In the Umbral Realm, beneath the Golden Oak Tree in Defiance Courtyard, only a few dozen minutes remained before the appointed time.
Ever since the ritual to sacrifice all the letters had succeeded, the Divine Authority Council had begun a series of complex preparations. Now, all preparations were complete.
The Golden Oak Tree's magnificent crown covered the vast courtyard, its faint glow dispelling the eternal gloom of the Umbral Realm. Around the oak, large crystal towers stood in neat rows among the nursery plots, releasing hazy radiance and maintaining the Anti-Divinity Barrier at full power with a steady humming sound. Meanwhile, within nearby Defiance Fortress, an emergency command center had been established to coordinate the situation. Experienced technical priests and Discipline Monks from the Divine Authority Council monitored the parameters sent back by every piece of equipment.
Although Night Lady's clean, surgical strike had stripped away the gods' "human halves" with remarkable precision, leaving little need to worry about divinity leakage or mental corruption, Gawain had always believed in being prepared. Gathering the human halves of so many gods together was an astonishing undertaking. Even he could not be certain events would unfold as expected, so there was no harm in having the Divine Authority Council prepare every possible safeguard.
Beyond the courtyard, shrouded in all manner of hazy lights, lay a vast open area illuminated by temporary lamps. It was the gathering place for this meeting.
Rather than a gathering place, it was more like a wilderness that retained the Umbral Realm's original appearance. Dark earth stretched infinitely into the distance through chaos, crisscrossing fissures and trenches covered the ground, and black boulders that seemed to have lost gravity occasionally spun and floated through the air. At this "bottom of the world," the wilderness resembled an absurd dream after