As Allen gazed sharply southward, considering how to counter the schemes Sauron had woven from evil, another gaze was upon him.
On that land shrouded in darkness, where even sunlight could not reach, an evil being was likewise watching Allen's figure, deep in thought.
He was a gigantic Evil Eye at the summit of a pitch-black tower, wreathed in unbearably scorching flames. Merely looking at him would make a person's eyes sting.
At the center of the Evil Eye lay darkness of unfathomable depth. Anyone whose eyes could withstand the searing flames would see a terrifying, towering figure within that darkness that drew them in.
This was Sauron's new form, born of his complete fusion with Barad-dûr.
Until the Dark Lord recovered his most precious treasure, this was the only form in which he could appear, for he lacked the strength to fashion a true body for himself.
At that moment, Sauron was using the Palantír Stone to spy on everything. His gaze hung in the sky like that of a sovereign, looking down upon Allen's small but clearly visible figure.
And what had just happened left his thoughts unsettled.
The scheme he had painstakingly arranged had just been easily crushed by his enemy, without inflicting any losses at all. This made Sauron even warier of the human in his sight.
Yet he felt no discouragement. Renowned for his cunning and ruthlessness, Sauron possessed another quality as well: abundant patience.
Besides, Sauron did not believe his efforts had yielded nothing. He thought he had found Allen's weakness and tested the limits of this human's power.
If an ambush could not kill a powerful enemy, then insidious schemes could still lead others into corruption, achieving his secret, unspeakable aims.
This was a technique Sauron had learned from his master, Melkor.
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