When his senses returned, noise rolled like waves, thick with fear flooding his ears. He stood amid a sea of millions of people, lost in a storm of panic and confusion.
"...What is this place?" Kyle muttered sweat beaded on his skin. A heavy, suffocating aura erupted from him.
People nearest to him shuddered, stumbling back as if struck by an invisible force. Some dropped to their knees, faces pale and slick with sweat.
The pressure pouring off him was monstrous and overwhelming. Those still standing retreated instinctively.
"Is he even human?" someone whispered.
"He feels like... a monster."
Many of these people had never experienced such overwhelming shi'en especially the commoners, who had only heard of Shi'en in stories. To them Kyle was not human.
Kyle's sharp eyes glimmered faintly as they swept across the sea of faces. Wherever his gaze landed, people flinched, heads snapping away as though eye contact itself might kill them.
After a moment, Kyle pieced together the obvious they were all in the same situation. Dragged here without warning, just like him no one seemed to know how or why.
He drew in a slow steady breath, forcing himself to calm the storm within. Gradually, the crushing aura receded, and the crowd collectively exhaled as though released from underwater.
He turned his attention to his surroundings. The floor beneath his feat was smooth as polished stone, etched with strange white patterns that pulsed faintly.
When he looked up there was no ceiling only an endless expanse of blue, a sky so vast and clear it seemed to stretch into eternity.
'Is this heaven? Am I dead?.. What about mum and sis?' The place resembled what one might image heaven would look like. Except people did not wear white robes and there were no angels in sight.
"I was wondering, whose Shi'en would make my heart skip a beat."
The voice was playful and magnetic.
The crowd instinctively parted as a tall young woman strode forward with effortless grace, her presence commanding attention. Her skin gleamed like polished bronze beneath the ethereal light.
The short black nightgown draped over her figure drew every gaze in the room.
Men stared spellbound by her curves. Ye there was a majesty in her poise, an authority that made her feel untouchable, unapproachable, despite her alluring charm.
"Your Shi'en is as impressive as ever, Celestial Son," she said with a dazzling smile.
"...You look well too, Miss Ngugi," Kyle muttered, caught off guard by the seductive figure before him, but quickly regained his composure. "Any idea what's going on?" he asked, unconsciously avoiding eye contact.
Lily Ngugi the elusive daughter of Kiko Ngugi, the patriarch of Ngugi family one of the Seven Kings of Mau. Whispers followed her everywhere in high society, though few met her in person.
Kyle had dealt with her before through business, and that's how they'd come to know each other. Yet she always unsettled him. Her playful charm masked a sharp mind and a dangerous cunningness.
Around Lily, one had to tread carefully.
This is due to her up bringing.
To be born into one of the great families meant living under constant pressure. Competition among siblings and rival houses was ruthless. It didn't matter if it was your cousin, your sister, or your own brother you had to prove your superiority.
Status depended solely on genius. Fail to meet expectations, and you were nothing but trash.
Kyle had experienced that world firsthand in his early years. He knew how cruel it could be.
Desperation drove many of the noble born to dark extremes tactics like blackmail, manipulation, some even resorted to murder anything to earn recognition.
Kyle as heard that, Lily was once considered a disgrace, trash by her family. Yet somehow, she clawed her way back rising to become Ngugi family's "princess."
Her methods might not have been as bloody as others, but her cunningness is something to beware of.
"No clue," Lily said, her tone light but thoughtful. "But clearly this isn't something a human could do. As far as I know, no one's capable of teleporting thousands of people at once. Maybe it's the Rapture..."
Her lips curved into a teasing smile. "But I know I'll be in good hands. This helpless, delicate self will be under your care, Kyle?"
She leaned closer, her voice dropping to a mischievous whisper. Her breath brushed against his cheek as she hooked her arm through his.
Kyle stiffened, heat creeping up his neck.
His eyes flicked downward and he immediately regretted it.
He shook as unwanted thoughts flashed through his mind, earning a soft, knowing laugh from her lips. She was enjoying this.
' Why do I feel like am being bullied ' he thought.
"What a lucky bastard…" someone muttered.
"Miss Ngugi, she's even more beautiful than the rumors said."
"But who's that guy with her? They seem... really close."
"Celestial Son... I've heard that name before..."
Whispers rippled through the crowd. For a moment, the fear and confusion had faded replaced by curiosity, envy, and speculation about the striking pair at the center of it all.
"Mortals...do not be afraid. We mean you no harm. On the contrary we are your world's only hope."
The voice was deep, resonant, and absolute it thundered through the vast space, echoing as though the world itself had spoken. Gasps rippled through the crowd.
"I am the Seventh Elder of the Divine Towers, guardian of the Seventh Divine Tower. You now stand within it."
High above them floated a man in flowing white robes, suspended in midair like a phantom.
His hair shimmered silver, and his eyes glowed a deep, ageless blue. His imposing and hard to ignore, yet no one noticed when he appeared maybe he was there watching from the start.
When his gaze swept across the crowd, Kyle's chest tightened. The moment their eyes met, a crushing helplessness flooded him. An emotion he hadn't felt in years. Even Lily, bold and proud, bowed her head under the weight of that gaze.
"...Did he just say we're in a tower?" Lily whispered, disbelief coloring her voice as she steadied herself.
"I think the key word is divine," Kyle answered, his eyes still fixed on the elder.
' Just how powerful is he, to make me feel so insignificant from a simple glance?'
"This here is an allograph of your world as we speak. As you can see... something is wrong." The elder raised his hand.
Light shimmered in the air, and a vast projection of a planet appeared before them it was their world.
Every face in the crowd went pale. They knew this planet well, for it was their home. But something was obviously wrong.
The western continent was shrouded in darkness, a living void that pulsed like a diseased heart. From it, waves of dark energy rippled outward, washing over the globe. Each surge left behind new scars, pockets of spreading darkness.
Kyle's eyes narrowed as he studied allograph. All across the planet, bright energy signatures flared like stars powerful and distinct. Twelve of them stood out, far stronger than the rest.
Each continent bore one of these stronger lights, surrounded by seven smaller ones scattered across its lands.
The only exception was the western continent, it held three of the stronger energy signatures, and twenty one of the lesser ones clustered around like constellations.
"That dark energy you see," the Elder continued, his voice echoing like thunder through the vast expanse, "is corrupted energy. It gives birth to creatures known as Abyssal Monsters."
His gaze swept over the terrified faces below.
"Should you be exposed to it long enough without protection, your very essence will begin to erode. In time you will become one of them, mindless, twisted, and consumed by the Abyss. Your body, your soul... reduced to fuel for the abyss."
A heavy silence fell over the crowd. Even the faint hum of energy that filled the air seemed to vanish. Then came the murmurs disbelief, denial, fear, confusion.
"This can't be real..."
"Monsters? Turned into them...? How do we know he is not lying?"
"Is there no way to stop it?"
The Elder raised a hand, and the whispers died instantly.
"There is still hope," he said, his tone softening, yet carrying an unmistakable authority. "The Divine Path."