Part 2Divine Ascension After the Sword Swap

“Hahaha! Well, well, little sister, it seems this piece of junk is your true destiny after all! I knew it! A blade like that could never be worthy of the great elder princess of the Spirit Realm!”

Joanne, now holding Heartseeker, mocked me without restraint.

“You two are a perfect match! Aren’t you always talking about bringing fortune to the mortals? Go on then! Go help those wretched peasants plant their crops!”

Our father, surveying the chaos, rubbed his temples. “Joanne, that’s enough! Return Heartseeker to Sybil at once!”

“No need,” I said, speaking before Joanne could. I reached out and took the hilt of the plain bronze sword. “Since the blades have chosen their masters, let it be. A bronze sword, a celestial sword—what does it matter? In the end, it is the hand that wields the blade that counts.”

My defiance only enraged Joanne more. “Don’t you get high and mighty with me! We’ll see how proud you are when you can’t even conjure a spirit from that pathetic excuse for a sword!”

I ignored her taunts. She was right about one thing: my priority now was to awaken the spirit within this bronze blade. A fully formed Blade Spirit was a being of near-divine power, after all.

Back in my palace, I prepared to anoint the bronze sword with my lifeblood, just as I had done with Heartseeker for a century. But as I moved to do so, the sword seemed to sense my intent and pulsed with a gentle light, stopping me. It then tilted, showing me the engravings on its side.

On the hilt was the art of the harvest; on the blade itself, the words “Mountains, Rivers, Grass, and Trees.”

I ventured a guess. “Are you telling me the way to awaken your spirit is to ensure the mortal world’s crops and livestock flourish in their proper seasons?”

The sword hummed and flew two quick, happy circles around me.

I immediately summoned the Mirror of Souls, a divine artifact used to observe the mortal realm, intending to find a place in need of a blessing. But what I saw horrified me. Instead of an orderly cycle of seasons, a famine stretched for a thousand miles across the land.

“How could this be?” I gasped. “How long has it been since Joanne fulfilled her duty to the mortal world?”

As if on cue, Joanne’s scornful voice drifted in from outside my palace.

“Sybil, you truly are determined to debase yourself. Are you really rushing to save those worthless mortals?” She entered, sneering. “We are spirits. Are they even worth our time? Only someone with your pathetic, narrow view of the world would willingly do such thankless work.” Her eyes narrowed with contempt. "You're just like your mother. Pathetic and baseborn."

Joanne’s mother had died in childbirth. Though no one in the palace ever spoke of her, Joanne had always carried herself as the true, legitimate heir. She saw my mother as nothing more than an illegitimate usurper and never showed her an ounce of respect.

Hearing her insult my mother so brazenly, the rage I had suppressed finally erupted.

“Shut your mouth!”

I lashed out with a wave of spiritual energy. Joanne didn’t even try to dodge. A calculating smile played on her lips. In the next instant, Heartseeker materialized from thin air, shattering my attack before hurtling straight towards me.

The bronze sword at my side shot in front of me, trying to protect me, but it was no match for a celestial blade. It held for a mere second. If not for my quick reflexes, the blade would have claimed my life, not just grazed my cheek.

I pressed a hand to the bronze sword, which was trembling with fury. Joanne, who had never seen me so disheveled, burst into laughter.

“Do you see now, Sybil? Do you know what it feels like to be trampled underfoot? Oh, this is just delightful!” Her voice was giddy with power. “Do you realize that with a single command, I can have Heartseeker end your life? This feeling is absolutely intoxicating!”

I stared at her coldly, then aimed for her weak spot. “Joanne, you have neglected your duties for a century, causing endless famine in the mortal realm. If word of this were to reach the Celestial Court, do you still think you could ascend to godhood?”

Just as I expected, the triumphant smile on her face froze. To become a god, one must accumulate blessings and merit. By neglecting the mortals, she had earned their hatred, not their worship. Her own merits were shallow to begin with; if the gods discovered she had actively harmed the mortal realm, her path to divinity would be severed forever.

Cornered by my threat, Joanne had no choice but to retreat, her face a mask of bitter reluctance.

After she left, I followed the guidance of the bronze sword. Using the Mirror of Souls, I sowed seeds across the famished lands. Then, using my own lifeblood as a conduit, I called down the waters of the Celestial River, causing the crops to grow with miraculous speed.

As ripened wheat and plump fruits appeared before their eyes, the mortals wept with joy, falling to their knees and bowing towards the heavens.

“Praise be to the Harvest God! Thank you, thank you!”

Absorbed in their joy, I didn't notice that as my bronze sword absorbed the mortals’ grateful blessings, a faint golden light shimmered across its surface.