The cramped room was filled with a heavy atmosphere. In the darkness, there was only a round table and a crystal emitting a dim glow that illuminated several pale faces. A silver magic formation that constantly changed shape flickered on the ceiling. A mercury-like substance seeped from it, writhing as it filled every corner of the room--this place lay dozens of meters underground, and the air was so murky it had nearly stopped circulating.
Brando raised his head and glanced at everyone present--Dwarf King Kalifen, the Grand Commander of the Fanzan Knight Order, Solomon, Antitina, Isidore, Yalta, Prince Nair, the Grand Druid, and Grand Holy Seat Vala.
After confirming that everyone else was ready, he carefully took out the five gray-brown Stone Fragments and placed them on the tabletop before them.
At that moment, the mercury on the ceiling began to writhe, as if cutting off some kind of information in the space. But it might also have been because the Twilight Dragon no longer cared about this tiny beacon. In any case, the terrifying pressure Brando had personally experienced at Fatan Port did not appear underground once again.
Everyone instinctively raised their heads and looked at the ceiling. It might have been an illusion, but it was enough to make them uneasy.
"Continue," Isidore said.
Brando nodded. Though they were in darkness, he could still see clearly. Carefully, he fitted the five Stone Fragments together on the tabletop. When the ordinary fragments were first joined, a miraculous scene unfolded.
A mass of swiftly expanding light appeared in the darkness.
The assembled fragments floated up, forming a sand table. Mountains and rivers were carved across its surface, along with green forests. It was an unfamiliar land, yet somehow seemed vaguely familiar. Haruze drew a soft breath beside the table. The