The air in the hall turned even heavier.
No one knew how much ti passed before Zyraeth finally shifted a little on his throne. The motion was tiny, but it still made everyone unconsciously hold their breath.
"Your body was only just remade," he said at last.
"And you reached this place through the star-void passage in soul form. You haven't truly witnessed how terrifying the Oblivion Sea and the dinsional turbulence are."
There was no overt scolding in his tone. If anything, that calmness made it feel even more like an unchallengeable verdict.
"There will be plenty of chances to wage war."
Zyraeth's gaze settled on Khar'vathis, so deep nobody dared et it.
"But—not now."
Khar'vathis's expression stiffened imdiately.
He clearly wasn't willing to accept it.
But no matter how unwilling he was, he didn't dare go against Zyraeth's will at a mont like this. So he lowered his head, forced down the emotions boiling in his chest, and retreated back to his place.
Just as the hall was starting to quiet under Zyraeth's decision, Kelaric suddenly stepped out from the ranks.
He didn't move in a rush, but his expression carried a visible mix of excitent and hesitation—like even he still hadn't fully digested what had happened.
The shifting light of the hall fell across him, making the edges of his Elysion war-armor glint faintly, and drawing every gaze toward him.
"When I went out there—" Kelaric began. He paused, as if reorganizing an experience that even he found bizarre. "I accidentally tore open a spatial rift, and then… I went straight to Erald Castle."
The mont those words left his mouth, the suffocating atmosphere in the hall changed sharply.
A lot of faces went rigid at the sa ti. Even the high-tier existences who'd been maintaining restraint couldn't help lifting their heads.
Because in Elysion, "the road to the outside" was never a topic you talked about casually—much less sothing just anyone could touch.
Kelaric clearly understood what it ant, too.
But since he'd already said it, he continued.
"That place is insanely energy-rich—far stronger than ordinary planes." His voice sank, and a trace of genuine battle-mory surfaced in his eyes. "And their lord is very strong. If we really want to beat them… it won't be easy."
This ti it wasn't just the lower commanders. Even those silent existences near the throne all turned to look.
Because in Elysion's understanding, normal back-and-forth travel between here and the outside basically didn't exist.
For outsiders to enter Elysion, they had to cross the Oblivion Sea, then survive the dinsional turbulence. If they wanted a shorter, more hidden route, the only way was to put the body into a soul state and force passage through the Gate of the Star-Void.
And that passage—
was in Zyraeth's hands.
Only he could let soone pass through safely.
Yet now, in front of everyone, Kelaric was saying he hadn't crossed the Oblivion Sea, hadn't used the Gate of the Star-Void, and still sohow tore open a rift straight out of Elysion—went to the outside—and returned unhard.
That wasn't "a coincidence."
Even Zyraeth, who'd been sitting steadily on his throne, abruptly rose to his feet.
The movent was so fast there was almost no warning.
In the next instant, he was in front of Kelaric. His five fingers clamped down on Kelaric's shoulder, and in those eyes—once so calm they were nearly empty—the star-darkness finally showed a clear, violent ripple for the first ti.
"You're saying—"
Zyraeth stared at him, voice low and crushing.
"—you went to Erald Castle through dinsional space?"
Kelaric was clearly startled by the sudden intensity of Zyraeth's reaction.
He tensed on instinct, then nodded quickly.
"Yes." He hesitated, like he was afraid he hadn't been clear enough, and added, "But I didn't even know exactly how I got there at the ti."
His brows drew together. Even to him, the experience had been a ss.
"I only rember that while I was moving through space, the energy around suddenly went chaotic. And then I just… dropped into that place." He took a breath and continued, "After that, I realized the spatial passage around hadn't fully closed yet, so I imdiately pulled back. If I'd been even a little later—I'd probably have been trapped there."
When he finished, the area fell into dead silence again.
But on Zyraeth's face, sothing finally showed—an excitent so intense it was almost burning.
This wasn't the thrill of so lucky find. It felt more like a deadlock that had plagued him for ages had finally revealed a hairline crack—tiny, but real. He didn't give anyone in the hall ti to react. He grabbed Kelaric by the arm, turned, and strode out.
"Take there," Zyraeth said, his voice heavier than before—and faster. "Now. Take to the place where you tore open dinsional space."
Kelaric didn't dare hesitate. He imdiately led the group out of the hall.
They moved through Elysion's landscape—an impossible patchwork of turbulence, floating cliffs, and broken structures—until they stopped at a remote, abandoned altar.
It looked like ti had forgotten it. The area around it was empty and dead silent. Only shattered stone pillars leaned at crooked angles out of the ground, the runes on them incomplete, so eroded you could barely imagine what they'd once been.
No matter how you looked at it—
this didn't seem like a place that still held any power at all.
Kelaric stood at the altar's edge, his expression turning awkward. He lifted a hand and scratched the back of his head, like he was a little embarrassed to have brought everyone to such a wreck.
But under all those eyes, he still stepped into the center.
The next mont, he raised his arm, released his power without holding anything back, and slamd his palm down onto the ground.
"Vmmmm—"
A deep resonance sounded from beneath the altar.
Then the dim, broken runes actually began to light up—one after another. The glow wasn't complete. So sections flickered and cut out. But the altar still looked like it had been briefly awakened, starting to turn with a slow, reluctant rhythm.
A few seconds later—
a tiny dinsional rift opened in the air above the altar.
It was no bigger than a fingernail.
But it was real. A genuine tear in space.
At that sight, everyone's spirits lifted. Even Khar'vathis—standing in the back—had a flash of near-fanatical light in his eyes.
Because if this could be used, it ant Elysion wouldn't be forced to rely solely on those few insanely dangerous routes anymore. It ant they might finally be able to bypass the Oblivion Sea and the dinsional turbulence—and strike straight into Erald Castle.
But the excitent didn't last.
The rift existed for only an instant.
Then, as if sothing inside it had been forcibly pinched out, it suddenly snapped shut—leaving not even a trace of residual fluctuation behind.
The atmosphere around them locked up.
The hope that had just risen—
was doused in a single breath.
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