Chapter 5 — An Active Observation

While none of the inhabitants of that world could comprehend that the darkness surrounding them was not magic.

Nor a curse.

Nor an attack.

It was merely the shadow of something far greater than the world itself.

While millions of inhabitants of that world struggled to understand what had just happened...

The entity continued watching.

Silently.

Without hurry.

Without concern.

The panic of the civilizations below held no importance.

I have already identified all lifeforms on this world.

The thought passed through its consciousness.

Terrestrial species.

Marine species.

Aerial species.

Simple organisms.

Complex organisms.

Predators.

Prey.

Intelligent lifeforms.

Non-intelligent lifeforms.

All had already been located.

All had already been cataloged.

The entity continued observing.

I have also identified the dominant social groupings.

Civilizations.

Population centers.

Political structures.

Territories.

Conflicts.

Migrations.

Organizational systems.

I still do not understand their language.

But that issue will be resolved soon.

Its thoughts continued.

Most intelligent lifeforms appear to utilize similar communication systems.

The differences are minor.

Likely the result of regional adaptations.

Some species coexist.

Others compete.

Others appear to exist in a state of perpetual conflict.

The entity once again observed the continent.

The Hero and the Demon King.

Still unaware of who the other truly was.

The armies.

The cities.

The borders.

I arrived on this planet at a peculiar moment.

A large-scale conflict appears to be approaching its climax.

A convenient coincidence.

For several moments, it remained motionless.

Then its attention shifted.

Eyes began appearing throughout the planet.

Within shadows.

Across every region.

Hidden where no one could see them.

It was observing more closely.

Then its focus shifted again.

Passing over cities.

Castles.

Fortresses.

Ports.

Fields.

Mountains.

Until it stopped.

A small point.

Insignificant compared to the great cities.

A village.

Small.

Far from the border.

Far from the capital.

Far from the major trade routes.

The entity observed the location for several moments.

"I will begin there."

"The lifeforms are fewer in number."

"The social structures are simpler."

"Interference will be easier to analyze."

For the first time since arriving in this world...

The entity made a decision.

This world possesses a greater diversity than the average of previous worlds.

Therefore...

Passive observation will be insufficient.

I will begin active observation.

Meanwhile...

In the world below...

The Hero continued trying to understand the situation.

The darkness remained absolute.

No light.

No stars.

No points of reference.

Only voices.

"How long is this going to last?"

One of the priests asked.

No one answered.

Another finally spoke.

"What if it lasts for days?"

Silence returned.

The Hero closed his eyes.

Even though he could not see.

"If this lasts for days..."

His voice grew heavy.

"Then we won't be able to defend the border."

No one disagreed.

The leader of the Church clenched his fists.

"I have detected no magical signature."

"None."

"Not even residual traces."

He turned toward the Hero.

"And you?"

"Nothing."

The answer came immediately.

"I don't sense anything."

"Absolutely nothing."

The priest turned pale.

Because that was worse.

Much worse.

Magic could be studied.

A curse could be removed.

A phenomenon could be investigated.

But this...

This did not resemble anything known.

On the opposite side of the continent...

The Demon King faced the exact same problem.

"No changes detected."

One of the generals reported.

"No hostile presence."

"No movement."

"No concentration of mana."

The Demon King remained silent.

"If this truly is some form of offensive technique..."

His voice was grave.

"Then we have already lost."

Everyone present froze.

"We cannot fight something we cannot locate."

"We cannot attack something we cannot perceive."

"And we cannot defend territory that we cannot even see."

None of his subordinates could argue against him.

Because he was right.

Completely right.

Then...

The darkness began to weaken.

At first slowly.

Then faster and faster.

One star reappeared.

Then another.

Then another.

Small points of light emerged within the sky.

Blinking.

Disappearing.

Returning.

Until the heavens gradually returned to normal.

The constellations reappeared.

The moon returned.

The clouds returned.

And sight returned with them.

People immediately looked around in desperation.

Confirming that they were still where they had been before.

Confirming that they were still alive.

Confirming that the world still existed.

Hours had passed.

Yet it was still night.

As though time itself had continued moving normally while the entire world remained trapped within that impossible state.

The Hero looked toward the heavens.

The Demon King did the same.

Neither found answers.

But both reached the same conclusion.

If that happened again...

They possessed no way to react.

No way to fight.

No way to retaliate.

And for the first time...

Both the Hero and the Demon King realized something.

Even though each primarily believed it had been the work of their greatest enemy.

One thing remained the same for both of them.

Whether it was the enemy's magic or not...

They needed to find a way to fight back.

To counter whatever had covered the heavens that night.

Without realizing...

That the war between them might no longer be the greatest threat facing their world.