer. "I'll copy it perfectly. Give me five minutes."

'He's able to copy the formation? An interesting skill.'

"That's great, Petyr. Let me join you in setting it up," Cardinal Shivere said, rising from her seat and following after him.

Cardinal Darius rose from his chair, looking over at Nova and Annelie. "Something tells me your services really were worth your initial price. It's a shame you didn't have the power to negotiate."

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

"I'm glad we both know it," Nova replied sharply. The true value of his knowledge was all the lives that would have been lost in the city, so he had been more than gracious with his first offer.

'Although, to a world that thinks life is worth what it contains in Soul Power, I guess I'm being paid in two thousand lives… Perhaps I overestimated my value.'

"Animo, shouldn't you be with the other candidates?" Cardinal Victoria asked, staring at the little girl with a hint of fondness. "Sar should have brought you and Helen to the safe room."

"I'm not very affected by the rift, so I asked if I could remain here and see the formation." Annelie gave a quick bow. "I'm very curious about formation magic."

"Hah!" Cardinal Victoria's laugh echoed off the chamber walls. "Well, this will be hard to read about in your books. I don't see any harm in it."

"Thank you, Cardinal Victoria." Annelie's voice carried just the right mix of respect and gratitude.

'I wouldn't have been able to tell her true feelings if I didn't know… She has also honed her acting skills. But that would be needed for anyone in our situation.'

"Don't mention it. I guess we should follow Petyr, he doesn't waste time." Victoria stood and made a simple motion with one hand. The mountain of silver lifted from the table as if it weighed nothing, hanging suspended in the air.

Nova and Annelie both followed the three Cardinals out of the room, walking side by side at the back of the group. They exchanged a short glance, and Nova saw the same eagerness and nervousness in her eyes as he felt himself.

The main hall of the cathedral stretched so high that Nova had to lean back to see the top. Countless stained glass windows lined the walls from floor to peak, creating masterful paintings of light across the white marble floor. The effect created an atmosphere that made even Nova feel awe.

'This place has architecture unlike anything I've seen… Truly magnificent.'

Cardinal Victoria gently placed the silver in the center of Nova's formation, now recreated at a massive scale. Two tons of precious metal caught the rainbow light, transforming the pile into something almost divine. The intricate pattern beneath it covered nearly fifty meters in diameter, each line carved with perfect precision into the ancient stone.

'I don't see a single mistake… These Cardinals aren't called talents for nothing.'

"It's ready," Cardinal Victoria announced, taking her position at one of the five points. The other Cardinals moved to their places, all with a hint of nervousness on their faces.

Nova and Annelie stood back near one of the towering pillars, watching as the Cardinals prepared themselves. The massive space seemed to hold its breath.

"Start slowly," Nova called out. "Let your essence synchronize before pushing hard."

The Cardinals closed their eyes in unison. At first, nothing seemed to happen. Then the silver began to hum—a pure note that resonated with the cathedral's natural acoustics. The sound grew stronger as more essence flowed into the formation, making the colored light dance across the walls.

The humming rose in pitch and volume until it filled the entire chamber. Nova felt the power building in the air—five individuals with over a million Soul Power each, all focusing their essence through his formation. The silver started to glow, first white, then blue, then with a light that had no name.

Suddenly, the formation ignited. Light exploded upward in a pillar that pierced the ceiling, shooting straight toward the rift. The very air seemed to twist as space itself responded to their working.

A deep boom shook the cathedral. The stained glass windows rattled in their frames as reality bent around the beam of power. Nova's senses, enhanced by the fragment, could feel the spatial lock taking hold—like massive hands reaching out to grip the edges of the rift.

"It's working!" Annelie shouted over the rising noise. She pointed upward through the ceiling, somehow able to see what was happening above. "The rift is shrinking! I can feel it!"

But Nova wasn't convinced. As the Cardinals poured more power into the formation, their faces showed increasing strain. Whatever force maintained the rift was fighting back with terrible strength.

'It's not enough… If they show signs of strain already, there's no way this will work.'

The light continued to build, and the sound grew until it threatened to deafen them. Nova grabbed Annelie's arm and pulled her deeper into the shadow of the pillar. Fractures spread through the marble floor around the formation like a spiderweb of light.

Cardinal Petyr collapsed first, essence spent. Victoria followed, then Darius, and finally Collier. Each fell to the cracking marble with dull thuds that were lost in the deafening roar.

Only the nameless Cardinal remained standing. She held her position between spreading cracks in the floor, somehow maintaining the entire formation alone.

Then Nova felt a surge of raw power that made his skin prickle. The Cardinal's black hair bleached to pure white in an instant. Light burst from her skin as her power doubled, then tripled. The air itself began to glow around her, whipping into a furious vortex that tore at her emerald robes.

'What the hell is that?! Did she equip a soul?'

The formation pulsed with renewed strength, but even this incredible display wasn't enough. Whatever held the rift open pushed back with terrifying force. The Cardinal's scream cut through the chaos as she tensed every muscle, fighting a battle she couldn't win.

"Shivere, enough!" Cardinal Darius pushed himself up from the cracked marble. "We can find another way! You'll only prolong your recovery!"

Cardinal Shivere held against the strain a moment longer, but finally, she fell to her knee. The formation shattered into pieces, sending deep rifts through the white marble in every direction. The mountain of silver had turned completely black, coated in a layer of soot.

Nova turned to Annelie, who seemed to know how the rift was doing. He could already tell from her expression, but asked anyway. "How did it go?"

She shook her head, looking straight at the wall. "It narrowed by a lot, but the rift is still there…"

"So we failed." Cardinal Shivere's voice came out raw and broken. Her hair had returned to its natural black, falling in limp strands around her face.

"I'm afraid so." Nova studied the devastation around them, stepping between the cracks. "But you managed to weaken it. The rift is only held open by the sheer force of the rift being. Now that you've reinforced the space over the city with celestial essence, it will struggle."

"So it will close sooner?" Cardinal Victoria brushed marble dust from her emerald robes.

"Not soon enough." Nova walked to the center of the ruined formation, staring down at the blackened silver and shattered stone. "I'm afraid we only have one option remaining... Unless the Signus shows up and is considerably stronger than all of you combined."

None of them seemed willing to answer his implied questions, all standing in silence. Cardinal Collier was the first to open his mouth. "... What is that option?"

"We kill the rift being."

"... I imagine that's not an easy task. How?"

"That question will cost you."

"You cretin!" Cardinal Petyr's voice echoed off the vaulted ceiling. His face twisted with fury as he stepped forward. "You give us a failed solution, wasting all our essence and tons of silver, and now you want more?!"

"Petyr." Cardinal Shivere remained on her knees, facing away from the group. Her voice carried quiet authority despite her exhaustion. "His method would have worked if you four were stronger." She pushed herself up and turned to face Nova, showing a set of tired blue eyes.

'... Is her power tied to her eyes somehow? That's… very interesting.'

"Sir Nova, how may we kill the rift being and close this rift?" she asked, staring at him resolutely.

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