"Before that day, this world used to contain three continents. However, after that day, only one continent was left... The one where we stand currently."
The little girl kept speaking, giving some brief descriptions about the battle that she hadn't personally experienced. However, she didn't even realize that Gabriel wasn't listening anymore.
It was as if Gabriel couldn't hear her at all. The entire world had turned silent for him. It was as if the entire world disappeared for him, only leaving him all alone in the darkness. He couldn't even hear his own breathing anymore.
He looked all around, but other than the darkness around him, he couldn't see anything.
"Jia! Alion!" He called out. Unfortunately, there was no response. Only his voice echoed in the darkness.
The little girl finally stopped speaking, noticing that Gabriel was standing in a daze, living blankly in the distance. "Hey, are you even listening?"
"..."
She received no answer from Gabriel.
"Hey? Are you sleeping with your eyes open?" She asked, reaching out her hand, as if she was about to shake Gabriel to wake him up.
Thud~
The little girl was just about to touch Gabriel, but just as her fingers were about to land on Gabriel's shoulder, she dropped to her knees! It was as if someone had placed hundreds of mountains on her shoulders. Even a strong person like her couldn't resist that pressure.
She wasn't the only one who dropped to her knees either! Not too far from her, Alion also couldn't control his body. His face turned pale as he also dropped to his knees, unable to resist the pressure.
The pressure was felt in the entire city. The ground started trembling. Even Elora and her team dropped to their knees. They didn't even know where that pressure was coming from. All they knew was that they couldn't resist this pressure.
"Did we activate some trap?!" Maya exclaimed, slightly scared. "But we didn't touch anything! The compass didn't show anything either!"
Elora had no answer to give. Even she didn't know what happened suddenly. They were still in the outside layer. They had been quite careful to not touch anyone, afraid of activation traps. However, despite all that, they still fell for something.
She looked around, wondering what they did wrong!
Back in the Royal City of Arecia, the female envoy from the Temple of Time was still staying in the garden of legacy. She had tried everything, but she couldn't find anything out of place. It was as if the opening and the palace was really destroyed.
Unfortunately, despite having no evidence, she still felt that it wasn't right. She didn't believe that the palace and the army could be destroyed so easily, even if they were sealed! If it was that easy, that army wouldn't have been that famous!
"I can only wait for the higher ups to come and check personally," she muttered, wondering how long it was going to take for the others to come.
However, just as she finished speaking, her face turned pale. She felt a powerful pressure that forced her directly to her knees. She didn't even know where that pressure came from. However, she directly used her pendant to cast a shield to resist that pressure.
A red shield appeared all around the girl, protecting her from the pressure. She finally sighed in relief, forcing herself to stand.
Crack~
The girl had barely stood up when her shield started cracking apart. Her face went pale. The shield was her most powerful shield since it used the strength of the crystal but even that shield couldn't resist the strange pressure.
Right before her eyes, her shield shattered and she was once again forced down to her knees. This time, her fall was even worse, as if the pressure had multiplied on her.
Her knees started bleeding yet she couldn't do anything but resist the pain.
****
Thanks to secretly following the maid without letting her realize, Avilia was finally led to a small valley outside the Arecia Empire.
She finally saw the City of Abbadon that had disappeared the last time.
The maid entered the City but Avilia remained outside. She finally knew the location. Now all she had to do was enter and drag Lambard outside.
Avilia prepared herself for entering the City. However, before she could even move, a powerful pressure fell upon her, forcing her to her knees as well.
****
Inside the city, Lambard was standing on the balcony, looking outside.
"It's been so long since she went to gather information. She still isn't back. Could something have gone wrong?"
Lambard really didn't like leaving the City since he was more cautious about his safety. In fact, it was even more dangerous to leave this time after all the Churches issued bounty on his head. Despite that, he also couldn't let his maid die. She was his only companion.
In his eyes, hesitation could clearly be seen. He clenched his fist. "Whatever! I'll check it out personally!"
His entire body was covered with Numens of varying strengths and advantages.
"Master, I'm back!"
As Lambard decided to leave, he heard a sweet voice coming from behind. His eyes lit up as he turned around, finding the maid behind him. "You're back! I thought something happened to you! What took you so long!"
The young maid couldn't help but feel touched, seeing worries on Lambard's face. She had already heard that Lambard was willing to leave this place to find her.
"I-" the young maid opened her cherry lips to explain. However, before she could speak, her face went pale as her body subconsciously dropped to her knees.
It was the same for Lambard. He couldn't understand what was happening. Even all his defensive Numens couldn't resist this pressure as he dropped to his knees.
The entire city started trembling. Let alone the city, even Lambard's Numens that he was wearing started trembling.
Lambard stated at his Numens with a blank face. He had never experienced this strange phenomenon. It was quite similar to something that happened just a few months ago when a strange force forced everyone on their knees. However, that time, it only affected mortals.
The strongest mages could easily resist that pressure. However, this time, even the strongest of the beings couldn't remain standing. It was as if they had to be on their knees to greet the arrival of a god!
There was not a single person in this world who was still standing. Even all the Numens were trembling as if they were shaking in fear. None of them knew what actually caused it.
What no one knew was that it wasn't just the Numens that were trembling. They couldn't see the countless dark shackles surrounding their world that even gods couldn't break. Those shackles had been there for close to a thousand years, unmoving. However, even those shackles were trembling at the moment…