Just as the wizards began dividing up the City of Emptiness, the dark purple sky rapidly faded from dull to transparent.
Benjamin put away the sealing crystal, raised his head, and looked at the sky.
The other wizards noticed it as well and quickly finished dividing the spoils.
Above the ruins of the City of Emptiness, the wizards floated in twos and threes. No one spoke. Everyone was waiting for the final invitation.
Soon, the sky split open.
A long, narrow black fissure stretched from above the clouds into the high sky. It was over several thousand meters long, narrowing gradually from both ends toward the middle, while its widest point exceeded a hundred meters.
It looked as though someone had sliced the vault of heaven with an incomparably sharp scalpel.
Alston's projection condensed from the light within the fissure. Though his gaze appeared unfocused, everyone present felt that they had been noticed.
The Level 8 Archwizard swept his gaze over everyone present. After confirming the state of the plane and the condition of the wizards, he nodded.
The movement was slight, yet every wizard present read unmistakable satisfaction in that nod.
"Thank you all for your efforts."
Alston's voice was not loud, but every word seemed to come from all directions at once. "Next, this plane's society needs stability, its environment needs restoration, and the production mechanism of the anomalies needs to be readjusted. These tasks are not suitable for outside forces to intervene in."
He raised his right hand, palm upward, his five fingers slightly spread.
At his gesture, the enormous fissure stretching across the sky slowly expanded, and the blackness along its edges became even purer.
"So, please leave with your spoils."
His tone was flat, but the meaning was clear: he was seeing them out.
Benjamin