Setting out for distant lands

After Dago obtained the "key," the void space before him lost its last source of support and began rapidly collapsing.

This collapse was not the crumbling of rubble, but the dissolution of rules on a deeper level.

The elemental particles that had formed the garden lost the will governing them and began reverting to their most primordial state of chaos.

The colorful sea of flowers faded into gray-white dust in an instant. The sky curled and blackened like a scorched scroll, exposing the terrifying currents of the void beyond.

Dago's expression was stern, silver light swirling in his eyes—a sign that the [Eye of Truth] was operating at its limit.

In his vision, the destruction of the entire world was a vast, brutal feast of migrating energy.

He did not panic. Instead, like a veteran wizard dissecting a corpse, he calmly observed the annihilation of every inch of space.

For wizards, destruction often held more readily apparent truths than creation.

"No lingering consciousness of higher beings, no hidden dimensional traps. The chains of rules have broken completely..."

Dago deployed the [Eye of Truth], carefully examining every corner of the space. Finding nothing, he withdrew before it disintegrated completely.

"Gurgle—"

A whirlpool several meters across abruptly appeared on the mirror-still lake.

This was not the natural rotation of water, but a physical phenomenon caused by spatial compression.

Water pressure and spatial repulsion reached a delicate balance at that moment. From the center of that equilibrium, a tall, handsome young man emerged and landed lightly on the lakeshore.

Not a single drop of lake water stained his wizard's robe. A force field barely visible to the naked eye surrounded him, keeping moisture and dust at bay.

He turned around. The whirlpool frantically swallowed fish and shrimp, then vanished a moment later, leaving