The portal to the enigma realm... has opened in reverse?!
Ansel gazed skyward at the fissure blazing with crimson flas, resembling a second fierce sun in the heavens. An endless inferno cascaded forth like a waterfall, a sea of fire surging from the rift. Within re monts, the blood-hued conflagration had blanketed the earth, sweeping across all directions like a rampaging herd of beasts!
"It's the Source Fla!!!"
A terror-stricken voice shrieked. This appellation, symbolic of the essence of the Flafeast and divine might, prompted the observing adventurers to flee in panic, dreading even the slightest spark's touch.
The blood-red flas, capable of incinerating all and never extinguishing until reducing everything to its fundantal elents, ant certain death upon contact.
... Yet, it paled in comparison to the true Source Fla.
Hovering midair, Ansel could discern the potency of this force at a glance. Since the inception of the Sky Conquering Dynasty, the Hydral had accompanied the Flafeast clan for tens of thousands of years. The power of the Source Fla was etched into the bloodline of the abyssal fiends of terminus. Though impressive in its spectacle, this rolling sea of fire was far from the genuine Source Fla.
The force wielded solely by the current emperor could not manifest elsewhere in this world. Nevertheless, the apocalyptic scene wrought by this sea of blood-flas was no illusion...
However, this was not the crux of the matter.
If the realm of confusion truly harbored the legacy of the Sky Conquering Dynasty, the existence of a destructive fire akin to the Source Fla would not be surprising. The question was... why did this boundless, raging inferno pour forth from within the portal?
The pri material plane, ho to four divine species, reigned supre among the vast Zero Realm Enigma. Until now, all naturally occurring portals, whether random or predetermined, perilous or stable, had invariably been unidirectional.
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Only beings from the pri material plane could traverse these portals into the realm; never had entities or phenona from the enigma realms crossed over to the pri material plane.
Unless this portal had been opened artificially.
In the present continent, extraordinary beings capable of comprehending spatial elents sufficiently to open a portal to the realm of confusion numbered no more than five. Of those, only one had connections to the Flafeast.
"Evora..."
Ansel's eyes narrowed slightly. Beneath the illusory visage, his true countenance's sea-blue eyes reflected the blood-colored flas.
If it truly was Evora, why go to such lengths to force open a portal to the enigma instead of returning directly to the pri material plane? If she sought a place to recuperate, why create such a commotion certain to shake the empire?
The intrusion of entities from the realm of enigma into the pri material plane might not concern ordinary extraordinary beings, who largely viewed the realm of engima as an inexhaustible treasury at their disposal.
However, the upper echelons of extraordinary beings understood well the catastrophic implications should this beco commonplace.
But if not Evora, what precipitated this shocking turn of events? That mysterious force lurking in the shadows?
In the original tiline, they had scarcely surfaced. To Ansel's knowledge, their only actions had been the assassination of Annelisa and maneuvering Suellen onto the throne. What motive could they have for such an act?
"Indeed... you wouldn't let this opportunity slip," Ansel exhaled softly.
Astonishingly, he ascended towards the portal in the sky, flying against the descending sea of calamitous fire while all other adventurers frantically fled.
"Capturing my attention with crucial information, swaying my judgnt with asymtrical intelligence... trite, yet effective, isn't it?"
By presenting Ansel with a multitude of problems, he would be compelled to confront an endless cycle of uncertainty and unverifiable hypotheses. The scarcity of information ant that solving one problem would only breed another, each interlinked yet impossible to form a cohesive chain of proof. A single misstep could lead to irredeemable consequences.
On the other side of the portal, Ansel couldn't discern whether this was a natural anomaly or if soone had forcibly opened it. If artificial, he couldn't determine whether it was Evora's doing or that of the clandestine force, let alone analyze their motives and objectives.
Possessing vital information yet unable to glean more critical intelligence, further contemplation would only lead him into an unsolvable labyrinth. But to refrain from thought and action would be to squander an opportunity that fate would surely not overlook.
Its counterattack had co swiftly.
Yet, as Ansel soared against the sea of flas, he harbored neither resentnt nor anxiety. His breath was even hotter than the surrounding air.
Reaching the portal's altitude, Ansel's gaze seed to penetrate the endless surge of blood-flas, though he still couldn't discern what lay beyond. However, he felt no disappointnt, not even a hint of apprehension.
"Swift... is right," the young Hydral murmured.
Such a swift and fierce response, likely the closest to unreasonable that It could muster, signified that… Ansel's machinations had struck at fate's very core.
Just as It had laid the groundwork three years ago for Ravenna to shatter Ansel's plans to devour Flalle and reign over the empire... fate would never allow an entity aware of the future to possess absolute supre power.
It had intervened once, but Ansel had countered forcefully with the regency dispute, securing a full year for growth... a fleeting mont for extraordinary beings, yet pivotal for Ansel to alter everything.
Fate's vehent retaliation proved this point.
— If Ansel were left to develop unimpeded, the scales of victory might truly tip in his favor.
Thus, It had brought forth this unexpected turn of events, both unpredictable yet traceable...
An unforeseen developnt certain to disrupt Ansel's stable progression.
That great entity, perched above the world, had once again magnanimously revealed Its intentions to Ansel, silently awaiting his response.
Would he act rashly with severely limited information, potentially compounding his errors, or would he stand by and watch as It... calmly made Its consecutive moves?
From the inception of his plan to ta Seraphina until now, despite stumbles and frequent setbacks, Ansel had steadily grown stronger. He rarely faced such monts of indecision—for he never allowed himself to be caught in such predicants.
He had even found ti to travel leisurely in the western country, rely awaiting intelligence from Shadewell.
Now, Ansel once again felt that sense of inescapable despair. This match... would be the most unfair of all inherently unfair gas.
By this reckoning, fate must have prepared when Ansel allied with Evora to attempt Ephesande's assassination. After all, Ephesande's first instinct to kill her own daughter as she perished was abnormal—rely consistent with her character, unsurprising but peculiar.
If this was to compel Evora to instinctively use manipulation to escape, subsequently losing control under the Source Fla's incineration, drifting through the endless realm of enigmas, awaiting the mont to play a crucial move...
No, not if—it was fact.
While Ansel plotted for the future, It had long prepared Its counterasures.
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