Only a few hours had passed since the space above Zeta was sealed...
Yet the news had already begun spreading throughout Gandalia.
At first, it was nothing more than scattered whispers.
Then it became a rumor.
And finally, it turned into a reality that shook the continents.
Zeta... had been sealed.
It was not merely its borders that had been closed.
Nor was it simply a defensive formation meant to protect the continent from invaders.
It was something far more terrifying.
Space itself had been sealed.
No one could enter.
No one could leave.
Not even the Divine Sense of the mightiest beings was capable of penetrating the barrier and discovering what was happening within.
And every attempt to open a spatial passage...
Had failed.
The moment this truth spread, the world's perception of Zeta changed.
The humans who inhabited the last remaining fragment of their ancient homeland had suddenly found themselves behind a wall the outside world could not see through.
And a single question began spreading among every race:
Why?
Why had humanity sealed its continent at this precise moment?
And why after summoning almost all humans from every corner of Gandalia?
Why had the Supreme Council of Humanity chosen to isolate Zeta from the entire world?
No one had an answer.
But that did not stop anyone from speculating.
On the Vampire Continent...
The sky was shrouded in black clouds.
Inside the ancient black palace, several of the oldest vampires had gathered.
An official stood before the throne and bowed deeply.
"My Lord."
The Vampire King slowly opened his eyes.
"Speak."
The official said:
"We have received further confirmation."
He paused for a moment before continuing.
"Zeta has been completely isolated."
The king raised his eyes.
"Isolated?"
"Yes."
"Some of our people attempted to use Divine Sense to observe what lies within, but every attempt failed."
The expressions of everyone present froze.
The official continued:
"One of our experts also attempted to open a spatial passage near Zeta's borders..."
He paused.
"And failed."
Silence descended.
One of the elders spoke in a low voice:
"Impossible..."
The king looked toward him.
"What is impossible?"
The elder answered:
"A spatial seal of this magnitude... is not something an ordinary formation could possibly achieve."
The king did not respond.
His eyes remained fixed upon the empty space before him.
He had lived for thousands of years.
He had witnessed countless ancient formations.
Yet he had never seen anything capable of severing an entire continent from the surrounding space in such a manner.
Then he spoke slowly:
"The humans are hiding something."
No one objected.
Because with every passing moment, that possibility seemed increasingly plausible.
Within the Elven Kingdom...
The news reached the Living Palace.
The Queen sat within a vast chamber surrounded by ancient trees and luminous flowers, while several high-ranking elves stood before her.
One of them spoke:
"Your Majesty, it has been confirmed."
The Queen raised her eyes.
"What happened?"
"Zeta has been completely sealed."
Her expression changed slightly.
"Can we see what lies within?"
He shook his head.
"No."
"Even with our strongest means of perception?"
"Nothing."
Then he added:
"It does not resemble an ordinary barrier."
The Queen fell silent.
Another elf spoke:
"We attempted to sense the space itself near the borders..."
He stopped.
"And it was strange."
The Queen looked toward him.
"How?"
He answered:
"As though space itself was no longer open there."
Silence filled the chamber.
The Queen raised her gaze toward the distant direction where Zeta lay.
Then she said quietly:
"They are not sealing Zeta from the world..."
She paused.
"They are sealing the world away from Zeta."
Not everyone understood the meaning behind her words.
But they all felt their weight.
On the Angel Continent...
Within a magnificent white city floating high above the clouds, a group of ancient beings had gathered in a tranquil hall.
One of the angels held a report before him.
"We attempted to determine the nature of the formation."
One of the elders asked:
"And the result?"
"It is an extremely ancient formation."
The elder raised an eyebrow.
"Ancient?"
"Yes."
He continued:
"Some of the energy patterns used within it resemble patterns that appeared during the Primordial War."
A profound silence descended.
The resemblance was not enough to prove anything.
But it was more than enough to cause unease.
One of the angels asked:
"Can the humans of the present era create a formation like this?"
No one answered immediately.
Then another elder spoke:
"Perhaps..."
But there was no certainty in his voice.
Because the real question was different.
Why had humanity activated such a formation now?
As for the Demon Lands...
Their reaction was far more intense.
Seven Demon Kings had gathered within a dark hall.
The report lay before them.
And the silence was heavier than any words.
One of the Demon Kings spoke:
"So the humans have sealed Zeta."
Another replied:
"Not only that."
He placed his hand upon the table.
"They have sealed space itself."
A cold smile appeared on one of the kings' faces.
"Perhaps they wish to hide."
Another said:
"Or prepare."
One of them raised his eyes.
"For war?"
No one answered.
The mere possibility was enough to make the atmosphere grow more tense.
After a few moments, one of the ancient beings decided to test the boundaries of Zeta himself.
A tremendous force extended through space.
It approached the borders...
Then stopped.
There was no collision.
No explosion.
Not even any obvious resistance.
Only...
a rejection by space itself.
The force vanished as though it had never existed.
The ancient being slowly opened his eyes.
For the first time, his smile disappeared.
"Strange..."
On the Beast Continent...
The ancient forests trembled beneath the pressure of countless beasts.
And deep within a forbidden region, one of the oldest beasts opened his eyes.
The Beast Emperor had sensed the alteration in the laws of space.
He raised his head toward the sky.
He could not see Zeta.
Yet something was different.
The distant space was no longer the same.
He spoke in a deep voice:
"This is not a barrier."
An ancient beast approached him.
"What do you mean?"
The emperor replied:
"A barrier can be broken."
He fell silent.
"But this..."
His gaze remained fixed upon the empty sky.
"They have sealed space itself."
Silence followed.
Then one of the beasts asked:
"Why would the humans do this?"
The emperor did not answer.
Even he did not know.
But his ancient instincts told him that this matter would not end here.
And within the lands of the Werewolves...
The news spread rapidly among the tribes and kingdoms.
Several of the strongest werewolves gathered within a vast hall.
One of them said:
"The humans have returned to Zeta..."
Another said:
"And then they sealed the continent."
A third added:
"This is not normal."
Everyone turned toward an ancient elder sitting within the darkness.
He had remained silent since the beginning of the gathering.
At last, he opened his eyes.
"After five thousand years of decline..."
He paused.
"The humans have gathered themselves once more in their ancient homeland."
Then he said:
"And now they have sealed the sky."
He said nothing more.
But his words were enough to make everyone understand the gravity of the situation.
As for the humans...
They continued living within Zeta.
And most of them knew nothing of what was truly happening.
People looked up at the enormous golden dome covering the sky.
Children saw it before the adults.
Farmers gazed at it from their fields.
Merchants stared at it from the marketplaces.
Warriors watched it from atop the city walls.
The sight was astonishing.
A golden dome stretched across the entirety of the continent.
In certain places, ancient pillars of light could be seen in the distance, silent and unmoving, as though they were holding the heavens in place.
Questions began spreading.
"Are we under attack?"
"Is an enemy coming?"
"Why did the Council seal the continent?"
"Is a war about to begin?"
But no clear answer reached them.
The orders were simple.
Remain within Zeta.
Do not attempt to leave the continent.
And do not approach the formation points.
And so...
The questions remained unanswered.
Outside Zeta, the situation was different.
The other six continents had begun watching.
The vampires watched.
The elves watched.
The angels watched.
The demons watched.
The beasts watched.
The werewolves watched.
Even some of the ancient beings who had paid no attention to humanity for thousands of years began opening their eyes.
Because one thing had become clear to everyone:
The humans had not isolated Zeta without reason.
They had gathered their people.
They had rebuilt their cities.
They had reorganized their forces.
They had gathered resources.
And then...
They had sealed space itself.
All of it had happened within an incredibly short period of time.
It was impossible not to be concerned.
Speculation began to spread.
Had humanity discovered an ancient inheritance?
Were they preparing for war?
Had they found a weapon capable of changing the balance of power?
Had they uncovered a secret dating back to the Primordial War?
Or was there something else?
Something no one knew about?
As time passed, the unease only grew.
Yet no matter how hard the great powers tried...
They could not see beyond the Sealed Sky.
They could not send their Divine Sense through it.
They could not open a spatial passage.
They could not even discover what was happening deep within the continent.
Zeta had become...
a world unto itself.
And somewhere else...
Far beyond the eyes of the world.
Deep within the Sovereign Palace...
Everything was silent.
No meetings.
No voices.
No soldiers.
No news.
Only silence.
Deep within the palace, the process of restoring the body continued without pause.
The man sat quietly.
His body had regained its natural appearance.
His long black hair flowed behind him.
His youthful, extraordinarily handsome face carried a terrifying calm.
And his pitch-black eyes remained motionless, like an endless sky without end.
He paid no attention to what was happening outside the palace.
He had no need to.
The outside world had become incapable of seeing through Zeta.
But within it...
A new phase had already begun.
A phase of which no other race knew anything.
And at that very moment, all the supreme races were wondering about the true reason behind the Sealed Sky.
Yet none of them knew the truth.
For behind that golden barrier...
Humanity was preparing for something the world had not witnessed in five thousand years.
And the True Monarch...
Was still quietly reclaiming his strength.