As a unique border formed purely from data and events, the very name "Darknet" existed in contrast to the Event Matrix in the open.
Strictly speaking, it did not have much of a physical component. It did not even occupy a third as much space as the Ivory Tower. Yet in reality, its true self could be said to spread throughout the entire realm.
A colossal entity formed by information channels distributed across the Present Realm, the borderlands, and even countless hells.
Intangible networks, physical cables, and servers that existed either in secrecy or in plain sight coiled like shadows around the network spanning the entire realm. Indeed, it was a vital part of that network.
Even today, it still played a crucial role.
From the very beginning of the plan, the Darknet had existed as Heaven's shadow upon the earth, an interface and hub linking Heaven with the entire realm. Like pre-laid water and power lines, it was indispensable.
It had even once possessed the authority to connect to the Silver Sea.
Unfortunately, with Heaven's fall, everything had changed completely.
Most connections and passages had collapsed amid the turmoil, severed into layer upon layer of complex and bizarre labyrinths. Even now, countless deranged and shattered souls wandered within them.
And because it bore responsibility for managing those fragments, the Darknet remained under the Unified Bureau's and the Continuance Institute's close surveillance. Yet because of its special nature, it could not be eradicated completely.
More than that, times changed. To endure, one had no choice but to follow the tide.
The Darknet's inherently uncontrollable nature ensured that it would become a refuge for all manner of darkness. At the same time, its vast coverage and convenience gradually turned it into an incomparably enormous information exchange.
The Darknet of today contained