Ace looked down at the Flame Seed Stone. "Do you know what this is?"
"Of course." Rayleigh nodded. "Roger possessed it for a time, but he knew he was not its fated bearer. Before he died, he entrusted it to me and told me to give it to the true bearer when the time was right—his bloodline."
Rayleigh motioned for Ace to follow him toward the other side of the room. "Come. Let me show you one of the most important legacies Roger left behind."
A concealed mechanism in the wall responded to Rayleigh's fingerprints and voice, slowly opening to reveal a passage leading deeper inside. As they proceeded, the surrounding space gradually widened until they finally arrived at an enormous circular hall.
Everything here carried the aura of ancient technology—crystal-clear pillars supported the dome, intricate energy circuits covered the floor, and at the center stood a massive hemispherical device projecting a three-dimensional image of the entire planet. Certain regions on the image were marked in red, indicating abnormal energy fluctuations.
"This is the Miniature Spectrum Temple Branch Station," Rayleigh explained. "Roger found the method for constructing it at Laugh Tale and secretly replicated one here. It can monitor the state of the Dimensional Barrier across the entire planet."
Ace studied everything in amazement. "This is Ancient Kingdom technology?"
"Only a small part of it." Rayleigh walked to the control console and brought up more detailed data. "The true Spectrum Temple has the ability to control and repair the Dimensional Barrier. This branch station can only monitor it."
The data showed that the red-marked regions were expanding rapidly, already covering nearly a third of the map. A countdown flashed in the corner of the display—72 hours.
"What is that?" Ace pointed at the countdown.
Rayleigh's expression became exceptionally grave. "It's