Arthur froze where he stood, watching helplessly as that blackness flowed past before his eyes along the patterns.
Those were the Tower of Erudition's inscriptions, inscriptions he had personally restored and inspected. This network connected to the tower's foundation, to the massive Bronze Sin pillar underground, and spread into the sealing foundations beneath most of Bronze City. Something was using those patterns to burrow into the deepest depths of the city.
Hilde's face went white in an instant.
"Something terrible has happened."
That was all she managed to force out, her voice trembling slightly.
Beneath Bronze City, there had always been more than one Collapse Pit. Whether it was North Spinning District and the Northwest Branch, which had long since been filled and crushed shut, or the Old Council Square passage beneath Glock's feet that had been left for descent, the Bronze Patterns linking everything underground lit up abruptly the instant that darkness sank into the deepest point.
Dim blue light surged through the grooves of the inscriptions, and the entire network looked as if someone had lit a fire beneath it.
No one knew what exactly lay buried beneath the deepest part of those patterns.
Then, the Ghouls scattered underground, gnawing at copper in every direction, all paused at once.
The next moment, they turned around and surged toward the surface.
There was none of the usual chaos of a beast horde rushing blindly about. They had clearly heard some silent command.
Within the domain, the Guardian narrowed his eyes and stared at the place where the stone had melted in.
The instant the stone sank in, it was not just Bronze City that went wrong.
Something had changed in him as well, along with the Person on the Wall before him.
The Guardian could clearly sense that invisible