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The sky over Carne Village darkened.
Enri Emmot initially thought rain clouds were rolling in.
She was on her way home from the fields, holding her younger sister Nemu’s hand. Only moments ago, the sky had been clear. Sunlight had bathed the plains, and the wheat fields swayed slowly in the breeze.
But suddenly, the light vanished.
Enri stopped in her tracks.
“Big sis?”
Nemu’s small hand tightened its grip on Enri’s.
Enri couldn't answer.
It wasn't clouds.
The sky itself was splitting open.
Above the plains in the northeastern Re-Estize Kingdom, the very center of the blue sky twisted into a circle. Clouds were sucked inward in a spiral, and at the center, a massive rift of light tore open.
Something was descending from beyond that rift.
A castle.
That was the only word Enri could find to describe it.
Yet, it was not of a scale any human could fathom.
Its walls stretched as long as mountain ranges, its towers pierced the clouds, and its central spire rose as if pushing the heavens themselves upward. A gargantuan fortress composed of refined gold, jasper, amethyst, and sapphire slowly revealed itself from beyond the fracture of light.
The castle was a perfect square.
It was structured low at the edges, rising higher toward the center. On each of its four sides—north, south, east, and west—were three massive gates, and the walls shimmered with a golden light as clear as glass.
A shadow fell over the plains.
The entirety of Carne Village was swallowed by that shadow.
One by one, the villagers looked up at the sky. A man holding a plow froze in place; a woman carrying a water jug fell to her knees. The children couldn't even cry. The livestock bellowed frantically before huddling low to the ground.
For a farmer, the loss of sunlight was a dire omen.
Sunlight was needed for crops to grow.
Sunlight was needed to tell the time of day.
Sunlight was what allowed a person to believe the world was still in its proper place.
But the sight before them made it impossible to even process such worries.
Enri pulled Nemu into a tight embrace.
They were too small—like ants about to be swept away by a colossal tidal wave.
“What is...?”
Enri’s voice trembled.
“What is that...?”
In that instant.
The fortress vanished.
No, there wasn't even time to realize it had disappeared.
The sky was clear once more. The sun hung in its usual place. The wheat fields swayed in the wind, and the farmers of Carne Village went about their business.
Enri couldn't understand why she had been staring at the sky.
“Big sis?”
Nemu looked up at her.
Enri blinked blankly.
“Oh... it’s nothing.”
She said it, but something lingered deep within her chest.
An inexplicable pressure.
An unnamable fear.
And the afterimage of something that had glowed with golden light.
Enri could not remember it.
Yet, deep in her subconscious, something continued to point toward the sky.
---
At that same moment.
The Thousand Kingdom had already descended upon this other world.
Above the plains in the northeastern Re-Estize Kingdom.
But now, ordinary humans looking at that spot could see nothing.
The Thousand Kingdom existed there, yet it did not fully belong to the causality of this world.
At the center of the castle, in the highest district, Sector 12.
The Throne of Heaven.
A being draped in black robes opened his eyes.
Celestial Emperor Caesar.
Guild Master of the Thousand Kingdom.
The Celestial Emperor of the Thousand Kingdom, Kilia Aethel.
King of Angels and Gods.
The Lord of the Apocalypse.
Before him lay an audience chamber of infinite proportions. The walls glowed like refined gold, and the pillars were inscribed with unknown divine scripts. The ceiling was as high as the heavens, and the floor was engraved with patterns resembling constellations and the flow of the world.
Kneeling below the throne was Michael.
A beautiful angel with white wings.
She spoke quietly, her head bowed.
“The Thousand Kingdom has completed its descent into the other world.”
Caesar slowly opened his eyes.
There was almost no emotion within his crimson pupils.
“Damage?”
“None,” Michael replied immediately.
“All sectors are functioning normally. Absolute Barrier deployed. External observation blocked. Mass-produced androids have been stationed in the lobbies of Sectors 1 through 3. Golems in the Sector 5 Mechanical District are active. The automated agricultural systems in the Sector 6 Jungle have resumed. Infinite Mana Batteries in the Sector 7 Mines and Industrial Zone are confirmed active.”
Caesar turned his head.
A blue screen flickered into existence in the air.
The super-intelligent computer, Ea.
The entity in charge of all information within the Thousand Kingdom was already analyzing the new world.
Simultaneously, in Sector 10, Alexandria, Gabriel was in motion.
She walked among countless observation devices and recording magic circles, analyzing the atmosphere, mana, and distribution of life forms in this new world.
“Mana density differs from Yggdrasil standards,” Gabriel’s voice echoed through Ea’s communication network.
“Civilization levels are low. However, unique magic systems not found in Yggdrasil exist. We have confirmed the presence of Wild Magic, rune technology, local potion-making methods, and faith-based magic systems.”
Caesar listened expressionlessly.
“Threats?”
Ea replied.
“No immediate threats.”
As those words were spoken, a torrent of information unfurled around the Throne of Heaven.
The Re-Estize Kingdom.
The Baharuth Empire.
The Slane Theocracy.
The Roble Holy Kingdom.
The Draconic Kingdom.
The Dwarf Kingdom.
The Elf Kingdom.
The Six Demi-Human Nations of the Center.
The Argland Council State.
The Platinum Dragon Lord.
The True Dragon Lords.
And the External Gods encroaching upon this world from the seas, the abyss, and beyond the dimensions.
Ea’s report continued.
“Humanity is weak. Demi-humans are strong but fractured. The Dragon Lords are wary but hesitant. External Gods are in the process of encroachment.”
Caesar listened to the report in silence.
To him, the nations of this world were still nothing more than small dots on a map.
“Sever the Thousand Kingdom from the causality of this world.”
Caesar commanded.
“By your will.”
Michael bowed her head.
In that moment, the entire Thousand Kingdom vibrated.
The foundation stones of the castle began to glow one by one.
Jasper.
Sapphire.
Chalcedony.
Emerald.
Sardonyx.
Sardius.
Chrysolite.
Beryl.
Topaz.
Chrysoprase.
Jacinth.
Amethyst.
The twelve foundation stones resonated simultaneously.
Over the Absolute Barrier surrounding the outskirts of the Thousand Kingdom, another invisible layer was draped.
It was not a physical wall.
Nor was it merely a magical barrier.
It was a Veil of Causality.
A device that severed the flow of time, space, fate, and Wild Magic of this world, preventing them from directly touching the interior of the Thousand Kingdom.
Ea declared.
“The Thousand Kingdom has been successfully severed from the system of causality of this world.”
Inside the Thousand Kingdom, nothing changed.
The agricultural sectors continued to function.
The industrial zones continued to churn.
The archives of Alexandria were maintained normally.
Golems moved along their designated paths, and the android forces waited without a single tremor.
However, changes were detected on the outside.
The mages of the Baharuth Empire could observe the coordinates where the Thousand Kingdom existed, but they could no longer read the flow of mana within.
The priests of the Slane Theocracy could not grasp the essence of that castle even through prayer.
The Dragon Lords of the Argland Council State sensed the rift in the sky, but they could not be certain of what lay beyond it.
The Wild Magic of the Platinum Dragon Lord lost its flow near the outer walls of the Thousand Kingdom.
The Thousand Kingdom was there.
Yet, it did not fully exist within the laws of this world.
Seated upon his throne, Caesar spoke quietly.
“Gather information.”
Ea replied.
“Command accepted.”
The observation devices of Sector 10, Alexandria, were activated all at once.
An invisible information-gathering net spread across the skies above the Thousand Kingdom.
Mana flows, national borders, racial distributions, military strength, religious systems, economic structures, and the reactions of threatening entities were organized in sequence.
A moment later, Ea’s final report was submitted.
The report was brief.
“This world is divided.”
Caesar listened without a word.
“Humanity is weak, demi-humans are strong but fractured, and the Dragon Lords are wary but hesitant. External Gods are encroaching.”
Various figures appeared on the blue screen.
“There are no immediate threats to the Thousand Kingdom.”
A faint smile touched Michael’s lips.
It was an obvious result.
The nations of this world could not threaten the Thousand Kingdom.
It wasn't arrogance; it was calculation.
However, Ea’s report was not yet over.
“However.”
Caesar’s gaze shifted to the screen.
“There exists one unobservable variable.”
A single name was displayed on the last line of the report.
Iel.
A brief silence fell over the Throne of Heaven.
Michael looked up.
“Unobservable?”
Ea replied.
“The coordinates of said entity are currently unknown. However, they are causing abnormal voids in the causality of this world and the Thousand Kingdom’s future prediction formulas. Risk level cannot be calculated.”
Gabriel’s voice came through the communication network.
“How interesting. To think this world has a variable.”
Caesar leaned back against his throne.
“A variable, is it...?”
A very faint smile appeared on his lips.
“Very well. Record it.”
Ea replied.
“Recording complete.”
Caesar looked down at the map of the world once more.
Northeastern Re-Estize Kingdom.
A small village sat beneath the shadow of the Thousand Kingdom.
The name of that village was Carne.
A girl in that village had just seen the castle in the sky.
And then she had forgotten.
But she could not forget entirely.
That night.
Enri Emmot dreamed.
In her dream, the sky was split open with golden light.
And beyond that rift, someone in black robes was looking down upon the world.
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