Merrick's spiritual power was not as high as Duke's, but he seemed completely unconcerned about Bell and did not take him seriously.
As Alfred finished explaining the rules, the Void Corridor officially opened. Everyone on the platform instantly vanished, entering the curtain of light overhead.
After a burst of spatial fluctuations, Duke found himself in a dim world.
A deathly silent forest surrounded him. The trees were tall and twisted, their trunks a deep charred black, as though they had been scorched by raging flames, their surfaces covered in deep cracks and knotted growths.
Every branch was bare and thrust toward the gray sky, grotesque and hideous like countless skeletal arms reaching desperately toward the heavens.
There was no wind, no insects chirping, no birds calling. Even the movement of the air was so faint that it was almost imperceptible.
Only a bone-deep chill and the decaying aura of all things withering filled every inch of space.
Duke looked up. Above him was not a sky, but countless dark shadows of varying sizes floating overhead.
Each of those shadows was a fragment region. Some were extremely far away, while others were close enough to cover vast portions of the sky.
In the far distance, he could see a sky full of stars. Starlight shone through the gaps between those fragments, serving as one of the few sources of light.
"This should be near Region Three." Merrick was beside him as well. After observing their surroundings, he spoke.
Region Three was one of the fifteen regions with teleportation entrances. Everyone had either been sent into one of those fifteen regions or to an area near one of the ten regions.
The Wizard Council had scattered everyone apart, doing its best to prevent too many people from gathering in one place.
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