The pillar of light faded, and the sensation of weightlessness vanished.
Bai Zhu's feet touched solid ground, though he still felt a little unsteady.
Before he could complain about the property fees, the sight before him left him stunned.
Beneath his feet was the top of the Black Tower, but the tower was sinking downward at a slow yet irreversible pace.
Looking out, Lakeheart Oasis was gone.
The emerald lake had vanished without a trace, exposing a dry, cracked lakebed. The once-lush trees had all turned to ash, leaving behind nothing but barren sand.
A massive vortex slowly rotated beneath the Black Tower, dragging the entire tower and the land it had taken root in down into the depths of the desert.
On the cracked ground in the distance, several tiny black figures were looking up in his direction.
Ging, Razor, List, and, on the other side, Milluki, Piyu, and the others.
Even from so far away, Bai Zhu could sense Milluki's resentment, practically bursting through the heavens.
"Bai Zhu!"
Milluki's voice came through the amplification equipment he had modified himself, distorted by fury.
"What kind of slave contract did you sign in there?! Why was I, a perfectly respectable technical consultant, working for you for free the whole time?!"
Bai Zhu dug at his ear, too lazy to respond.
Just then, the light overhead dimmed.
A huge shadow enveloped the sinking Black Tower.
Bai Zhu looked up.
The man-sized owl from inside the tower was gone.
In its place was a Giant One-Eyed Owl whose wingspan could nearly blot out half the sky.
Its newly grown silver-white feathers unfurled in the gale. Every time it circled over the tower, a section of the tower's damaged ancient patterns lit up, as though carrying out a final handover.
In the distance,