A towering white spire stretched skyward, seeming to pierce the sun.

Beneath the cloud-covered tower, a group of tall beings with white-feathered wings on their backs—each over three meters tall—had gathered. While their expressions varied, a glint of greed flickered deeply in each of their eyes.

A middle-aged man with a striking white beard raised his voice, exuding joy.

“It’s clear that our god, Criala, looks upon us Celestials with favor! Haha!”

His wings flapped up and down in delight as he laughed. The others beside him nodded, unable to contain their excitement.

“It’s truly a marvelous creature. Though it’s nothing more than a mindless beast, I’ve never seen such a wondrous life form.”

“Indeed, if not for the presence of the Archangels here, it might have posed a danger.”

“…It was so resilient and tough that I found myself tense just watching it.”

“Haha. How could you be tense with the great Archangels in attendance? You must be joking.”

At the center of their circle lay a strange creature, less than two meters tall and vaguely humanoid. Although it had a humanoid form, its limbs were misshapen and its facial features grotesquely jumbled, making it unmistakably non-human.

“If creatures like this had appeared sooner, we wouldn’t have had to sacrifice humans from the middle world as offerings.”

“It’s unfortunate, but what can be done? Now that there are no humans left to sacrifice, our god must have sent us this gift out of pity.”

“Quite right. It’s the will of the god.”

“With even just this one creature, we might all extend our lifespans by ten years, wouldn’t you say?”

“It’s promising. The humans were so weak that it was hardly efficient. The demonic races were far better for that.”

“Exactly. Those humans were nothing but noisy pests. It was better to exterminate them. Good things like this are finally happening because of it, wouldn’t you agree?”

“Haha. Lately, it seems only good fortune has been coming our way. We even found a clue about the ‘Stairway to Heaven,’ the pathway to the upper realm, and now this gift has fallen into our hands.”

They recalled recent events.

The Stairway to Heaven, a rumored connection to the Heavenly Gate, where their god resided.

The Celestials had focused their combined divine magic on what they believed to be a passage to the upper realm.

Their efforts had some effect; a rift appeared in the sky, and a powerful life form fell through, radiating an immense aura.

“Someday… we might even be able to use a god as a sacrifice for eternal life, don’t you think?”

Though no one spoke the words aloud, they all shared the same thought.

The gleam in their eyes was unmistakable.

---

The Celestials' Altar.

At the foot of the seemingly endless white tower, an altar was installed.

The Celestial Altar was a unique relic that could enhance the power and lifespan of the entire Celestial race depending on the offerings made. Thanks to this altar, the Celestials had come to dominate all other races. Of course, after sacrificing nearly all other intelligent beings, only mindless beasts remained, and they were left with no more offerings.

But now, a new offering had fallen into their hands, guided by their god—how could they not rejoice?

“Though why it’s connected to the heavens, I’ll never understand.”

They hadn’t discovered the clue about the Stairway to Heaven that long ago. It was only by pure luck that an Archangel, visiting a prisoner, stumbled upon it.

“Our god watches over us.”

They genuinely believed this.

Whatever awaited them in the upper realm, they felt invincible with the power of the Celestial Altar. The upper realm, known as the celestial plane, would also bow before them!

Whether it be a god or otherwise.

Perhaps even their god would one day fear their growing power.

---

At the pinnacle of the white spire.

In a room dense with holy symbols glowing with radiant white light.

In the center knelt a disheveled man with a bruised and battered face, his arms shackled above his head.

Chains of light bound his heart and limbs, rendering him completely immobile. Sparse, downy feathers dotted his back and shoulders like the remnants of a broken wing.

He was a half-breed born of Celestial and human blood—a prisoner cast down to the lower world due to his diluted Celestial lineage.

And the last warrior of humanity who fought to the end against the Celestials.

He was the only remaining human, his sight lost and unable to see what lay ahead.

*Creak…*

The door opened, and the slightly heavier footfall of something more than human pulled him from his daze.

“The characteristics of humans are truly a bother. How wretched to be a creature that must consume organic matter to survive.”

The voice belonged to a lower-ranked Celestial who had come to oversee him.

*Thud.*

“Ugh! Cough!”

The Celestial shoved a bowl of food against his face, forcing him to consume the foul mixture. Thick, rancid porridge dripped down his face.

The “food” was no more than poorly cooked mush, made by boiling an entire animal in haste. Out of laziness, they would make one pot and feed him from it for a month.

He resisted, trying not to swallow the slop, but the Celestial’s divine power made resistance impossible.

*Whir… gulp… gulp…*

“Ugh…”

“Stop resisting. You know you can’t die, no matter how much you wish for it.”

The room’s holy symbols, which filled the space, continuously forced life back into his drained body.

With a trace of Celestial blood in his veins, divine power was forcibly injected into him, extending his life by the power of the altar—a supposed “blessing” of the Celestials, which to him was nothing but a curse.

Ah… God.

Are you truly going to stand by, hands folded, as they commit such atrocities?

Despair filled the man’s sightless eyes.

He couldn’t bring himself to hate the Celestials, for his mother had been one of them.

He had inherited her belief in coexistence and harmony, even until the end.

All he felt was pity for the mistakes of the Celestials.

In truth, it was his own helplessness to stop their evil that weighed heavily on his heart.

The Celestials, heralded as messengers of God.

Humanity had worshipped and served them, even becoming the vanguard of their campaign, fighting the demonic races and exterminating any non-human species labeled as devilish.

Though he had drawn his sword against humanity to stop this senseless slaughter, they called him humanity’s hero for a reason.

When the Celestials turned their blades upon humanity, preaching that the Day of Salvation had come, he had taken up his sword to defend the remnants of his race and the remaining non-human beings.

Life, in its very existence, is sacred.

Knowing this deeply, he had raised his sword against the Celestials.

Yet he couldn’t defeat them alone, not after they had devoured so much of humanity and the other races, growing stronger in the process.

He snapped out of his grim reflection at the Celestial’s taunting voice.

“Oh, do you remember that day? Even your loud mouth was quiet then.”

“Repent… for salvation will spare none of you…”

A sinister smile spread across the Celestial’s face.

“…”

The man, the last hero, and a half-breed of Celestial and human blood, trembled at the sight.

This Celestial had brutally tortured and killed every one of his friends before his eyes, one by one.

-Honey, it’s okay. In the afterlife, we’ll…

-Screams!

His wife, who had stood by him even when he opposed humanity and later the Celestials.

-Stay… strong. Don’t give in…

-Horrified cries!

A beastman who had lost his parents to humans but shared his ideals of peace and unity.

Even those with the slightest connection to him had met their end before his eyes.

Their dying screams still echoed in his ears.

“Consider yourself lucky. The only reason we keep you alive is because of the ‘Stairway to Heaven.’”

Of course… it was just as he thought.

Just before the Celestials had nearly killed him, he had seen a vision—a text that had appeared before his eyes, connecting him to something, allowing him to survive.

But he felt no gratitude, for he was nothing more than a prisoner and test subject.

Imprisoned in the spire and subjected to countless experiments, he couldn’t even end his life. The so-called blessing of the Celestials bound him from death.

He often thought he should have died back then.

The regret haunted him still, a wound that time had yet to heal.

If he had died then, he might have been spared from witnessing the true horror of the Celestials, more monstrous than demons.

The way they desecrated even death was a sorrow beyond words.

“Well, since thanks to you, we’ve found a clue to the upper realm, I’ll spare you from today’s interrogation.”

Normally, after being forced to eat, he would undergo another round of brutal interrogation.

“God…”

He spoke the name of God, but it no longer stirred his heart. He knew too well now.

In this world, there was no such thing as salvation.

Deep in his heart, a dark, simmering fury welled up like molten metal.

Salvation?

What is salvation?

Life?

He didn’t need it.

In this

 world, where only the corrupt Celestials remained, why should he continue to live? What could he accomplish in a world with nothing left to protect?

This world could no longer be endured by a sane mind.

Or perhaps…

He could feel his sanity slipping.

After years of torture and experimentation, his spirit was beyond broken.

Deep within, he might actually wish for a force that would rip apart their wings and tear their bodies asunder.

A world ruled solely by Celestials.

Perhaps…

Unbidden, he might be hoping for it.

Something shifted in his blurry vision.

Even with his limited sight, he noticed a change in the color of the clouds.

What… is that…?

It was an indescribably eerie sight.

A sphere? Or an explosion?

Would this be what it looked like if the sun exploded?

A powerful light radiated from the top of the white tower, stretching to the horizon and coloring the sky a deep red. The sky rippled and twisted.

Ah…!

Cracks began to appear across the sky filled with light, and “it” began.

He closed his eyes and prayed.

Repent.

Salvation will spare none of you.

Only if you are free of shame will true salvation descend.

If you fail to recognize your own corruption and foolishness, the flames of judgment will come to expose your depravity.

He did not stop praying.

The terrible death throes of the Celestials rang out. Cries of terror and horrified screams reverberated like hymns.

The world was falling apart.

---

And at that time,

A great presence sensed the disaster befalling the Celestials and roared in fury, shaking the heavens.

In the Dimensional Integration Community, a new announcement appeared from the administrator.