As everyone’s bloodshot eyes locked onto the distant streaks of light, hopelessness and despair clouding their thoughts as they struggled to grasp what the hell was really going on while tearing at the tendrils in a frantic bid to escape the darkness eating their power, a hum echoed through the air.
It was the obsidian-eyed figure who had already killed someone before their eyes.
He stepped forward, humming softly to himself, and with each step, massive, eerie skulls formed from the darkness. His soft voice carried through the void, so gentle it could have been coaxing a child to play.
"Go... devour however you want, whoever you want. Let no one and nothing escape."
As his words fell, the dark skulls trembled as if laughing delightfully and scattered in all directions, following the darkness. Low whispers of die, die, completely disappear alongside me reverberated through the air.
The ordinary Celestials living on the land nearest the Layer of Three Ancients were the first to scream and flee when they saw a massive wave of darkness, like a tsunami, sweeping toward them. The whole Celestial realm had already been in a state of alarm over the past week after feeling the violent tremors that had spread from the ancient realm, destroying many nearby structures.
They were also fully aware that countless Rulers and Celestials had gathered around the ancient realm after learning it was the source of the tremors, ready to confront it.
Many weaker Celestials had even lingered around the area, trying to understand what was happening. But they fled after noticing countless Rulers grimly patrolling the area around the Gate of the Layer of Ancients.
Only the strong were allowed to remain there. Now, seeing the darkness chasing them, they instinctively knew that even the strongest Rulers had failed to kill whatever had emerged from the Layer of Ancients—and that now they were on their own!
The massive skulls within the darkness paid no heed to the panicked cries of the Celestials and spared no one. Mercilessly, they bit down on anyone engulfed by the darkness, leaving only utter destruction in their wake. The distant commotion was so powerful that even the elderly Celestials—the winged warriors, the armored Giants—within the Golden Hall of Light, the place where newly arriving Celestials registered their identities, were greatly alarmed. They all rose instantly when they saw the Bridge of Divinity, connecting the Celestial Realm to the Lower Universes, trembling violently under the force of the distant chaos. The elderly Celestial in the Golden Hall of Light who had tried to kill Kyle after sensing his potential and deeming him a threat to the Rulers’ authority on the day he first arrived in the higher plane—shouted sharply at the tall warriors guarding the massive gates leading deeper into the Celestial Realm.
"What is going on? Go check!"
The winged warriors and giants hurriedly departed to investigate under his shout.
As they left, the elderly Celestials in the Golden Hall of Light suddenly noticed the Bridge of Divinity beginning to crack. They were horrified. Even the newly ascended Celestials walking the bridge panicked.
Ultimately, one of the elderly Celestials stepped out of the Hall, his robed figure hovering above the Bridge of Divinity to assess the situation. His face instantly turned grim as he glanced at the other elderly Celestials who had followed him.
"Let’s shut down all the gates of the lower universes leading to the Celestial realm for the time being until we stabilize whatever is happening. It seems the Ruler who created the Bridge has either died or withdrawn his power, so he can no longer support it."
Another voice echoed from behind him.
"Yizhe, that guy won’t die so easily. But whatever is happening doesn’t look good. Moreover, if we shut down all the gates, it’s going to create chaos in the Lower Realms when people fail to leave after ascending. Celestials remaining in their universe for too long can trigger widespread disorder."
The one who had spoken earlier frowned.
"That’s not something we need to worry about. Protecting the Bridge of Divinity, which took years to form, is our priority."
He looked back at the others.
"First, let’s deal with the problems in the Celestial Realm; the rest can be handled later. Some of you, come with me. Let’s spread out and shut all the gates of the Lower Universes, while the others handle the people on the bridge and in the Hall."
Nodding solemnly, several of the elders followed him and disappeared in different directions to complete the task as quickly as possible. Meanwhile, the new Celestials standing on the Bridge of Divinity and in the Golden Hall of Light were swiftly ushered into the Celestial Realm without the usual identification process by the other elders.
After swiftly shutting down all the gates, the elders moved across the now-empty bridge and Hall before rushing toward the source of the commotion. By the time they laid eyes on the darkness, it had already engulfed a large portion of the Realm.
One of the elders, who hadn’t uttered a curse in years, let out a sharp expletive.
"What the hell is this?!"
They all clearly heard the loud, panicked cries of the Celestials echoing through the surroundings, watched countless people fleeing from the darkness, and shuddered.
Even from such a long distance, they all knew they weren’t strong enough to stop it.
All of a sudden, the elderly Celestial who had tried to kill Kyle grasped the nearest elder and asked with a pale expression.
"That dark Celestial..."
His voice trembled.
"That person who passed the Golden Hall of Light without our permission—the one who later caused a scene in the Rulers’ territory—was he captured in the end?"
Those who heard him immediately understood his thoughts, and their expressions turned pale as well.
"Impossible... it can’t be him! Can it? How could he become so powerful in such a short time?? It must be someone else!"
However, to everyone’s dread, the elderly Celestial’s expression turned even paler.
"You all know my intuition has never been wrong. But I hope I am this time... because that Celestial’s obsidian eyes held nothing. I could tell, if he becomes powerful, he won’t stop until he destroys everything!"