A resounding boom echoed throughout the World without warning, shaking the earth in its entirety and damaging the ears of all its residents.

Titania, Alan and the others pressed their hands to their ears in pain as dizziness threatened to overwhelm them, it was a completely new feeling and it terrified them. Looking at each other they could see matching sets of wide eyes contorted in fear and paler skins moist with sweat.

“What is happening?!” “MY QUEEN!” “Are we under attack?!” “YOUR MAJESTY!” they screamed out to each other but it was futile. They couldn’t hear a single thing and the blood-curdling sight of their mute companions only served to invigorate their fear.

ZZZZ!

“AAARGH?!” a feeling of terrible tightness and bone-tingling itchiness gripped their bodies as the Magical Energy around them started reacting chaotically. It was rushing about in every direction and growing in both quantity and quality like a tsunami in a storm, creating an unbearable pressure that tormented the residents.

As darkness began to consume their visions, they couldn’t help but begin to feel… despair.

What was happening? How could this be possible? Are we going to die? Is this all we amount to? Thoughts of imminent death and destruction corroded their minds, frightening each other with their pale faces and wild eyes.

Titania gritted her teeth as she repeatedly tried to harness her Mana only to fail again and again. Her Mana had been circuiting around her body on its own and she was, much to her frustration, unable to affect it.

Fear shone in Alan’s eyes as he looked desperately at his wife, hoping that she would somehow save them all. Alas… nobody would be ‘saving’ them and one by one they collapsed, unable to withstand the increased pressure that the ambient Magical Energy was having on their brains.

THUD! THUD! THUD!

Titania’s last sight before she fell unconscious was the sight of all her people slumped against the floor, helpless and defenceless. She had tried so hard, so hard and yet she was unable to save them. Unable to protect her people from danger.

It hurt.

She could only hope that this was somehow a procedure of the World’s evolution and that it was not death that they faced.

‘Please…’ was her last thought as a tear slid out of her eye.

The World went black.

…

Eridel surveyed his World whilst simultaneously activating the incomprehensible runes that were written on his core. These runes were the new rules that would assimilate with his World when they were absorbed, the Soul Mate ‘laws’ for example were written there. Soon, they would slip in and disappear.

He had already completed most of the runes (that could be edited at any time) and could have activated them earlier, but he wanted to see if something would be different if he activated them when the World was evolving. He was certain that nothing would go haywire because that was drastically unrealistic. The worst thing that he could imagine possibly happening was the runes being agitated and consequently destroyed. But…

‘Is this normal?’

Eridel used his Spirit Sense to see through underlying effects of the World’s evolution. In fact, he was focusing so hard that he was seeing straight through the flesh and cells, looking at atoms beneath.

He didn’t want to miss a single thing.

The World shook violently and all Essences in the World were reacting crazily, growing in quality and mutating if possible. The North and South Continents were changing the most. Not only were they growing in size, but the nature of their ambient Magical Energies was changing very quickly.

The Demonic Energy in the South Continent was quickly corroding the nature of the pure Magical Energy and converting it into more Demonic Energy. Even the main territory of the Blood Fiends which had recently turned into a Sacred Land that free released Blood Essence… was being assimilated with Demonic Energy. But wait? That wasn’t quite true. It was looking more like they were combining and becoming something… else? Demonic Blood Essence? Yes… that must be it. It was similar to the Mutated Killing Essence that a few of the rarer Monsters like Asura had. Ah, indeed, Asura’s Savage Earthen Ogre Territory that was also a Sacred Land was having its Earth Killing Essence converted into Demonic Earth Essence. Luckily, this didn’t mean that every residential Monster was going to be able to wield it. They could absorb it, yes, but they would have to be Realm 4 Greater Demons to do so. Everyone below that would have to kill as usual.

However, Eridel wondered how the Fiends would cope when there were more 4th Realm Savage Earthen Ogres.

‘How scary.’

Over in the North Continent, the situation wasn’t quite as impressive. But there was a new Undead Energy that was pervading the territories of the Undead. This energy was different to the Undeath Essence that their residents were used to but could be considered as a product of that very same Undeath Essence finally corrupting the ambient Magical Energy.

The Sacred or rather Cursed Land where the Original Undead resided was an eldritch mess that released all sorts of corrupt Essences which was no doubt the result of the Abomination’s presence. But, that didn't really affect the ambient Magical Energy flowing in and out like the Demonic Energy in the Demon King territories did.

Now it was. And it was doing it very quickly.

‘I must say… It's looking pretty hopeless for those 2 kids.’ Eridel thought as he looked at the Twin Stars of Hope. If the entire Continent's Magical Energy converted into Undead Energy then they were finished. Even if they could keep their own lives, their mission to save the continent or at least preserve the lives of Humans was doomed for failure.

But it wasn’t the outbreak of all this ‘Magical Energy mutation’ that was getting Eridel worried. Nor was it the perilous situation of the Humans on the North Continent. Nor the shaking and rumbling of the World or the splitting of certain landmasses that were growing into small continents on their own.

No.

All of those crazy sceneries were like Horses grazing on grass compared to what was going outside of the World.

‘God… I’m finished.’