Enzworth Castle.
A slovenly middle-aged man in flip-flops, black casual clothes, and hair as unkempt as weeds swayed his way to the empty pinnacle of the tower.
"Eeya..."
Yet he did not stop. With a raised hand, he pushed open the half-closed door of light at the end of the balcony, bent down as he stepped through it, and continued onward.
Starlight descending from the sky formed a transparent, invisible spiral staircase that wound upward. The scenery beneath his feet became tiny and distant, while everything around him lay jumbled and fractured, like pieced-together mirrors.
At the end of the path, stars moved in orderly ranks, appearing and vanishing. Countless glimmering chip-like prisms refracted the profound darkness of the cosmos, forming a vast and mysterious palace in the clouds, like the orbit of an astrolabe.
Amid twelve enormous black pillars that glowed from within, a black six-sided cube spun in midair. Endless wails and countless malices flowed within it.
Yet no matter how they struggled, they could never break free of that ever-changing cage.
A beautiful woman with silver hair and crimson eyes knelt at the center of the shining star chart, her hands clasped together. She seemed to be praying, yet also seemed to be asleep.
Her slender figure appeared to be gradually swallowed by the depth and darkness of the universe surrounding her.
In the solemn, oppressive atmosphere, the slovenly middle-aged man instinctively stopped. After a long pause, he respectfully bowed and coughed softly, offering a slight reminder.
"Your Highness..."
The silver-haired beauty beneath the star paths stirred at the shoulder, casually rose from the floor, and turned toward the empty-handed visitor with a thoughtful look.
"It failed?"
"Ahem, there was a little accident..."
Darius scratched his head and explained the circumstances with an embarrassed expression.
"Mm. If