At seven in the evening in the Royal Capital Square, the clock perched on top of the spire slowly struck, signaling the end of a day's labor.
As a member of the glass workshop's labor force, Dalit set down the blowing pipe in his hands and left the steamy factory with his colleagues, heading towards the tavern under the street lamps.
Along the way, the group of about a dozen workers incessantly complained about the recent literacy policy implemented by the council, which not only reduced their work hours from eleven per day to nine but also cut their salaries by about twenty percent.
In its place, they were obliged to attend a two-hour basic literacy class every workday morning, with a monthly fee of one silver coin, attendance compulsory.
For Dalit, attending classes was far more unpleasant than laboring. The jumble of numbers and symbols made his head throb, and after several weeks, he still couldn't grasp the basic knowledge all those Wizards talked about.
Fortunately, the night belonged to them. They could momentarily forget the scorching heat of the workshop and those headache-inducing formulas and have a few good drinks...
However, today happened to be little Lucy's birthday. Dalit suddenly remembered his daughter and started thinking about what present to buy for her when he passed the store later.
As Dalit was fantasizing about how to surprise his beloved daughter, he suddenly bumped into the person in front of him because the workers ahead had abruptly stopped, their faces filled with terror.
"What's the matter?" Dalit asked, puzzled.
"The street, the houses, and so many people, they just suddenly vanished..." one of the workers stuttered in fright, almost doubting his own eyes.
"How is that possible? Are you confused from fatigue?" Dalit scoffed, aware that this area was among the most bustling in Royal Capital and the most heavily fortified in the entire kingdom.
The Wizards had said that even a fly coming in from the outside would be detected by the Magic Barrier covering overhead, ensuring incredible safety.
However, when Dalit turned to look in the direction his coworkers were pointing, the mocking expression on his face instantly shifted to one of horror.
He was very familiar with this road, passing it every day to and from work. Dalit distinctly remembered that leaving the workshop led down a small alley where the Black Thorn Tavern he frequented was located, and beyond that was the large square, the busiest place in the Royal Capital.
But now, this alley had disappeared...
It wasn't the kind of disappearance that comes from being emptied out, demolished, or destroyed. It was as the workers had said: it had suddenly vanished, with the Royal Capital Square now directly in front of them.
If it hadn't been for his walk down this street just this morning, Dalit might have suspected that he was getting old and misremembering things.
The workers who had witnessed the street vanish were so scared they fell to the ground. One second their familiar alley was in front of them; the next, they were on the square.
Was it an illusion? Or magic? Or perhaps a Wizard playing a joke on them...
But Dalit quickly dismissed the idea, considering the crowd in the square, where many people, just like them, had witnessed the disappearing act. Some couples had been split, with one stepping into the alley and the other remaining on the square, now frantically searching for their vanishing partner.
The council responded quickly. Within twenty seconds of chaos erupting, Wizards dressed in golden-red robes converged from all directions, securing and isolating the area.
After a brief understanding of the situation, Sanchez, who had just arrived, felt a chill in his heart.
An area of several hundred meters had vanished, and even he, a legendary Wizard, hadn't sensed a thing, nor had the Magic Barrier that monitored Royal Capital issued any warnings.
After a moment's hesitation, Sanchez had someone try to cross the area. Surprisingly, it went smoothly with no disappearances.
Sanchez's brow furrowed. He went to the center between the city square and the industrial area, expanded his domain, and found nothing. Everything before him seemed harmonious, making him start to doubt if the street had ever existed as though the Royal Capital's engineers had designed it this way from the start.
This must be some kind of dimensional magic... Sanchez immediately realized.
"Council President, I suspect this incident might be related to that one..." a Wizard hastily suggested.
Sanchez nodded. Of course, he hadn't forgotten Lynn's residence was nearby, and such an incident happening just as he returned today was no coincidence in his eyes.
Only a deity could achieve such incredible acts.
Typically, if the Star of Magic wished to do something within Royal Capital, he would issue a warning, but this time there had been no message.
This made Sanchez feel subtly uneasy. He was about to instruct someone to notify Harrov and others when he saw dozens of streaks of light speeding from afar.
It seemed there was no need for that...
But that was also right. With such a significant fault occurring in the core of Royal Capital, no one could remain indifferent.
Meanwhile, in the mysteriously disappeared alley of Royal Capital, a carpenter who had just left the tavern and was heading home walked for a while only to see the bright sign of the Black Thorn Tavern again. He was baffled, starting to wonder if he had drunk too much, for how could there be two Black Thorn Taverns in Royal Capital.
As time progressed, more and more locals within the street also started to notice something was wrong. The alley was usually only a few hundred meters long, clearly visible to the end, but this time it was different. No matter how they walked, they couldn't escape the street, as if trapped in a bizarre maze.
Lynn, who was also in the area, had already left his residence and was floating high above, watching the increasingly chaotic scene below. He hadn't expected that his random meddling would peel this entire area off, creating an isolated space.
It was as if a corner of a paper sheet was folded directly over, creating two areas, inner and outer. For those of lower dimensions, this folded space simply vanished from their sight as if it had never existed...