Rihan turn around sharply, sensing that something was wrong—something unusual was happening as footsteps outside drew nearer.

For just an instant before someone burst into the room, Rihan tapped the floor and attempted to close the secret space behind the table.

However, as he did that the glowing orb that was just floating in it charged forward towards him!

But rather than hitting him head-on, it flew into him and dissolved like water pouring through his skin.

All of the air in Rihan's lungs vanished too quickly; his stomach dropped and his body seized up as all of his strength left him instantly. As his vision faded, everything went black for one brief moment of stinging pain.

***

Lord Raukaku stared at an empty room where Rihan had been moments earlier. There wasn't any trace of human presence aside from the little puppy that had her head on the floor, sleeping peacefully.

Even though Lord Raukaku hadn't detected anything threatening on his way to the Grand Master's Room, it didn't mean the situation wasn't serious.

When Lord Raukaku raised his eyebrows to Grinder, a voice shouted from someplace nearby. "The Hidden Room is open!"

Lord Raukaku looks over at Grinder, then toward the main hall's entrance. "Did you hear?"

"Yes!" Grinder answered with a quivering voice.

"Is there anyone suspicious that has entered the Golden Pavilion? Any guards or servants that are out of place?" Lord Raukaku demanded as several of them rushed back to their posts and the rest hurried to reorganize themselves to block off the Grand Master's Room.

This must have really taken them by surprise since most people here were well aware of what happened when they crossed him.

A guard called down the stairway. "Everything is clear in the Main Hall. No one is allowed to leave, but there's no one suspicious or carrying any large amount of treasures."

Lord Raukaku paced about, eyes focused downward, taking in every detail possible in an attempt to detect anyone that is hiding—and yet, he sensed nothing.

He frowned slightly at himself, feeling as if it was almost foolish for him to think that after everything that had happened today the enemy's target would still be so obvious yet they couldn't even protect the highly valued treasure that they'd hidden away!

He knew it was unlikely the enemies' aim was just to steal the Golden Key and escape from The Great Hall but to do it without leaving any evidence behind seemed impossible.

"To the Royal Palace! If this goes on long enough I might end up stabbing the King with my sword," Lord Raukaku growled under his breath while turning his head to address Grinder.

"You should go too. Send word to the High Priest immediately and tell him to lock the Golden Pavilion down!"

"Yes my Lord!" Grinder saluted smartly before running off to carry out those orders; his footsteps sounded far away like a receding tide.

With a loud thudding noise, Lord Raukaku's boots echoed along the corridors as quickly as lightning flashes, rushing out of the Grand Master's Room as fast as they could go.

***

Rihan's consciousness flickered into existence as light swirled around him. It wasn't much more than an outline at first until he heard a pained gasp.

Then, slowly, his body came together, one part after another, bringing his hands in front of his face only to discover them shaking with nerves.

When finally his vision returned properly, Rihan panted heavily, trying to get oxygen back into his lungs again after feeling like it vanished entirely. Inhale. Exhale. Slowly.

His thoughts slowly gathered themselves too—like what just happened?

He pushed himself onto his knees, looked past the table where the orb was glowing brightly—and froze when he realized that the room was empty.

All traces of the stinging sensation from moments ago were gone, and the air was now completely still and peaceful.

As he looked around the room, he realized that he is still in the Grand Master's Room but something is different. Where was the dog that was always here? There was no sign of its presence or scent anywhere!

That's impossible!

He scowled at the space between him and the door which remained closed; there were definitely people outside the door before I fainted.

Then who took the puppy away?! Was someone sneaking up on me!

Rihan immediately jumped to his feet to rush out to check for anyone suspicious nearby, but then his gaze fell on the window.

There were several windows overlooking the courtyard, all facing the centre.

Yet, all of the windows now show a different scenery than usual—a dark sky filled with twinkling stars, with two suns shining bright like they have never done so before.

Another window revealed an ominous black cloud spreading across the skies like a wave about to crash over everything.

The sun was dying behind it, its glow becoming feeble until only barely visible against the storm clouds.

It doesn't feel natural. Is this a trap set by the Blackwell Union? But they do not have the means to trap a person in a space, not to mention the resource, their cultivation would not be sufficient. T

hey have no resources, cultivation, or knowledge to achieve it.

So, that could only mean…

He looked over at yet another window where the view is different. This time instead of looking into the scenery, there's nothing but darkness except for one lone figure standing alone in the middle of nowhere.

A giant silhouette is moving closer to the buildings of The Golden Pavilion.

Its size makes it difficult to make out, but whoever stands in that position looks huge and intimidating—like some kind of monster stalking from shadows that aren't supposed to exist!

Rihan frown deeply and shivered as he pondered about the situation that he found himself within.

Everything felt wrong—everything seemed off—as if he is in a different world.

"Is that an Everworld Titan?" Rihan questioned himself, "That's impossible, there's no Everworld Titan in the Irricestar Mountain Range. In fact, they don't even exist in this world."

Could this be another dimension? He raised his eyebrows, thinking.