"What is that in the sky?" The blonde Chief of Staff, who was working, heard a shout of alarm and immediately stood up and looked out the window. The sky, once overcast with clouds, had now darkened even further. The snow-white jasmine flowers danced in the cold wind, while above this sea of jasmine, a giant whirlpool was slowly forming at the center of the endless clouds. Thump——Thump——Thump—— Dull heartbeat sounds reverberated through the air, as if something unknowable was passing through the cracks between worlds, rapidly drawing nearer. With the dull heartbeat, the whirlpool in the sky became more pronounced. The blonde Chief of Staff gazed at the whirlpool overhead, took a deep breath, and countless anomalies that had always lingered in her mind connected into lines. The deepest worry in her heart had become reality at this moment. Numerous plans for crisis response seemed to have faded into insignificance under the pressure of this indescribable essence of life. No one knew how to respond or resist. Death was so close to them, seemingly separated by just a thin membrane. And now, the heartbeat that was drawing nearer was tearing that membrane apart, bit by bit. The staff member beside her looked at the blonde Chief of Staff with panic in their eyes, filled with helplessness. No one had experienced a true Evil God Advent before, but the Federation never lacked news and stories about the advent of Evil Gods. The moment that whirlpool appeared, everyone quickly realized what it meant. The blonde Chief of Staff took a deep breath, looked at the crowd that had already gathered around, and quickly said, "Issue an evacuation announcement, telling citizens to stay at home as much as possible; those near bomb shelters should take shelter there." Then her gaze swept over the pair after pair of frightened eyes and she spoke again in a softened tone, "Mr. Lin En has already gone to deal with this matter, we must get the city’s affairs in order, prevent panic and stampede incidents among the citizens, we can’t let him down." All the staff members watched the blonde Chief of Staff, and after a brief pause, they spoke almost simultaneously, "Yes!" Then they immediately turned around and began arranging their respective tasks. The blonde Chief of Staff also turned her head back, looking up at the rapidly expanding whirlpool. She looked down at her bracelet, where there was a message sent to her by Mr. Lin En before he left - it contained only one sentence, "Maintain order, avoid chaos." At first, she didn’t quite understand the meaning of this sentence; now, she understood. She looked up at the giant vortex, that Elderly Mayor always seemed to foresee everything, arranging all matters, then creating one miracle after another. But this time, facing that beyond-human, indescribable entity, could the Elderly Mayor really succeed? She didn’t know, and no one did. Those staff members who had just listened to her words also didn’t know. But they knew, they had to do their utmost to carry out Mr. Lin En’s instructions, fight their own battles, and ensure Mr. Lin En had no worries. In the trenches against destruction, everyone has their own battlefield. Only by staying united can they achieve the final victory. This is what Mr. Lin En had taught them. Below that hovering whirlpool, the chilly wind brought jasmine petals across the glass of the floor-to-ceiling window, and the tough glass suddenly cracked. The heartbeat in the sky is getting closer and closer. The dark clouds in the sky roiled, obscuring the bright sun and the firmament. The war machines, rising from the earth like towering mountains, blotted out the slivers of light that filtered through the clouds, and slowly arrayed themselves to either side. Like a giant bird heralding the apocalypse, they spread their wings wide, enveloping the aged Challenger beneath them. And the old man standing beneath this pitch-black shadow merely lifted his head, calmly observing everything before him. His golden brass staff supported his frame, while the glow of jade ebbed and flowed in his grasp. He silently gazed at the powerful army encircling him, lifting his hand and turning his chest-mounted walkie-talkie to the broadcast frequency. This was taken from an off-road vehicle, originally belonging to the Kopes Mining Mercenary Corps’ internal channel. Then he slowly began to speak in a hoarse voice, "I repeat for the last time, ordinary soldiers may leave the Mercenary Corps of their own accord and seek the protection of Yilan City. All officers and those involved in the airship incident must face trial." His aged voice seemed to drift through the endless pitch-black space, penetrating the solid armor and barrels, reaching the hearts of those steel-forged war machines. The encircling mechas and warplanes momentarily halted at the sound of the old man’s voice. Time itself seemed to freeze at this moment, with no advancement from the warplanes, nor any retreat. The dark clouds in the sky continued to writhe as if invisible limbs were swimming through them. No one spoke, and no one responded. Everything was so ’quiet’ that only the whistling of the wind as it flew through the gaps between warplanes and the roar of the engines vibrating the air, mingling into what sounded like the footsteps of death, could be heard. Amidst the shrill wails and thunderous roars of these trembling war machines, they ultimately did not back down. The moment of serenity was shattered without hesitation. The halted warplanes resumed their maneuvers, the flanking aircraft curving around to the old man’s sides, sealing off all his escape routes. Watching the warplanes before him, He Ao turned his head back, his gaze piercing through the hills and wilderness to see the giant spiral hovering above the distant city. In the end, he let out a gentle sigh. His Divine Sense flowed into the staff, invoking the radiant glow of jade to emerge. The dazzling light pierced through the intricate geometric cross patterns, transforming into verdant ribbons of light that, fluid as surging silk, wrapped around He Ao’s body. Simultaneously, the dark clouds covering the firmament seemed to sense something, churning violently. Intangible sounds echoed through the air, resembling thunder amidst the clouds yet also like a muffled heartbeat. A chilly breath enveloped the sky and the earth, turning into howling winds that passed through the solid armor. At this very moment, the immense machinery seemed to finally take notice, quickening their pace and abandoning the notion of fully encircling the old man. Countless radiances converged in the pulsing muzzles, like a nascent sun bursting forth with light. However, this brilliance did not dispel the darkness beneath the clouds, nor could it illuminate even half an inch of space beyond the source of light. The clouds filling the sky surged, and the thick darkness below seemed to have condensed into substance, blocking the convergence of any natural light. As for those ribbons of light entwined around He Ao’s frame, they converged above his head, and the surrounding darkness surged in, fueling this radiance, igniting into a blazing green that formed a brilliant column, piercing through the darkness and stabbing through the clouds above the firmament. The heartbeat above the firmament accelerated, resembling indescribable footsteps or a looming figure drawing nearer. Where the green luminescence pierced the clouds, a massive vortex appeared almost instantly. The dark clouds encircled and protruded around the green light. Like mountains inverted in the firmament, endless darkness poured forth, solidifying into tempestuous green lightning carrying shadows. At this moment, each machine had been fully prepared, with countless glimmers converging within the war machines, as if about to burst forth with flames and power capable of destroying everything. However, all this was already too late. The emerald green thunderbolt blossomed with branches between heaven and earth, transforming into a brutal radiance, instantly covering the firmament and the land. Torn apart by the thunderbolt, the machines let out a roaring howl, leaving behind their last breath in the endless darkness. In the mere instant the brilliance flashed by, over half of the war machinery was directly ripped apart, the mechanical mountains built by the war machines utterly collapsing in an instant under the overwhelming power far beyond human capabilities. Burning wreckage cascaded through the darkness like a downpour, yet the flames that enveloped the debris failed to transmit any light in this still and cold darkness. The elderly man in a grey suit stood quietly amid the shower of falling debris, leaning on his cane. The frigid wind howled through the sky, passing between mountains and crevices, playing the lament of ancient times. The elderly slowly pulled out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, took one out and placed it between his lips, then lit it with a mechanical lighter. The lighter spouted flames in the darkness, yet it brought no sensation of heat or warmth. Even though it burned fiercely, it left only an icy chill to the bone. The air around grew even colder, as the entire sky gradually succumbed to a thick darkness where one could not see their own hands, as if the very concepts of light and warmth were being slowly eradicated over time. The once uniform legions had completely collapsed at this moment, with no light gathering in the sky, nor any energy piercing through the darkness. The remaining warplanes, as if driven mad, charged towards the edges of the darkness, seeking to escape from this place. And the elderly no longer paid any attention to these scattered soldiers; he merely lifted his head to look up. The emerald green thunderbolt continued to flicker, growing denser by the moment, spreading endless branches like an upside-down coral in the depths of the sea, densely filling the land. The green thunderbolt’s brilliance, born from the darkness and carrying a breath of destruction, became the only ’visible’ thing within this sticky darkness. Above, the vortex in the sky, replete with thunderbolt, was rapidly expanding and swelling. The rapid heartbeat grew faster, as if at any moment it could tear through that fragile membrane and descend upon this world increasingly shrouded in darkness. He Ao removed the cigarette butt from his mouth; its glowing tip burned through the darkness, falling into his gaze. He glanced at the flame that no longer felt warm, pinched the filter between his fingers as if holding a paintbrush, rapidly swiping it through the air. With embers scattered, the cigarette traced lines of light through the darkness. The traces of flame, as if left by ’marks’ in the dark, were fixed in place by some invisible force. Soon, a complex geometric cross pattern made of light was drawn in midair. Then He Ao picked up the lighter, ignited the flame, and tossed it at the geometric cross pattern suspended in the air. These ’ritual steps’ were information he had received at the moment of the preceding ritual communication, when confirming the Descent Point. The surrounding darkness seemed to sense something, surging out, attempting to completely swallow up the light pattern and the burning lighter. But all was too late. Like igniting fluff, the lighter’s flame sparked the flowing light in midair, and in a blink, the flame piercing through the darkness surged upon the geometric cross pattern. The surrounding emerald green thunderbolts flickered violently; as the flame erupted, shadows that clung to the bolts rapidly stripped away, like brooks merging into a river, converging within the flame. In the endless depths of darkness, between the firmament and land, A shadow adorned with stars writhed out from the dark, seemingly gradually stripping away the clasp of darkness. In front of He Ao, suspended in midair, a pale hand with veins aglow with green light suddenly stretched out from within the burning flame pattern, appearing before him. However, the hand did not extend far before coming to a halt, seemingly dragged by some force, unable to struggle free from the flames, even retreating gradually. He Ao extended his right hand, grabbing the palm that reached out to him. Following that, he felt a cold power spreading from his palm into his body, his soul. It was as if he had fallen into a deep, silent mire, an invisible force tearing at his body and soul across endless time and space, trying to drag him into it. His body gradually became transparent at a speed visible to the naked eye. It was at this moment that a complex insignia, flickering with red light, flashed across the back of his right hand. Then, with a forceful tug, the muscles on his arm bulged as he pulled the arm that extended from the flames outward. With a faint noise, the shadow cast by the stars in the sky fell, and a white-haired figure was violently pulled out from the fiery insignia. Immediately afterwards, the fiery insignia shattered abruptly. A hoarse and weak voice rose in He Ao’s ear. Numerous scattering shadows gathered inside the staggering, pale-faced white-haired figure. He Ao looked at the white-haired figure beside him, gaunt, elegant, with a coldness that seemed to forbid any approach. This was the Honorary Speaker, Levi, from Linen’s memories. But the last time Linen had seen him, he had black hair. At that moment, Levi also lifted his head to look at He Ao, and after seeing He Ao’s face, he paused slightly, "Linen, is that you?" "Don’t I look when you see me in the Abyss?" He Ao quickly realized what puzzled him. In the crevice between reality and the Abyss in Levi’s office, he saw Levi as a shadow cast by starlight; so did that mean Levi always saw him as a ’humanoid’? "In the Abyss, what I saw was you wrapped in fragile red light, entwined with purple lines." Levi struggled to his feet, looking up at the giant vortex above, and spoke hoarsely, "The Abyss reflects a part of a person’s essence, while Angels reveal their mythological state." Purple seemed to be the color of Super Memory. Red was the color associated with the pathway of Legislators. "I’ve never seen this state before," He Ao gently shook his head, speaking honestly, and at this time, he also looked up at the vortex in the sky, "What exactly is that thing?" "Talent Sequence 256: Abyssal Prisoner," Levi did not delve further into the previous topic, instead, he spoke slowly, "This fellow is one of the early Transcendents who advanced to Angel during the Era of the Great Cataclysm when the rules and procedures for promotion were not fully explored. He relied on the power of the Abyss and sacrificed an entire city to ascend to Angelhood, "The result was that although he retained a portion of his sanity, he still became a servant of the Abyss, imprisoned within, his remaining sanity constantly being eroded by the mad Abyss, and he could only maintain activity in the reality and anchor his sanity through continuous blood sacrifices. As he said this, he coughed lightly, and the green light that covered his body like blood vessels flickered in that instant, "The ceremony has begun; we need to find a way to seal him back." "Just sealing him back will only postpone the problem," Hearing his words, He Ao shook his head slightly, "Yilan City has already become entangled with him; he could still use the connections through Mysticism to mislead new Yilan people, assisting him in breaking the seal, bringing about his Advent in Yilan City." "What are you planning to do?" Levi turned his head to look at He Ao beside him. "If he’s going to come, let him come." He Ao drew the staff from the ground, and as he did so, the staff transformed into a golden longsword amidst flowing light.