Late the next night, New Atlas's senior leadership stood on a rooftop, staring tensely at the sky.
At midnight, the Nine-Star Dipper appeared once more.
The Crimson Star did not.
Everyone breathed a deep sigh of relief.
But that relief didn't last long.
The Crimson Star was gone, yet the Void Realm passages remained open—and that was terrible news for New Atlas.
The last time the passages opened, they had closed again the following day. Many outsiders far stronger than New Atlas had made it through, but without reinforcements, they'd eventually been defeated. Ethan had turned the tide and wiped out the Void Realm races occupying the major compounds.
This time, the passages hadn't closed. Creatures from the Void Realm could enter Earth whenever they wanted. Even those that had chosen not to come at first could appear later.
The thought weighed heavily on everyone.
They looked back at the Nine-Star Dipper and realized it was visibly dimmer than before.
