The final piece of the puzzle clicks into place right at the moment the Furnace Knight's sword catches the Lichemaster, fully charged with energy stolen and divine.

The Furnace Knight's god is [b]here[/b]. In the material plane.

More specifically, the Furnace Knight's god is the [b]sun[/b].

More specifically still, the Furnace Knight's god is a [b]lot [/b]of suns. A vast contiguous network of stars in what you assume to be the territorial range of the Endless Azure Skies. Each of them burning a radiant violet as much of their energy is converted directly into divine magic. Many of their starships carry reactors that act as miniature infected suns as well.

Moreover, this... [i]situation [/i]does not seem to be the result of a single thinking, intelligent being. There is no [i]will [/i]behind the stars, no intention, no agenda. They are more like... code. Software, genetic and legal. The best way you can think to describe what you are seeing is a [i]virus[/i] - some strange stellar infection that latches onto the immense energy output of a star and begins [i]hijacking [/i]it. The further the infection progresses the more energy can be harnessed. With that much power the laws of physics themselves could be altered within the area of a star system.

The exact ramifications of this aren't possible to read without observing a star in the terminal stages of infection/execution, but three things are clearly directly linked to it. The first is the operations of the Azura divine spellcasters, the second is something to do with the gravity distortion technology, and the third is those strange curse spikes omnipresent on Azura personnel. And...

That seems to be it?

That's a shockingly short list of things to use all that potential power on. With the combined output of that many stars any civilization could Ascend off this plane entirely. The Azura have been, since the beginning, to be a strange combination of extremely high tech and utterly backwards. In this context it seems like this isn't a deliberate technological progression: this is a [i]post apocalyptic[/i] society, trapped in the ruins of their own failed singularity. Whatever this is they clearly can't control it, only adapt to it.

In theory, you could burn one of these infections clean off a star with sufficient mana going through the right spell - though what spell, exactly, would need to be researched. Some kind of healing spell? But that wouldn't help against further infection. Stars don't come with immune systems.

Further investigation, though, is a question for another time. At this precise moment the Lichemaster is being stabbed. All the power of this horrifying cosmic miracle channeled into a pointy piece of metal. Ever been stabbed by a cursed sun before? Gathering the energy to unravel the physical and spiritual damage inflicted by the blow and the endless cascade of associated curses and debuffs is a major research project in and of itself. It is the simplest move, executed to perfection.