Flower Room.
Imu stood before the enormous world map, her gaze fixed on the Kingdom of Lulusia.
She picked up a pen.
Swish—
One black line slashed across the map, then another.
A huge X covered Lulusia's territory.
By evening, dusk lay heavy over the land.
The people of Lulusia were still enjoying the peace of a day drawing to a close. Cooking smoke drifted through the streets, and voices sounded idle and relaxed.
Without warning, blinding white light engulfed the world, so oppressive it was hard to breathe.
Boom—!!!
The first dazzling pillar of destruction slammed down from the sky!
With no warning, pure white light drove straight into the heart of the capital.
The stately palace, the crisscrossing streets, the rows of houses, the lively roadside taverns, and the countless civilians strolling, chatting, or hurrying on their way...
Every living person and every object it touched was swallowed whole in an instant.
The destruction came so fast that even the flames and roaring shockwave lagged half a beat behind, with no time to erupt.
By the time the survivors on the outskirts came to their senses, the center of the capital, prosperous for a hundred years, was gone.
No broken walls. No scorched earth. Not even a wisp of smoke.
Only a vast, pitch-black pit remained.
Passersby who had been discussing grain prices outside a tavern seconds ago, vendors packing up to go home, carriages and livestock parked along the street—countless living things had vanished into nothing.
"Wh-what was that thing?!"
The survivors in the distance stood frozen, trembling hands raised toward the sky, their voices thick with terror and confusion.
The world fell silent. No one answered.
A second pillar of destruction followed, then a third and a fourth, tearing through the pale sky and striking