Everyone's eyes fell upon the fist-sized gray crystals floating at the center of the raised platform.
Aldric, president of the World Alchemists Association, stepped forward.
He was tall and lean, with graying hair, a gaunt face, and thin-rimmed glasses.
Standing there, he raised his right hand. The crowd below fell silent, leaving only the low moan of wind passing over the square.
Aldric's voice carried clearly to every ear. "Today is the day this world enters a new stage."
"Our alchemy has reached a bottleneck. Every step forward has become difficult and prolonged."
"Because the world we rely upon can no longer bear any more laws and energy."
"And the world itself has reached its limit. It needs only one opportunity to break through."
Aldric pointed at the gray crystals floating at the center of the platform, then lowered his arm to his side.
"These Worldstones are core condensations I obtained over the years by using alchemy in the void to refine other worlds. Each one contains the remains and fragments of laws from a small world."
"Tonight, we will merge these Worldstones into our own world and begin a world ascension ritual, allowing our world to cross that threshold and become a true large world!"
The entire venue erupted. Every alchemist was thrilled.
This was a historic moment. If the ascension succeeded, alchemists would be able to go even further!
Aldric stood at the edge of the platform, watching the surging sea of people below.
Hundreds of thousands of faces flickered in the gray-white light, and every pair of eyes reflected the floating Worldstones above.
The gray crystals rotated slowly, their surfaces occasionally flashing with scattered light, like scales revealed when a sleeping beast turned over.
These Worldstones were the essence of worlds. To alchemists, they were the most