On the other side, the beholder world.

Adnis was running towards the prayer room with an anxious look on his face.

His face was pale.

He kept repeating words like "It's impossible, it's impossible for the Great Eye to abandon this world. There must be other reasons for this change."

But even so, the faith in Adnis's heart continued to collapse.

Then, this collapse reached its peak in an instant when Adnis finally arrived at the prayer room and saw the "God's Throne" that had lost the radiance of the Great Eye.

An extremely cruel reality for Adnis was placed in front of him.

The Great Eye has left.

"How could..."

Faced with this shocking fact, Adnis, who had dragged his weak body all the way from his deep sleep to here, could no longer hold on. He stumbled and fell to the ground.

Immediately, as if grasping the last life-saving straw, Adnis questioned the 15 beholder guardian stone tablets that originally guarded the Great Eye and existed as a firewall.

"What happened? Where did the Great Eye go——!?"

To this, the beholder guardians responded.

"Notice: The Great Eye has left this world and its destination is unknown."

A cold mechanical female voice sounded during the prayers.

Breaking Adnis's last illusion.

Panic, uneasiness, confusion... and the anger and resentment that followed quickly swallowed up Adnis's sanity.

"I don't know...ha! How could you not know? How could you not know——!?"

Adnis stood up unsteadily from the ground and asked loudly.

"Aren't you the firewall of the Great Eye?

"Aren't you always by your side with the Great Eye?

"So, you don't know about this matter, who knows-!?"

However, no matter how angry Adnis shouted.

What he got in the end was just a cold echo without any emotion.

"Understood, can't!"

"Calculate, can't!"

"Tracking, no!"

"Advice: Our creator is Lord Edith, not the Great Eye."

"Report: The 'Firewall' is a duty given to us by the Great Emperor, not the Great Eye."

"Report: We are not companions of the Great Eye, but the Great Eye has not rejected our parasite."

Calm, rational and honest.

These beholder guardians.

It neither possesses nor understands human emotions.

They are perfect creations that conform to the Adnisian ideal and have no "heart".

That's why.

Therefore, at this time, no matter how angry and desperate Adnis showed, their cold words exposing the cruel reality would not hesitate at all.

What an irony.

Adnis, who advocates the need for no "heart", is tripped up by his own "heart" at this moment when rationality is most needed.

As the emperor of the beholder world, the first thing he thinks about at this moment is neither the safety of his family nor the future of the people, but the question Denton once asked him.

——The eye-soul system that cannot operate without relying on the power of the Great Eye is definitely not the future of the beholder world!

——The Great Eye will leave one day!

——Human beings should rely on their own bodies to survive and solve survival problems on their own strength, rather than relying solely on an incomprehensible force!

——Adnis, your choice is undoubtedly wrong!

Denton's voice, which once opposed the establishment of the eye-soul system, began to ring in Adnis's head.

This made him hold his head and cry out in pain.

"Really...am I wrong?

Adnis's voice echoed in the empty prayer room.

There was no one around.

Only a cold, emotionless mechanical female voice sounded at the right time and answered.

"Advice: It is our mission to realize the emperor's ideals and protect this perfect beholder world. However, this mission is also given to us by the emperor. Therefore, this should be the conclusion reached by the emperor himself, and we cannot give an answer.

"

However, at this time, Adnis had had enough of the beholder guardians' indifferent answers.

"Shut up!"

Adnis, full of irritation, scolded loudly.

"I'm not asking you!"

They are just tools that do not understand people's hearts. What do you know...

Thinking of this, Adnis' expression suddenly froze, and then he suddenly came back to his senses.

God, what was he thinking just now?

Adnis raised his hands to cover his face.

Was he just angry at the beholder guardians' incomprehension?

After a moment of silence, Adnis put down his hand and looked around.

Then, the first thing that came to his mind was this sentence.

"So, is this room so empty and dark?"

After realizing this, an unprecedented sense of loneliness suddenly filled Adnis's heart.

Driven by this feeling of loneliness, Adnis quickly escaped from the prayer room.

…

Outside of prayer time.

As soon as Adnis came out, he saw Gairo standing outside the door, looking like he wanted to knock but didn't dare.

"Gailo..."

"Great Emperor."

Seeing Adnis come out of the prayer room, Gairo breathed a sigh of relief.

Adnis has made it clear.

When he is between prayers, no one is allowed to interrupt his prayers, no matter what happens.

That's why Gairo was so hesitant before knocking on the door of the prayer room.

"It's great that you're okay."

Gairo first expressed concern for Adnis, and then asked quickly.

"Great Emperor, is there something wrong with the Eye Soul System? Why did everyone who was sleeping in the 'sleep' suddenly wake up?"

Looking at Jailo in front of him, Adnis was suddenly in a trance.

This is...Gairo, right?

His face was pale and his steps were sloppy.

This is understandable.

He is the same now.

Everyone's body has just woken up from a long dormancy and is currently in a weak physiological state. There is nothing we can do about it.

But, what’s going on with the look in this Jailo’s eyes?

Why, only panic and anxiety?

Why, no light of confidence at all?

It was completely different from the guard captain in his memory who had unyielding fire burning in his eyes no matter what difficulties he faced.

"Emperor!"
To be continued...