Darkness, dampness.
As if submerged in warm yet viscous liquid, Gordon's consciousness was gradually dragged into deeper layers.
When Gordon woke again, he discovered that someone had arrived long before him.
"Long time no see, Director Gordon..."
A low, middle-aged woman's voice rang out. "Should I call you Inspector Gordon now?"
Gordon slowly opened his eyes and found himself in a space flooded with crimson light.
Unlike the waiting room for the Full Moon Ritual, this place was not purely dark. It resembled the depths of the sea.
A black crescent moon hung in the nearly black, deep-red sky. Beneath their sufficiently tall chairs, the Blood Sea rose and fell with the rhythm of waves, churning up vast amounts of foam.
At the very center of the nine chairs stood a gigantic silver-white stone statue of a fully armed knight. It was roughly five or six meters tall, with both hands resting on a greatsword planted before it, like a stone monument piercing the heavens and earth.
Yet the knight's legs, planted in the Blood Sea, and the tip of its blade had both been stained red with blood. The sight was horrifying.
This was also Gordon's first time participating in the New Moon Ritual.
The bloody stench filling the surroundings displeased him. He subconsciously furrowed his brows slightly and looked to the left.
Two people had arrived before him.
That meant both of them were in Avalon, and their total levels were higher than his.
The first was an old white-haired man dressed in a simple black suit, sitting ramrod straight. His belly was enormous, bulging even through his suit. The old man's hands rested on his knees, and that alone gave off a faint sense of oppression. When he saw Gordon appear, he gave him a slight nod.