The humming from the moving object overhead suddenly changed. Everyone in the valley looked up, as did the visitors outside the mountains whose attention had already wandered. Seeing the metal ring freeze in midair, they all realized something was happening.
The eight people on the terrace perked up, and their leader shouted again, "Now!"
The Void Flame around him suddenly surged, and the same happened to the other seven.
As all eight exerted their full power, their Void Flames condensed into something like a rainbow pillar of light and shot into the entire metal ring. The ring spun faster and faster, yet the winds it stirred grew weaker and weaker. Its humming gradually softened too, but that faint sound clung to everyone's ears and refused to fade, leaving them deeply uncomfortable.
Some used magic to block their ears, yet could still hear that mind-scrambling sound. Some even felt nauseated enough to vomit.
It felt as though their internal organs had all been dropped into boiling water to cook.
The distant birds fled even farther away once more, and every grain of sand on the beach seemed to tremble.
On the luxurious, palace-like ship, the honored guests could no longer remain seated and rose one after another. The waves had fallen into complete disorder, trembling with irregular ripples.
Suddenly, the back of the metal ring-the side facing the sky-erupted with a vast expanse of billowing, radiant light. Shadowy darkness appeared wherever the radiance was uneven, pressing it flat, as though that darkness had swallowed the light.
The unbearable sound vanished abruptly as well, seemingly swallowed by that darkness too.
In an instant, peace returned to heaven and earth. Everyone snapped out of their bewilderment and steadied their minds to study the phenomenon overhead.
Those standing on the mountaintop directly facing the