Milmina's words made Gawain feel as if he had grasped something in an instant. Vague clues and thoughts rose and fell in his mind, yet remained unclear, as though shrouded in mist. A thoughtful look appeared on his face, and those hazy ideas gradually took shape, making his expression turn serious. "You mean the Azure Network can be seen not only as a 'pathway' through which magic flows within our planet, but also as an actual 'road' leading to various realms, including the Umbral Realm and the elemental realms? And those Dark Priests... may be trying to open an unprecedentedly large passage? The anomalies encountered by Winter's Wrath and the Antavien expedition should both be related to this incomplete passage?"
"This may indeed be a passage, but I strongly doubt whether it is the Dark Priests' plan or the Sentinel's," Milmina said, looking into Gawain's eyes. "Do you remember our previous conclusion? The 'cooperation' between the Sentinel and those End of All Things Cultists was not as seamless as we initially believed. Behind the grand vision it painted for Bolken, the Sentinel had another, even darker conspiracy..."
"You mean..."
"The Dark Priests' goal is to create a controlled deep blue eruption and transform this planet into an eternal wasteland enclosed by a barrier. That is their ultimate objective. Whatever new actions they take should theoretically be advancing toward that goal," Milmina said gravely. "But in my view, using the Azure Network to open 'passages' to other realms does nothing to help achieve that goal. It may even cause their Barrier Plan to fail by prematurely consuming the Azure Network's energy. After all, though the Azure Network theoretically possesses inexhaustible energy, there is still a limit to how much it can sustain in a short period. It cannot be squandered carelessly.