Europe, Black Forest.
The ancient woodland was now shrouded in a layer of gray-green mist visible to the naked eye.
The air in the forest was no longer fresh. Instead, it was filled with the cloying stench of decay and Withering, and one breath was enough to make the lungs tighten.
A portal made of countless mirror shards unfolded in a clearing. Night Cherry Tangle, Dawn, and Mirror stepped out of it.
The portal silently closed behind them, leaving not the slightest trace.
Dawn frowned and waved a hand in front of his nose.
"This smell is way too strong. Did those two gods use rotting corpses as perfume?"
Mirror said nothing. She merely reached out and brushed her fingertip across a dead giant tree.
Beneath the bark was not dry wood, but a paste-like substance formed from rotting flesh. It was still writhing faintly.
"The Life Law here has been polluted by the Divine Authority of 'Withering.'"
Night Cherry Tangle's gaze turned toward the depths of the Black Forest.
In his perception, two sinister points of Divinity were tightly entwined, like twin venomous snakes in a nest of poison, constantly spreading plague and death outward.
"They're in there. They haven't moved."
"Then we'll just fight our way in."
Dawn rolled his shoulders, his entire body already entering combat readiness.
At the same time, Magic City, Apex Guild Command Center.
Qin Chuan stood before the enormous floor-to-ceiling window. His gaze seemed to pierce through endless space and land upon the forest shrouded in death.
Three faint data streams hovered in the air before him, feeding back information in real time.
They were the live updates transmitted by the Chalice Marks belonging to Night Cherry Tangle and the other two.
He saw Gordongel's soul being dismantled. He saw the End