Unlike her last visit to Dream City through a relatively "proper" ritual, Angel had used her connection with Anne to step directly out of the Mirror World and into this gap between the Spirit World and reality. As such, she did not enter the Memorial Hall dedicated to the Night Emperor Trunsoest, but appeared in midair, like a mirror image becoming real.
Beneath her, most of the forests, hills, and wilderness that had surrounded the floating island had vanished. The sheer drop now extended right to the edge of the city, and even the ranches and farms originally built around it were crowded along its outskirts. A little farther out lay an endless abyss.
Its area has shrunk by more than half... No, judging by the floating island's volume, two-thirds of the Ghost Empire has disappeared... Is this an aftereffect of the last catastrophe, or has something gone wrong with Anne's cooperation with Amon's Avatar?
Angel instinctively performed a quick divination, but found it almost meaningless under the secrecy effect of the Planeswalker characteristic. Then she sensed that, as the floating island below had lost volume, its "density" had increased. The whole structure was more solid and sturdy, transformed from an undefended city into a "war fortress" of sorts.
They must have used the Duke of Entropy's power to distort reality, perhaps along with a Catastrophe Demoness's ability to fold some objects into the Mirror World... Angel analyzed.
Once she realized that these were most likely Anne's preparations for the coming "war," she stopped worrying and used her aerial vantage point to survey her surroundings. She soon discovered that most residents were still living and working normally, unaffected by Dream City's reduced size.
Of course, people occasionally looked beyond the city, their worry plain on their faces.
Over a thousand