Return and Review

The black hall was crowned by a deep-blue dome, where runes and streams of light shone like countless stars, giving it a sense of boundless vastness.

They were no mere decorations, but an Astral Sealing Array of extraordinary complexity. The paths of its simulated stars constantly monitored the magical tides of the Southern Wizard Continent.

Beneath the dome, seven figures sat in massive metal chairs engraved with different runic insignias. The seven tower masters of the Thorn Ring had gathered.

Oppressive, heavy waves of mental power filled the air. Even light seemed distorted here, unable to travel in a straight line.

"The Old One Revival Society's latest uprising has left the Black Marsh and Lava Brotherhood badly weakened. The Water Palace may be wiped off the map of the south entirely."

"The Thorn Ring hasn't been established in the south for long, and our foundations are still shallow... Now it seems that was a blessing."

The speaker was a handsome middle-aged man with a brass pocket watch embedded in his right eye socket. Its hands ticked ceaselessly as he spoke with a hint of ruefulness.

The watch was no ordinary object, but a high-level magical device capable of interfering with the flow of time in a small area. As its hands moved, the air around him seemed to pass through imperceptible cycles of decay and renewal.

"I heard of the Old One Revival Society back when I was in the Central Continent. Supposedly, it orchestrated the fall of a Central Wizard Empire. That battle engulfed several Wizard Empires and drew in dozens of large wizard organizations. Even a Sixth Circle Wizard perished."

"I read an account of that battle in an old book and took it for an ancient anecdote. I never imagined I'd actually cross paths with that evil