Almost the instant they appeared, a shadow wreathed in urgent arcs of electricity arrived in a flash.
That figure stirred boundless rules into violent tremors, and many of the watching Authority Holders instinctively looked away the moment their gazes touched her.
It was Lilith.
Her soul body looked somewhat fainter than before, and the arcs dancing around her had dimmed as well. Clearly, she had been through a brutal battle.
However, when she saw Winnie and the others following behind Shen Yi, the face that was usually nearly expressionless instantly turned extremely grim.
"Shen Yi."
Lilith's voice carried barely suppressed agitation and a trace of confusion.
"Did you just get back? Xilos and the others are one thing, but why did you bring Fei Mi and the rest with you?"
Her gaze lingered particularly on Winnie and Xilos for a moment before sweeping over Wen Ke'er, whom Shen Yi was protecting with particular care, and Fei Mi, who was curiously looking around. Her expression was incomparably complicated.
"What happened to Alvin?"
Shen Yi ignored Lilith's questioning and went straight to the heart of the matter. His gaze swept over the devastation around them, his expression darkening.
"And what's with these unfamiliar Authority Holders?"
Lilith took a deep breath and tried to calm herself, but her voice remained taut.
"Not long after you left, an unprecedented upheaval of rules occurred Beyond the World. The source was unknown, but it spread extremely far, affecting nearly every known region Beyond the World."
"After the upheaval, everything changed."
A trace of barely perceptible coldness entered Lilith's voice.
"The rules Beyond the World had previously been quite lifeless, so they produced very few Beyond-World Undead. But for some reason, the activity of these Rule Fragments has now surged. The rules in many once-stable regions have