In Kroya's imagination, the merfolk's realm should have been utterly dreamlike, filled with magnificent, wondrous sights beyond mortal comprehension.
But the scene that appeared before him...
Was not merely ugly. It could even be called dilapidated-
Before him lay a stretch of cracked earth, with dark brown flecks of light glimmering in the fissures that extended toward the distant indigo sea.
Ruins covered the land. Towering stone pillars and murals on crumbling walls seemed to speak of a realm that had once stood here.
A realm that had once known glory.
The only thing here that remained intact was the moonlight.
Almost tangible moonlight spilled across the land, its radiance utterly unaffected, forming a stark contrast with the devastated earth.
One remained eternally unchanged, while the other had fallen into ruin.
That stark contrast made the boundary between reality and fantasy all the clearer, leaving him somewhat uneasy.
Kroya stood on the earth and frowned slightly.
He felt the magic within his body trembling, as though it wanted to emerge and illuminate this desolate world.
"Desolation..."
"Deathly silence..."
"A miracle..."
He seemed to hear voices echoing around him. He was certain of their source: the entire world.
"Could it be..."
This world seemed to be an enormous "living being." The yearning transmitted through the Astral Body Inscription Technique soared to the heavens, as though it were waiting for someone to answer its call.
He narrowed his eyes and tried to activate the Astral Body Inscription Technique, but it did not work.
These voices had not been translated by the Astral Body Inscription Technique. They were manifested by his magic and the All Things Communication Spell he had learned.
"What are you looking at?"
A voice came from beside him, interrupting Kroya's thoughts.
He turned to see Alia, the merfolk Archmage