Lu Cheng's voice echoed clearly within the silent shrine.
He tightened his arm around Ise Hinata, pulling her soft, weak body closer to him, their posture so intimate it was as if they were a match made in heaven.
And those two so-called 'Children of Destiny' were merely pathetic clowns who forgot to exit the stage after the play ended.
"What's with that expression? Not satisfied?"
Lu Cheng lowered his head, scrutinizing the faces of Ise Ryuichi and Kamiya Makoto, which were a mixture of pallor and despair, with great interest.
"I've relieved you of a thousand-catty burden, freeing you from your cage."
"Your sister, your Amaterasu Shrine Maiden, no longer needs to bear the fate of sacrifice."
"From now on, you can live like normal people, fall in love, work, and enjoy the sunshine."
"Instead of like two wild dogs, tearing at each other for some illusory glory."
"Logically, shouldn't you kneel down and kowtow to me?"
His words… made everything they had protected turn into a joke at this moment.
The glory they pursued resulted in their Amaterasu Shrine Maiden being embraced by the enemy as a trophy, right before their eyes!
"No… it's not like that…"
Kamiya Makoto's lips trembled violently; he couldn't accept this reality.
His gaze went past Lu Cheng, staring intently at Ise Hinata with an almost pleading look.
He hoped, he longed, he prayed… to see even the slightest hint of coercion, struggle, or resistance on the Amaterasu Shrine Maiden's face!
Just a tiny bit!
Then he could rekindle his fighting spirit, he could tell himself that the divine was merely temporarily obscured, and he still had hope for salvation!
However, all he saw… was a deathly silence.
Ise Hinata leaned in Lu Cheng's arms, her pale, bloodless face devoid of any expression.
She merely slowly closed her eyes, which had once been as clear and cold as the bright moon.
As if she couldn't bear to look at them again.
Or as if she had tacitly accepted this humiliating situation.
This silent, passive reaction was sharper than any sword!
It completely severed the last string in Kamiya Makoto's heart, the one named 'hope'!
"Thud—!"
Kamiya Makoto's legs gave out, and he collapsed weakly onto the cold stone floor.
All his beliefs, all his persistence, all his pride… were crushed into the most humble dust at this moment.
"Sister…"
Ise Ryuichi's voice was dry, hoarse, and filled with an incredulous tremor.
He didn't collapse and kneel like Kamiya Makoto, but his perfectly straight spine seemed so fragile, so… ridiculous at this moment.
He looked at his own sister, the one he had revered and worshipped since childhood, the one he had sworn to protect with his entire life.
She was quietly nestled in the arms of the man who had destroyed everything they held dear.
Obedient, like a tamed canary.
"Did you… really… give up?"
He used all his strength to ask this question, one that threatened to destroy him as well.
Hearing his brother's desperate question, Ise Hinata's long eyelashes trembled slightly.
A crystal tear finally slipped uncontrollably from the corner of her tightly closed eye.
"She didn't give up."
Before Ise Hinata could answer, Lu Cheng provided the answer for her.
He lowered his head and, with an almost tender gesture, gently kissed away the tear from Ise Hinata's cheek.
Then, he raised his eyes to look at Ise Ryuichi, the sneer on his lips reaching its peak.
"She simply made a wiser choice."
"She chose me."
Boom—!!!
These light words, however, were like a black divine lightning bolt that completely shattered Ise Ryuichi's last shred of dignity!
The power within him surged again!
Golden light and black energy wildly surged around him, yet they could no longer gather even a trace of killing intent!
That wasn't anger, but a… profound desolation of being betrayed by the entire world!
"Haha… Hahahaha…"
Ise Ryuichi threw his head back and let out a tragic, beast-like roar of laughter.
In his laughter, there were tears of blood.
What was all he had done for?
It was to wash away shame, to protect the glory of Amaterasu!
But now, the 'god' he protected told him personally that his protection was not as good as an enemy's embrace!
His persistence, his sacrifice, his pride, his 'confidence' gained by integrating the power of the Underworld… all of it turned into a colossal joke!
Lu Cheng quietly enjoyed this farce until Ise Ryuichi's laughter gradually turned into suppressed sobs.
Only then did he feel that the time was right.
"Alright, the farce should end now."
He spoke indifferently, like an audience member tired of a play, preparing to leave.
He held Ise Hinata in his arms and, step by step, walked up to the highest altar in front of the main hall of the Ise Grand Shrine!
That was a place only successive Amaterasu Shrine Maidens were qualified to stand!
Every step was like stepping on the hearts of Ise Ryuichi and Kamiya Makoto.
Lu Cheng stood on the altar, looking down at the two broken 'Children of Destiny' below, and all the startled priests.
Then, he made a gesture that shattered everyone's faith—
He released Ise Hinata, and then, by himself, sat on the most supreme 'divine throne' that symbolized 'Amaterasu's divine power'!
The moment he sat on the divine throne, the [Divine Kingdom Foundation] within him resonated with the 'earth pulse' and 'power of faith' of the entire Ise Grand Shrine!
The entire Ise Grand Shrine would erupt with an unprecedented golden divine light, more brilliant than ever before!
But this time, the source of the divine light was no longer 'Amaterasu,' but Lu Cheng, sitting on the divine throne!
Ise Hinata stared blankly at this scene, as if Lu Cheng hadn't'stolen' the National Luck, but rather the 'National Luck' of this land had actively 'chosen' this more powerful new master!
Lu Cheng bathed in the golden light, like a true deity. He lowered his head, looking down at the two trembling 'defeated dogs' below, and delivered his final 'judgment' in a god-like tone, devoid of any emotion.
"From today onwards, this National Luck has changed hands."
"Considering you were once the gatekeepers here, I grant you the glory of eternally guarding this place."
His voice paused, and the curve of his lips became increasingly cruel.
Ise Ryuichi and Kamiya Makoto felt a cold, irresistible force slowly eroding their lives from within.
After speaking, he no longer lingered, picking up the Amaterasu Shrine Maiden, who had lost all her luster, and descended the stone steps, one by one.
As he passed them, he left behind a devilish whisper:
"Don't rush, this process will be very slow."
"You will have enough time to witness with your own eyes how everything you protected, little by little, transforms into my shape."
Lu Cheng took Ise Hinata and drove away in a Rolls-Royce.
Leaving behind only two 'wild dogs,' as if all their bones had been removed, howling desperately in front of their 'doghouse'.