In another part of the Layer of Ancients, Nathaniel and Valance—who had entered the same statue-filled chamber as Cassian and Ares’s group, and, just like them, had spent days searching in vain for an exit—suddenly came to an abrupt halt.
They lifted their heads as the darkness in the chamber thickened suddenly, and the other Rulers followed suit, imitating them.
Valance turned toward Nathaniel.
"Did you feel it?"
He gave a slow, deliberate nod.
"I did. It’s not just you. The darkness in the air has thickened for some reason. Maybe something big has happened somewhere."
Nathaniel closed his eyes for a moment, letting himself feel the darkness around him. The sensation was dangerous—like someone willingly sinking into the abyss, even fully aware there was no escape. He could feel a soul-chilling agony within it—
torment, dread, and anguish, yet also a strange undercurrent of joy and elation.
He couldn’t help but frown.
’What... or rather, who... is it?’
His cyan eyes flickered with curiosity. After all, Nathaniel could not recall any Celestial formidable enough to wield such pervasive darkness across the entire Celestial Realm.
Moreover, all the Rulers who had entered the Layer of Ancients were currently with him, leaving him with no idea from where—or from whom—this darkness was coming, or why it was spreading so fiercely.
Nathaniel sighed inwardly, then offered a faint, reassuring smile to the other Rulers.
"Fortunately, it doesn’t feel too powerful. We should be able to handle whatever is releasing this darkness. Maybe it’s just a dark creature of this realm, awakened by the presence of approaching outsiders."
Valance clicked her tongue in her mind, disdainful of his fake reassuring smile.
The other nine Rulers exchanged quiet whispers but all nodded in agreement.
They too could sense that the darkness, which had begun spreading in the air, was not particularly strong. So, after the initial surprise, the Rulers resumed their search for an exit from the statue-filled chamber.
Unlike the Rulers, who paid the darkness little to no mind, a tall Celestial hiding at a distance within a cloaking array broke into a cold sweat the moment he sensed it.
Kyle rubbed his neck to shake off the chill, only to be startled when he looked back at the people sitting behind him, all of whom had gone rigid at the sight of his pale face.
He had rejoined Ares and Cassian’s group shortly after sending the golden crystal he had stolen from the humanoid giant to his main body through the teleportation array.
Seeing him again, both Ares and Cassian had bristled, ready to roll up their sleeves and strangle him for almost getting them killed as collateral while fleeing the giant’s cavern—but before the two could act, the Rulers had arrived in the same chamber.
Thus, they had no choice but to swallow their anger and rush to find a place to hide with their people. After all, after what had happened at the Abyss, it was far too risky for the Rulers to discover they were there.
Who knew what these Rulers might really do when there was no crowd around and they no longer had to pretend to be good?
Kyle didn’t run; instead, he had created an array to hide in. But when Ares noticed him fade into it, he had shamelessly squeezed in, even taking the others along. In the end, Kyle had no choice but to sigh and expand the array to accommodate them all. That’s how, at present, they were all hidden within the array, secretly watching the Rulers.
Gvette was the first to break the silence that had settled within the array after Ares and the others saw Kyle’s face go pale and noticed him break out in a cold sweat.
"Kyle, don’t scare us like that. What’s going on? What is this darkness the Rulers were talking about? I can feel it too, and it really doesn’t seem powerful—but... judging by your reaction, it’s definitely very serious!"
Kyle rubbed his palms over his legs as he crossed them. His instincts were shouting at him to flee before it was too late, stirred by the eerily familiar darkness that seemed to want to devour everything around him.
"True, the darkness in the air doesn’t feel very strong, but the Rulers are mistaken. It isn’t weak—not in the slightest bit..."
He whispered as he glanced around, making Cassian, Ares, and the others—already on edge—even more restless.
"It feels like death itself. Don’t you think? How else could it spread in this ancient realm, where even the Rulers can’t expend their senses? And it belongs to someone I know. It’s a lot darker than before. Still, I can mistake anything—but not this aura..."
Cassian suddenly spoke up.
"I remember this aura too. It feels familiar. It’s that Dark Celestial we all saw outside the gate of the Layer of Ancients, isn’t it?"
His three followers stared at him in shock, recalling the formidable Dark Celestial they had all seen outside the ancient realm. That tall, obsidian-eyed figure had faced multiple Rulers alone—yet still couldn’t be defeated.
Zami and Silver exchanged glances, both women sensing the solemnity mirrored in each other’s eyes. At that moment, Gvette opened his mouth to utter something, but Silver smacked his head, warning him to keep silent—so he wouldn’t jinx anything!
Kyle nodded at Cassian, taking a deep breath to steady his restless nerves.
"It’s him... I can tell that man has grown immensely powerful for some reason—so strong that his aura alone can now break through the restrictions in this place."
Ares frowned.
"He must have found a powerful treasure and consumed it. But... how strong can he really grow? There are eleven Rulers here. We can wait until they deal with him—"
Before Ares could finish his words—and everyone could nod that he had a point—Kyle dropped a bombshell with a smile.
"No, he isn’t allowed to die at someone else’s hands. Definitely not Nathaniel. I have many scores to settle with him."
For a moment, his voice was so cold and empty that it sent shivers down everyone’s spines—but it was so fleeting that they all wondered if they had actually imagined it.