Lord of Prayer

"Holy shit!"

At the Stars Association's Global Restricted Area Monitoring Center, a technician spat out his coffee, staring at his screen in utter disbelief.

There were over three thousand Restricted Areas of varying sizes across the globe, with only a little over four hundred of them unsealed. But just a moment ago, the remaining two-thousand-plus Restricted Areas had all unsealed themselves at the exact same time!

No one ever knew what might evolve inside a Restricted Area. It could be a Jurassic world ruled by dinosaurs, an age of gods based on local mythologies, a technologically advanced future civilization, a fantasy kingdom of sword and Magic, or even a bizarre World born from the various artistic and literary works of the Old Era. The one defining feature was their diversity.

The dangers within them went without saying. If the things inside were to escape, it would be an absolute catastrophe.

Just as the technician frantically sounded the alarm, a series of other alarms began blaring throughout the monitoring center—alerts from a department with higher authority.

Everyone broke out in a cold sweat as they watched the footage transmitted back from the satellite Investigation Mirrors, feeling as if they were trapped in a dream.

And it was the most terrifying kind of Nightmare.

Every Restricted Area across the globe had unsealed simultaneously. Within each one, dilapidated city ruins of varying sizes descended from the sky. From inside every Divine War Ruin, an utterly terrifying divine fluctuation emanated, warping the very Laws of the world.

The native inhabitants of the various Restricted Areas were terrified. They trembled as death drew near and collapsed under a vile, chilling aura. No one knew what was happening, but it looked for all the world like the apocalypse had arrived.

Ultimately, they followed their instincts and began to flee.

And so, all sorts of monsters, Demon Fiends, and ghouls came pouring out of the Restricted Areas, like a giant hodgepodge stewed from countless works of fiction: dinosaurs, Alien Forms, blocky Pixel People, steam-powered flying saucers, dragoons, colossal sky-scraping pythons, mobile suits, rainbow unicorns, and celestial warships... There were even some particularly sinister things—monsters covered in ominous red fur, vengeful phantoms radiating resentment, ancient cities hidden within the Darkness, and gloomy metropolises that flickered in and out of existence...

Of course, this was just a minor problem.

The real problem was the Old Gods who had returned to the world, and Fallen Paradise, which had orchestrated this entire catastrophe.

Stars Association Headquarters, the President's Office.

Zhang Tao clutched his forehead, veins bulging at his temples. It took him a long moment to recover from the flood of restored memories. Finally, he forced the words out through clenched teeth:

"Notify everyone. We're holding a war council."

·

The emergency meeting was convened in the Time House.

Everyone was briefed on the terrible news.

The unsealing of the Old Era's history, the unsealing of all global Restricted Areas, the emergence of the Divine War Ruins...

This emergence of the Divine War Ruins was different from any before. It was the very scenario they had constantly guarded against—the curtain of history had been torn aside, the Old Gods of yore were returning from the mists, and the cataclysm that had annihilated the Old Era was once again sweeping across the globe.

Things were different now. The Stars Association had the capacity to handle such a crisis, but a war involving tens, or even hundreds, of Old Gods would still be a massive headache, even if they were all second-rate. The native inhabitants pouring out of the Restricted Areas were also a vexing problem.

The most critical issue was that this was happening during a world-ending war. Three-fifths of their top combatants were in the Abyss. If they were urgently recalled, the front lines would likely collapse. Once the Abyss sensed an opportunity, they would surely add fuel to the fire... No, they wouldn't even need to sense it. Fallen Paradise had undoubtedly already coordinated with the Abyss.

They were bound to make their move at this critical juncture.

At this thought, everyone's expression turned grim. Considering recent events, it wasn't difficult to deduce that the Abyss and Fallen Paradise were planning to go all-in.

They knew they didn't have much time left.

—because now they had Zhou Chen, an enormous variable, the bug of all bugs, a god-tier support player.

'On a good day, he can churn out a new True God. What enemy wouldn't be terrified by that? Give him a little time, and the scales of victory would tip irrevocably in their favor.'

The Abyss and Fallen Paradise had obviously realized this. Since they couldn't kill Zhou Chen, they absolutely could not give him any more time to develop. Otherwise, all would be lost. They had to launch their final offensive now—a battle to the death.

Dispelling the mists of history, bringing back the gods of the Old Era, and unsealing every Restricted Area was obviously the perfect way to sow chaos.

"More bad news," said the Director of Intelligence, looking at the latest briefing. "The Abyss's offensive has intensified. More and more Monarchs are joining the battle, and the King of Chaos is personally on the front lines overseeing the war."

"That's to be expected. They want to force a final, decisive battle," said the Director of Global Defense. "We can't give them that opening. We must hold the line. If we can last for ten to fifteen days, we can stabilize the situation."

'Ten to fifteen days. At the very least, they could produce five or six new True Gods.'

"It all depends on whether the Abyss and Fallen Paradise have the resolve to go all-out and fight to the death," the Prophet said grimly.

His Eye of the Future could no longer penetrate the timeline. An endless fog shrouded every possible temporal branch, blurring the path ahead. This wasn't only because of the immense war to come—the Stars Association, Fallen Paradise, and the Abyss had all shielded the timeline to prevent anyone from cheating.

"They do."

Zhang Tao's fingers tapped on the table, his expression dark. "Fallen Paradise was the one who ruthlessly destroyed the Old Era. After the Divine War was sealed, just when we thought it was all over, Fallen Paradise seized control of the world's Nuclear Weapons and launched them all simultaneously, nearly wiping out human civilization. They had the audacity for mutual destruction back then, and they have even more reason to do so now as they face a slow demise."

"Nuclear Weapons?" The others were completely baffled. Though the history of the Old Era had been unsealed, they hadn't had a chance to review it yet.

Zhang Tao didn't elaborate. Instead, he said with grave seriousness, "Everyone, do not lower your guard. Do not relax your vigilance. Treat this as a moment of life and death. The slightest misstep, and the entire World will fall."

The atmosphere in the room grew heavy. Everyone nodded in solemn agreement.

The meeting continued.

Soon, classified documents were dispatched to their respective agencies. The behemoth that governed the world had awakened and begun to roar to life.

·

"Fuck, we've got a huge problem."

In Zone One, Zhou Chen stared at the images flashing across the screen, completely stunned. Fallen Paradise had pulled an absolutely insane move, directly freeing all the sealed Old Gods and unleashing a war from the past upon the present.

It didn't take a genius to figure out what Fallen Paradise was planning.

"Why haven't my memories returned yet?" Zhou Chen asked No. 9.

With history unsealed, Ma Youcai and the other Old Gods who had been similarly incapacitated had all recovered their memories, but his own showed no sign of returning.

"Maybe it's because… you died once?" No. 9 analyzed. "The President and the others are old monsters who have lived all the way from the Old Era. The Old Gods, for their part, have maintained their original states. You're the only one who has experienced a second birth. Perhaps that's the issue."

Zhou Chen thought for a moment and prepared to make a wish to restore his own memories. 'I really want to know what my past self went through.'

But suddenly, Zhang Tao's voice echoed over the comms channel: "Zhou Chen, don't wish to restore your memories yet. You can't handle them in your current state."

"What?" Zhou Chen was stunned. 'Can't handle them? What does that mean?'

Before he could hear Zhang Tao's reply, the comms channel filled with static. A moment later, a piercing, high-pitched alarm exploded in his ears.

ALERT!

UNKNOWN CONTAMINATION SOURCE DETECTED! INTRUSION IMMINENT!

The lights began to flicker erratically before switching to flashing red. Everyone froze, stunned.

'This is… Zone One!'

"What are you all standing around for? Evacuate, now!" No. 9 shouted, snapping out of the daze and directing the researchers to clear out.

Just then, in a corner of the lounge, black mold began to bloom. It spread rapidly across the walls and ceiling, causing the surfaces to age and decay. Then, a thick, tangible Darkness surged forth as if it had physical substance.

WHOOSH!

The sound of something tearing through the air rang out. Zhou Chen summoned the Dream Light and Shadow and thrust it forward, precisely piercing the Demon hidden within the Darkness. The Light of Spiritual flared, vaporizing both the Darkness and the creature within it.

He frowned.

'Zone One is the Stars Association's most important secret facility. How could it be infiltrated?'

"You need to get out of here too," No. 9 said. "You're too important now. They might be here specifically for you."

"It's too late for that."

Zhou Chen tightened his grip on the Dream Light and Shadow and glanced to the side.

A phantom-like silhouette was gradually materializing from the void, exuding a savage aura that seemed to originate from the depths of Hell.

A Tier Five Abyss Monarch.