"We need to speed up the progress even more." Maggs resumed manipulating the threads:
"No matter what, the creation of the seed must be completed in the next cycle. As for the anomaly on the fifth layer... let the warming contest reveal the truth."
......
In a twisted space within the Abyss, the boundary of reality ripples like water.
This is the private domain of the "Fissure Demon" Kempes—an eerie meeting hall pieced together from fragments of shattered space.
Kempes’s figure emerged from a spatial fissure, his form extraordinarily bizarre:
Different parts of his body exist on different planes, with the left arm here and the right leg in another fragment three meters away.
Every time he moves, the parts of his body reassemble, giving a sense of disjointed yet eerily coordinated movements.
"Welcome, fellow comrades."
Kempes’s voice, layered multiple times, echoed in the space, coming simultaneously from dozens of different dimensions, forming a reverberation:
"Today’s gathering is to discuss the recent anomalous changes on the fifth layer."
Shadows began to writhe, as if some creature was slowly awakening in the darkness.
The "Silent Pastor" Delir emerged from the darkness, his presence dropping the temperature of the entire space by a few degrees.
Delir’s body was like an ancient cathedral hollowed out.
Through his chest, countless souls could be seen drifting inside.
They were once devout clergy, now eternal prisoners.
"The fifth layer has indeed become... quite interesting."
Delir’s voice was like an echo from the depths of the underworld, each syllable accompanied by the wailing of souls:
"My spies returned with perplexing information, those once familiar patterns are now no longer applicable."
Green ghostly fires blazed in his eye sockets, watching every entity present:
"Particularly in Nari’s domain, the changes have exceeded everyone’s expectations."
"Erosion by Time" Kro also slowly emerged.
He appeared like a statue weathered by millennia, the surface of his body covered with deep cracks left by the passage of time.
Every time he moved, the flow of time around him subtly changed.
In some places, time stood still, with dust in the air hanging motionless;
In others, time passed rapidly, stones weathering away visibly to the eye.
"Nari’s changes are the most significant."
Kro’s voice held the weight of the ages, like the sound of turning parchment pages in an ancient library:
"A month ago, she was just a chaotic creature, only knowing mad destruction.
My observation of time showed her behavioral patterns were entirely random, without any logic."
His fingers stroked the time-eroded grooves on his chin:
"But now... the level of rationality and strategic thought she displays has surpassed most ordinary apostles.
The speed of this transformation is unprecedented in my long observation history."
Kempes’s various body parts simultaneously turned towards Kro, the fissures subtly contracting due to his concentrated attention:
"Your perception of time is always the keenest, can you specifically describe the extent of this change?"
"Let me think..." Kro extended his hand, with his fingertips emitting a faint rhythm:
"Let’s put it this way, if rationality is quantified from one to a hundred, a typical Abyss Awakened is about twenty, a High Tier nearing an apostle is fifty or sixty, and we apostles are about eighty.
In this regard, even the Supreme Apostles show no essential difference from us. From my observation, Lord Maggs’ rationality is just around eighty-five."
Saying this, a deep sense of dread appeared in his eyes:
"Nari’s level of rationality a month ago was about fifteen, now... at least ninety."
The prayers within Delir suddenly became intense, whispers of warning coming from hundreds of souls simultaneously:
"I can provide more intuitive evidence."
His voice turned somber, and the bell within the cathedral body began to ring slowly:
"My legion of followers attempted twice to approach Nari’s domain for routine reconnaissance, and the outcome was..."
Delir paused, the souls in his chest started to stir unrestfully:
"The first batch of twelve High-Level Spectres, all former bishop-level clergy, possessing considerable wisdom and stealth capability.
They were swallowed by a Chaos Storm a hundred miles from the Sea of Darkness, without even sending back any information upon death."
"What about the second batch?" Kempes’s multiple voices inquired simultaneously, the spatial fissures vibrating violently due to his emotional fluctuation.
"I dispatched the souls of thirty fallen pastors, each possessing divine abilities to evade detection."
Delir’s tone grew even graver:
"They couldn’t even send back any information before disappearing, as if erased by some invisible will.
This clean and efficient clearing method reminds me of the means of certain Supreme Apostles."
Kro nodded thoughtfully:
"I have encountered similar situations, the Observation Claws dispatched were unable to penetrate the barriers of Nari’s domain, the flow of time there showed distortions that I can’t comprehend."
"This is indeed abnormal."
Kro nodded, with time fissures continuously opening and closing around him:
"This ability... the Chaos Power Nari possesses now might have reached the extent of rewriting local reality. Such environmental influence is usually only displayed by Supreme Apostles."
Kempes’s body parts began to tremble uneasily, spatial fragments emitting fine friction sounds, like glass moaning under heavy pressure: