Death... and me

"What?!" Sure enough, Rean's words caught everyone's attention.

Clinbay and the others immediately looked back at Giam, who couldn't hide his expression as he asked Rean, "How did you know?"

Rean then pointed at the streams of energy, replying, "The Divine Lakes seem to have some important connection to the Upside Down World. They also just so happen to be colored. However, the lakes themselves don't have any Divine Energy whatsoever. Obviously, the energy the altar is absorbing couldn't be coming from them. Isn't that too much of a coincidence? Although the energy doesn't come from the lakes, it does resemble them. That's where my conjecture came from. If I'm not wrong, that energy is the Upside Down World's essence."

The twins had access to World Energy from the Dimensional Realm, so Rean was able to feel the similarities. The World Essence was obviously very important for any world, and that also confirmed that this Upside Down World is a type of world separated from the Realm of Gods. Most likely, it was located inside a Dimensional Realm, just like the twins' realm.

Giam didn't try to hide it anymore as he said, "You're correct. We're absorbing the World Essence of this place to charge the altar. After that, we'll use it to open a spatial gate to the Realm of Gods once again. Just so you know, it's useless to escape this world through the barrier."

Rean didn't need to hear more to understand. "So that's how it is, huh? Since this is a world within a Dimensional Realm, the barrier covering it is separating us from the spatial storms outside. Naturally, passing through the barrier is just tantamount to suicide. The barrier isn't locking us inside. The barrier is protecting us from the spatial storms outside. Now, that barrier is disappearing since you're siphoning this world's essence."

Clinbay and the other elders of the purging organization couldn't help but feel a chill on their backs when they heard that. The best thing that ever happened to them was the failure of their formation. If they had succeeded, they would end up inside the spatial storms. After all, the only thing that waited for them there was death.

Giam was surprised that Rean was able to deduce all of that. "You seem to be very familiar with Dimensional Realms."

Rean shrugged his shoulders as he said, "I'm someone from the Sacred Undersea Kingdom, after all." Indeed, he shamelessly lied once again.

In any case, for Giam and the others, it was a very valid reason. It's just that Vaz didn't understand one thing. "So... why is the white powder appearing here?"

Rean was going to explain it. However, Giam decided to do it on his own. "The white powder is the opposite of the Upside Down World's essence. Now that the world is losing its essence, the white powder from the natural formations from the several locations across the Pol Continent is entering here."

Suddenly, Roan's expression turned terrible, saying, "I see... you guys... are not going to use the altar to open a passage to the Realm of Gods at all."

Once again, everyone was confused as Giam's expression became even worse. 'Could it be he noticed?' Giam thought.

Prom was the first to ask Roan about his words, saying, "What do you mean?"

Roan then pointed at the altar, explaining, "All I'm going to say from this point onward might be wrong. Anyways, here's what I think. First, everyone knows that the first people and demon beasts that ever appeared in this place got here because they were transformed into statues, right?"

Everyone nodded in response. Although the first ones who ever came here had already died, they left behind their records. The main powers, like the purging organization, had some of those records. This Upside Down World was empty at first, and it began to accumulate living beings as more and more statues appeared inside the lakes.

Roan continued, "That means this Upside Down World was already in this place to start with when the first ones arrived. However, why was it here, separated in a Dimensional Realm from the Realm of Gods? I believe that it isn't just some coincidence, especially after looking at that altar. It truly looks to be something extremely old. I'm pretty sure that this Upside Down World... is being used to restrict something. Or, to be more precise, to lock down someone. Whether it's a cultivator, a demon beast, or a spirit, I don't know."

"The natural formations are probably something prepared by this being. The simple fact that it happens in several different places in the Pol Continent is its way of getting as many living beings here as possible. All for the sake of getting free. For that, someone had to find the altar that sealed this being. Now then, the energy of the world is being taken away, so the seal is slowly being revealed." Roan finished his words there.

After listening to Roan's explanation, even Rean had to admit it was possible. At the very least, Roan's words matched all the events so far, especially with that altar. "Giam, is that true?"

Giam's group had heard Roan's words as well, and they were now looking at Giam to see what he had to say. In any case, from their shocked expressions, it seemed like Roan had nailed it. "Hmph! That's correct. However, I wasn't lying. If we do it, that being who's sealed in this Upside Down World will help us escape back to the Realm of Gods. That was the agreement."

Clinbay and everyone else were feeling overwhelmed already. This is too much information at once.

On the twins' side, things became even clearer. It was easier to say that the system's real objective wasn't exactly to prevent everyone from escaping. Instead, it was to prevent that specific creature from doing so.

Of course, the twins had to try to stop it, so Rean immediately gave his opinion and said, "Senior Giam, you're such an idiot. Did you forget it was this same being that created the white powder and got all of us here? Now you want to believe in it?"

Giam nodded without thinking twice. "So what? As long as we can leave, I don't care. Everyone, does any of you want to stop us?"

Roan coldly laughed after hearing that. "Hehe! I don't know if this being is going to help you. However, the fact you had to keep all of us out already proves that we definitely aren't part of this deal."

Touché!