This battle was perhaps the most catastrophic one humanity had ever faced. The number of casualties reached the thousands in just a short ti, and nearly half of all espers in the capital were lost.
Drake led the army, swiftly dismantling the governnt’s power and purging the Association of Espers. Eventually, Layla—the representative—selected the most trustworthy individuals to rebuild the continent’s central authority.
They worked with unparalleled speed and unity, restoring order in record ti. After all, no one knew when the next dungeon would appear.
Ultimately, this upheaval was officially nad the Artificial Esper Incident—a warning to humanity.
Conspiracy theories began to spread among humans. The number of believers following the Prophet and the Degenerate suddenly surged, nearly equaling that of Nerio’s followers. However, only now did people realize how indifferent the gods were toward them.
They had no unique sigils, no dedicated prayers. Except for the highest-ranking believers, the gods hardly paid attention to anyone else. The Degenerate’s followers, in particular, faced a significant issue: Asta—the top believer personally chosen by the Degenerate—refused to join their ranks, alive or dead.
So even claid that the gods would no longer protect humanity after this incident. Others questioned the mysterious being at the end of the "Freedom Dove" dungeon—was it a new god or sothing entirely different?
And so, another shift rippled through the power structure of the continent.
Leonard—the heir, and now the official head of the Curtis family—made his first public appearance not as a dungeon participant, but as the patriarch himself.
He had shed entirely his usual timid deanor. Backed by the Curtis family’s imnse wealth and formidable power, he began stepping into the political arena.
He was a powerful esper and one of Nerio’s foremost believers. Now that he had made such a move, many suspected he intended to seize control over every domain of influence.
Nerio’s followers praised Leonard as omnipotent—just like the supre deity he worshipped.
Now, nearly a month had passed. The skies were still bright and filled with golden sunlight and soft white clouds. Apart from the massive crack lingering in the heavens, one could almost believe the world had always been this peaceful.
The sunflower garden under the sunlight remained as beautiful as ever, the blossoms swaying gently like tiny suns in the breeze. The candy house still exuded its sweet, enchanting aroma, luring in the lost and curious.
The only difference now was that on the swing sat not Lilith alone, but a young boy beside her.
The boy’s hair was long enough to cover his eyes, and his posture was timid. Yet, every ti Lilith said sothing, he would smile and nod, creating a relatively peaceful and harmonious scene.
Just then, the sound of footsteps suddenly echoed, drawing their attention. From within the sunflower field, a tall figure erged.
Silvanus had grown noticeably thinner—almost to the point of looking frail. If the system hadn’t told him, he wouldn’t have even known he’d been asleep for an entire month.
He lowered his gaze to the flower bud in his hand. When he was about to leave that place, a bud from the Cosmic Tree had suddenly fallen and drifted toward him. By the ti it reached him, the bud had grown to nearly his height, massive and radiant, but the mont it touched him, it shrank down to a size small enough to fit in his palm.
The system told him it was a gift from the Cosmic Tree—a blessing wishing for his swift liberation.
Silvanus said nothing. The system explained that the Starry Sky Space had been frozen in ti and would only reopen once Silvanus earned enough acting points to return.
"There’s sothing important there, isn’t there? You seem rather desperate for to reopen that place," Silvanus said slowly.
[Only there can you access the full capabilities of the Acting System, my lord. So powers belong to you, while others belong to the system—born from a fragnt of Raphael’s energy. Just like that, Starry Sky Space... You wouldn’t want to miss the stars lit up for you. They will be of great help to you.]
"Honestly, I’ve always thought that place belonged to ," Silvanus murmured. As his thoughts stirred, the flower bud in his hand vanished instantly.
System: [...You could say that too. But for now, my lord, you must focus on collecting acting points as quickly as possible!]
By this ti, Tom and Lilith had walked up to Silvanus. They were themselves—and yet not. For now, they were rely loyal actors serving under Silvanus.
Silvanus gently patted Lilith’s head and said softly, "You did very well."
That ti, Silvanus had used Lilith as an actor. After setting up the script, she had perfectly reenacted the role of the Degenerate, solidifying the gods’ narratives and making everything seem far more real.
[That, my lord, is an accurate display of talent! You’ll see—this will prove imnsely useful to you in the future!] the system suddenly exclaid enthusiastically.
Silvanus didn’t bother paying attention to it. The system always acted like it knew sothing, but whatever it knew, it would never say. And Silvanus had no intention of prying—he would just let the future answer everything in its own ti.
At the Association of Espers, Layla frowned at the screen, feeling the intense gazes burning into her back. She slowly gave her conclusion:
"We’ve been observing for a month now. I’ve said everything that needed to be said. From what we can tell, Silvanus vanished after saving the capital. He’ll likely never appear again whether he’s dead or alive."
She paused montarily before continuing, "Of course, that’s just my speculation. It seems that our world is becoming the battlefield of two opposing forces. The darkness continues to encroach, and right now, we should prioritize reinforcing the people’s faith in the gods."
"But the gods don’t care about that," soone said softly.
Layla shook her head. "For now, only Nerio shows true danger—and even that’s because humanity has irritated him. The Degenerate hasn’t revealed any real malice, and the Prophet even less so. What we need to do now is continue observing this new god..."
To Layla, etings like this were aningless. The words she repeated were over and over brushed aside. Those people always tried to search for answers, even when the answers were right in front of them.
She looked out the window. Everything seed peaceful again. The threat was gone—cleansed from the world—so... why were those black pillars still there?!
Everything before her eyes began to twist and warp, shapes flickering between ordinary scenes and images of crumbling ruins.
Darkness poured down from the heavens like a gaping maw, devouring everything in its path. The world’s colors faded into a bleak, distorted gray...
"Ah!" Layla suddenly clutched her eyes and collapsed to the floor. The conference room was empty—no one else knew what was happening.
Silvanus, Silvanus...
I’m the one who needs you right now! If you won’t appear, then who am I supposed to tell, Silvanus?!
About this nightmare of mine...
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