Ultimate Darkness.
This was the description closest to the essence of that vortex. The name seemed to have become a concept, overriding the thoughts of anyone who witnessed it.
Alice Kuonji wanted to look away, but she felt as though even the thought of doing so had been numbed by the cold. Her fingertips felt petrified, and her legs trembled slightly. She did not know whether the numbness came from the cold or the horror before her.
Goose bumps had already risen on her right wrist. Perhaps it was her imagination, but Alice Kuonji vaguely saw what looked like a blue-gray tint covering her fair arm.
The Barrier and perception she had spread out like a blanket had instead become a disadvantage at this moment.
If I keep looking, I'll become one with it.
Alice Kuonji clenched her fists, slowly digging her nails into her skin, hoping to use the pain to break free of her current state.
But before she could do so...
That voice descended again.
"Stop. This has gone beyond a greeting. The Shadow Realm doesn't need her yet."
Without the slightest warning, the vortex of shadows vanished the instant the voice sounded.
For some reason, Alice Kuonji vaguely sensed a trace of aggrievement coming from the center of the vortex just before it disappeared.
"Who are you?!"
Alice Kuonji listened intently for the direction of the voice, her expression grave, and demanded an answer again.
Although she lived in seclusion in a backwater like Misaki City, was not a mage of the Clock Tower, and had little contact with the modern world of Magecraft, as long as something like that existed in this world, anyone connected to it could not possibly be unknown.
Those broken whispers from earlier still echoed in the Witch's ears, making her