Just as Nathan clicked his tongue in annoyance, the world around them froze. The vibrant, dark greens of the 40th-floor forest were suddenly sucked dry, leaving behind a flat, monochromatic palette of grey. Trees, monsters, and even the beads of sweat on the SSS-rank Hunters' brows hung suspended in mid-air.
Strangely, there was no violent tremor or muffled bass—the usual hallmarks of spatial distortion. Everything was deathly silent, as if someone had simply pressed the 'mute' button on the universe.
"Enough playing around," a hauntingly familiar voice whispered.
Nathan let out a long sigh. "Lilith. Get out here."
Sure enough, from the shadows of a now-grey tree, Lilith stepped forward with lethal elegance. In this frozen pocket of time, only Nathan, Lilith, and one other remained mobile: Validia.
"Ah! Savior!" Validia's stoic face instantly brightened. She bowed deeply, a rare glint of reverence in her eyes that she never afforded humans. "It has been too long."
