Chapter 152: The Five who descended

The vision shattered.

One moment, Eden stood inside the magnificent church of Caelestia, trapped in a body that wasn’t his own.

The next, everything dissolved into blinding white.

The city, the church, the woman in silver and gold robes... all of it vanished as though it had never existed.

Eden felt himself being pulled backward.

He tried to resist, reaching instinctively for his Essence, for Dark Matter, for anything that might anchor him to the vision.

Nothing answered.

Then came a sudden, weightless sensation.

And silence.

When Eden opened his eyes, he was standing in a place that defied description.

A vast white expanse stretched endlessly in every direction. There was no sky, no ground, and no discernible horizon, yet he could stand comfortably without falling. The scenery was entirely devoid of detail, but it possessed a strange, almost ethereal beauty, like a blank canvas waiting for the first stroke of a brush.

Eden looked down at himself.

His black armor was back.

His hands were his own.

He could feel the familiar flow of Essence coursing through his body, and the connection to his skills had returned, though something still felt different.

He was himself again.

At least, he hoped so.

"...What the hell was that?"

His voice disappeared into the endless white without producing an echo.

Eden turned around, searching for anything that might explain his surroundings.

There was nothing.

He tried calling out.

"Sylvia?"

Silence.

His expression tightened.

He attempted to summon Obsidian, but the familiar connection to his retainer remained strangely distant, as though he were trying to reach someone standing on the other side of an enormous wall.

’Wonderful.’

Another mysterious realm where his usual abilities were useless.

At this point, Eden was beginning to suspect the universe had developed a personal grudge against him.

He folded his arms.

For several seconds, nothing happened.

Then the white expanse rippled.

It wasn’t a physical movement, exactly. Rather, the space before him seemed to distort, as though an invisible hand had brushed against the surface of reality.

A faint green light appeared.

It gathered into a small sphere before expanding, gradually taking the shape of a woman.

Long white hair flowed over her shoulders. A delicate white halo hovered above her head, and her immaculate robes shimmered with intricate patterns of silver and gold.

Her appearance was unmistakable.

The woman inside the crystal.

The woman from Mendax’s memory.

The Ruler of Sorcery.

She regarded Eden with a calm, almost curious expression.

"At last, we can speak properly."

Eden stared at her.

Then he glanced around the empty space.

Then back at her.

"...Right."

He cleared his throat, suddenly feeling rather awkward.

"So, just to confirm, I’m not dead?"

The woman blinked.

For a brief moment, she seemed surprised by the question.

Then a faint smile appeared on her face.

"No. You are very much alive."

"Good. I’d hate to discover that all my hard work had been for nothing."

"Your concern is understandable."

She inclined her head slightly.

"My name is Nyx. I am the Ruler of Sorcery."

Eden already knew that, but hearing her introduce herself made the situation feel considerably more real.

He straightened his posture.

"Eden. Just Eden."

He hesitated.

"...It’s a pleasure to meet you?"

The uncertainty in his voice made Nyx’s smile grow a little wider.

"You’re not particularly accustomed to meeting beings like me, are you?"

"Let’s just say my first meeting with your kind wasn’t particularly enjoyable."

He paused.

"Though, to be fair, it had been more of a blessing than a curse."

Nyx studied him for a moment before letting out a quiet laugh.

It was a gentle sound, surprisingly warm for someone who radiated such an overwhelming presence.

"I see. You have a rather unusual way of dealing with the unknown."

"I find that complaining rarely makes it go away."

"An interesting philosophy."

"One I have been forced to develop."

Eden glanced around the white expanse again.

"Now, would you mind explaining where we are? And why I suddenly found myself trapped inside a memory of Mendax?"

Nyx’s expression grew more serious.

"This place is a fragment of my consciousness. I drew you into it when you approached my crystal."

"Your consciousness?"

"Yes. My physical body remains suspended within the crystal. I cannot awaken in the conventional sense, nor can I communicate with you directly from within it. This space is the only way I can speak to you."

Eden frowned.

"So I’m inside your mind."

"That is a reasonable way to describe it."

"And you can pull people into it whenever you want?"

"Not quite. My condition places considerable limitations on what I can do. Even bringing you here required a portion of the energy I have managed to preserve."

Eden glanced at her.

"Then I assume you didn’t do it just because you were bored."

"Unfortunately, no."

Nyx folded her hands before her.

"There are things you need to know. Things concerning this world, the history of the Rulers, and the being who brought you to this point."

Eden’s expression changed.

"Mendax."

"Precisely."

He fell silent.

The memory of Caelestia returned to him. The luxurious city, the guards who had bowed before him, and the woman who had addressed him as though he were an old acquaintance.

"You said there were things I needed to know. Then let’s start with something that’s been bothering me."

Nyx gestured for him to continue.

"How did you and the other four Rulers descend into the Abyss?"

Her expression grew thoughtful.

Eden continued.

"I was told that after Zephyro was banished, the World Tree was strengthened by the Void Sea. The boundary between the Upper Realm and the Lower Realm became practically impossible to cross."

He paused.

"From what I understand, even the Rulers couldn’t travel freely between them anymore. So how did five of you manage to descend?"

Nyx regarded him for a moment before answering.

"What you were told is correct. After the Supreme God Zephyro was banished into the Abyss, the World Tree was reinforced with the Void Sea. Its purpose was to seal the boundary between the realms, preventing anything from crossing freely."

Her gaze drifted toward the endless white around them.

"Before that, the World Tree connected the Lower Realm and Caelestia. It was the foundation upon which both realms existed, a bridge between worlds that allowed their inhabitants to travel between them."

She paused.

"But after Zephyro’s banishment, that connection became something else entirely. The Void Sea enveloped the World Tree, creating an almost insurmountable barrier. Even beings who possessed extraordinary authority could no longer cross it at will."

Eden frowned.

"Then how did you do it?"

"We were not the ones who made it possible."

Nyx looked directly at him.

"Mendax did."