As Night Lady rose from her throne, Gawain distinctly sensed the "atmosphere" around them change. Centered on the throne, the change rapidly spread across the entire gray-white desert. The once-chaotic yet fairly bright sky abruptly darkened, as though night were falling. The invisible wind in the desert stilled, and every grain of sand and dust lay prostrate upon the ground. The distant City of Nightfall gradually vanished into the darkness as well. Within mere seconds, this vast Divine Kingdom of Shadow was left with only the purest, most monotonous scenery—
The desert, the throne, and the ancient god and visitors before it.
Night Lady stepped beside the throne, and Gawain's gaze was irresistibly drawn toward it. A streak of Flowing Light swiftly caught his attention. He saw the towering back of the throne ripple faintly, and then the surface that had once merely been carved from giant stone suddenly turned as deep as the night itself, transforming into a darkness that seemed capable of swallowing and embracing everything. Given the mountain-like scale of the throne, that darkness felt as though it were bearing down on them!
Then Gawain saw pinpricks of light emerge from that darkness... Not just upon the throne—even the sky of this Divine Kingdom of Shadow began to reveal the same starlight as the throne!
A star chart—a star chart on a scale so immense it was shocking—began spreading throughout the Divine Kingdom of Shadow, centered on Night Lady's throne. The desert, once covered by gray-white skies, suddenly seemed to float in boundless space. Night shrouded the land, stars filled their line of sight, and between the brilliant stars overhead and the radiant light upon the throne, routes could be seen leaping from star to star. Countless markers appeared around celestial bodies, and tiny flickers occasionally moved