An invisible bullet crossed the boundary between reality and the Void.
It stirred not a ripple of energy, yet in an instant, it struck the Divine Kingdom Cluster built from endless lava high above.
The Lava Tyrant's will jolted upon his Divine Throne.
He had felt no attack.
But his Divine Kingdom, the extension of his Divine Authority, had betrayed him.
The roaring river of lava, formed from pure rage and the will to destroy, abruptly slowed.
Its waters no longer burned. Instead, they gave off a deathly chill. The countless souls wailing beneath the riverbed no longer cried out in pain, but murmured with numb satisfaction.
The Eternal Flame burning on the peaks began to flicker, its light dimming and fading.
The peaks themselves seemed to lose the force that held them aloft. They began to collapse inward at an imperceptible pace, dissolving on their own.
The fierce, brutal presence that threatened to incinerate all things was rapidly draining from the entire Divine Kingdom.
In its place came a fallen sense of self-loathing and self-exile.
The Divine Kingdom was sinking into Perdition.
"What's happening?!"
A Lower God who wielded "black smoke" discovered in horror that the defensive barrier he had built with Divine Might was being corroded by the Divine Kingdom itself.
"Hold it together! Pour in all your Divine Might and repair the law nodes!"
For the first time, the Lava Tyrant's roar carried an emotion other than anger.
Bewilderment.
He had just withdrawn all his power into his Divine Kingdom and built what he believed was a perfect defense.
But the enemy had not attacked his barrier at all.
The enemy had poisoned the "soul" of his Divine Kingdom.
The gods under his command dared not delay. Streams of flame-wreathed Divine Might in every color surged into