The Custodian took a deep breath.
"Wait here," he said before entering the hallway to the Lightning Emperor's study.
Silence.
Fleros only looked with absolute shock, confusion, and fear at the door the Custodian had just entered.
What the hell was going on?!
Shang just waited.
This was the best thing for him to do.
This was the best way to hide that Shang had known that Lucin and Queen Primordium were dead.
Fleros had no idea what he should say and just waited in uncertainty.
It seemed like whatever Shang had come to tell the Custodian was quite important.
Nearly two minutes of nothing happening passed.
The two of them were only waiting.
WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
Shang was doing his absolute best not to show a reaction, but it was very difficult, even for someone like him.
Just now, Shang had felt like the God had returned and that he was filled with unending fury.
It was like an apocalyptic cataclysm was directly looking at him.
The feeling of being watched had never been this powerful before.
It was unreal.
Naturally, this could have only been one thing.
The Lightning Emperor had thrown a glance at Shang.
This confirmed that even Mage Emperors couldn't hide from the bandages.
It was a terrifying experience, but it was also a relieving one.
Shang's biggest worry had vanished.
From now on, he would know when someone was looking at him or not, which allowed him to only summon Abominations in complete secret.
Naturally, Shang still had to be careful. After all, just like with the Isolation Chamber, anything that made a certain disturbance would attract the attention of anyone close enough to sense it with their Spirit Sense.
A second later, the impossibly powerful feeling of being watched vanished again.
Shang didn't move.
Silence.
A couple more minutes passed.
And then, the floor vibrated lightly.
It was so light that a normal human wouldn't even notice, but no one inside the Lightning Manor was a normal human.
After that, it became quiet.
Somehow, it grew even quieter than usual.
Several Bolts and Thunders became confused.
For some reason, the Lightning Manor felt very different from usual.
Then, one of them noticed what had happened, and his eyes widened in shock.
"The Lightning Sea is gone," he said in a slightly surprised but also somehow nonchalant manner. He couldn't believe what he was seeing, and he was just subconsciously narrating what he saw.
The others looked at him and confirmed it.
Silence.
Outside the Lightning Manor was a sea of black clouds, but the black clouds were silent.
There was no lightning.
It was peaceful, but since this was not something that was supposed to be peaceful, it felt very ominous.
The Bolts knew that the Lightning Emperor was the reason for the Lightning Sea.
His mere presence created this humongous sea of lightning.
The Lightning Sea had only calmed down a couple of times in recorded history, and every time, something major had happened somewhere in the world that required the Lightning Emperor to leave.
Did this mean that the Lightning Emperor had left?
Had something happened?
The Mage Lords talked to each other in worry.
"Is the Custodian available?"
Shang did his best not to show any reactions.
As his Spirit Sense perceived the new person that had arrived, a scene shot through his mind.
Back in the Skythunder Kingdom, Shang had once seen this person.
In the black pylon.
It was a beautiful young woman with long silver hair wearing purple robes.
It was the Starlight Queen.
She was looking at Fleros and Shang at this moment since they were standing directly in front of the Custodian's door.
Shang noted that there was no hint of suspicion or recollection in her eyes.
Naturally, a mere General Stage warrior in some distant place that she had seen for a couple of seconds a thousand years ago wouldn't stay in her memory.
Even if Shang looked identical to the past him, she probably still wouldn't suspect anything.
She probably wouldn't even find him familiar in any way.
This was how unimportant he had been.
Fleros was not sure how to react since he had also never seen the Starlight Queen before.
Even more, she had asked him a question!
He was concerned and only looked at Shang.
Fleros had no idea what was going on, but Shang did.
The Starlight Queen noticed Fleros' gaze and looked at Shang.
Now that she looked closer, she actually noticed that this person had a very strange aura.
It was very unique, but not in a good way.
"Do you know what's going on?" she asked Shang.
Shang nodded. "Yes, but I'm not sure if I'm allowed to tell you."
The Starlight Queen furrowed her brows.
Not allowed to tell her?
She was a Mage King!
However, she could confirm that what Shang had said was the truth since it conformed to the truth of the world.
"Oh, is Wester also out?"
The people turned to a new person that had appeared.
It was an older man with red hair that was slowly turning white. He wore casual and loose clothing as he smiled politely.
Since Queen Primordium had introduced all the other Mage Kings to Shang, he also recognized this one.
Jonathan, the Myriad King, the leader of the Research Department.
He was someone that had dedicated his entire life to researching Magic and Affinities.
"Glad to see you're doing well," the Starlight Queen said with a polite smile.
The Myriad King nodded. "Everything going well with the Research Department?"
"There are no issues," she answered.
"Good to hear," the Myriad King said. "You've been a tremendous help, Sarah."
"Thanks, John," she answered with a smile.
"So, what's going on?" Jonathan asked casually as he looked at the present people. "It seems like the Ancestor left. Is Wester available?"
Fleros and the Starlight Queen threw a glance at Shang, prompting the Myriad King to also look at Shang.
Shang pointed at the door leading to the Lightning Emperor's study.
"Unless he left through a different exit, he's still in there."
