Earth.

Seventh Intercontinental Magic Matrix Node.

Garden Area of the Temple of Barmulodi.

Sunlight streamed dazzlingly through the forest, its scattered rays piercing the canopy and filtering through the dense leaves.

Raven moved with a graceful figure, her black cloak swaying behind her like a shadow. The tight black armor clung to her form, outlining a demonic and beautiful silhouette. Stepping across the forest floor layered with dead leaves, each step produced a soft crunch. Her eyes sparkled with interest, and her dark purple lips curved slightly in a smile. Her mood was naturally light.

She had just completed the defensive system for the entire Temple of Barmulodi and was conducting another test.

This system would become the planetary-scale magical defense matrix of the Temple of Barmulodi—integrating atomic-synthetic magical items crafted by Terminal Hera, Pamela's magical plant network, and the Earth's array inscribed by her own hands. It saturated every inch of the planet, ensuring the most convenient stability, universal teleportation, cosmic race surveillance, and planetary security for Bardi's Earth.

A shaft of sunlight broke through the dense foliage, landing on her porcelain-like skin. Raven moved her hand, summoning a light screen amidst the shaded canopy and initiating the final inspection.

The ground, covered in dry leaves, began to glow. Beneath those leaves, under Raven's inspection and control, every grain of sand and speck of soil shimmered. The forest, stretching for hundreds of miles, began to fine-tune itself under her guidance.

Not long after...

"Success!"

Raven's expression lit up with quiet joy. After countless rejections and recalculations over the span of more than a decade, she had successfully fused her magic circle into every inch of Earth. With the help of Kanna, the Lantern Corps, Terminal Hera, Pamela, and Jenny—drawing from creatures, plants, matter, life consciousness, the laws of creation, and all physical states from solid, liquid, to superionic—she had forged the most solid and stable Earth temple for Bardi.

All that remained was to choose an auspicious day to activate the core. Then the entire universe would be connected through this planet, and Earth would become the true center of all worlds. Under Bardi's rule, the universe had entered a new era of peace.

Raven's smile deepened, her heart light. She waved away the light screen and was just about to take flight back to the Temple of Barmulodi to share the good news.

Suddenly, her heart tensed. Her body froze.

"What an astounding masterpiece..."

The Spectre appeared in front of Raven. His eyes beneath the hood glanced toward the ground.

Standing on the thick layer of fallen leaves, he could feel that the entire Earth was wrapped in Raven's magic circle. At the atomic level, a massive magic circle formed from subatomic structures. In Bardi's universe, this was enough to make him a true god—capable of manipulating particles to create matter and life at will.

Raven took a step back. She could sense that the spectral figure before her was an existence she could never match.

She suddenly turned. Her black cloak billowed among the dense leaves as beams of sunlight pierced through, bringing with them a desolate and helpless chill.

Standing behind her, the Phantom Stranger was already waiting.

He removed his bowler hat and held it to his chest. "Luckily, we arrived before it began."

"My apologies, Lady Raven," the Phantom Stranger said with a polite bow.

Raven's black and white eyes met the Phantom Stranger's. Internally, she exhaled.

There was no way she could win.

Just at the moment she laid eyes on the Spectre, she knew—this space had already been sealed. They were no longer in the Temple of Barmulodi.

"The two of you have appeared in the Temple of Barmulodi without permission. My husband will be furious. Please leave immediately. Thank you."

Raven's stiff posture instantly relaxed. She stood graceful and composed, reprimanding them with elegance, speaking with the tone of a hostess.

"Please don't resist. Come with us, Lady Raven," the Phantom Stranger said in a calm, deep voice.

Raven was silent for a moment before speaking. "You're here to go after Bardi, aren't you?"

"His actions—spreading his system and preemptively ending the lives of many multiverses—have caused countless deaths. We're sorry for what this may bring to you, but we must stop him."

Raven reflected quietly. The Spectre and Phantom Stranger remained patient, waiting for her response.

After a pause, Raven said, "So he's caused trouble for you. I'm sorry. I'll talk to Bardi and have him let them die naturally. With a recycling system in place, this can be resolved."

The Phantom Stranger was stunned.

"That still doesn't change what he is. He has always been a threat to the multiverse. He shouldn't exist here."

The Spectre's voice was calm and unwavering.

Raven nodded. "I understand. Then we'll leave once Bardi completes his rule over this universe and brings peace to it."

"Don't worry. Bardi is a good man."

The Phantom Stranger and the Spectre were left speechless. Barmulodi... a good man?

If that were the case, then anyone seeking to dominate the multiverse and plunder its internal information could be called 'good.'

The rate at which multiversal information is born couldn't even keep up with Bardi's plundering. This meant the multiverse would be forcibly absorbed into Barmulodi's universe. A forced merger. A doomsday scenario for countless lives. How could the Phantom Stranger and the Spectre ever compromise?

Seeing that neither of them would be swayed, Raven frowned slightly and sighed.

"Taking me is the beginning of disaster."

Raven couldn't bear the thought. If they used her as leverage, that would bring true catastrophe. The multiverse would be destroyed.

Right now, Bardi was only just beginning to extract information from the multiverse to strengthen himself. With her persuasion, Bardi could choose a gentler path—perhaps avoiding the destruction of countless living beings.

But this action... was something Bardi could never tolerate.

He would destroy the multiverse in response.

You really... are asking for death.

"We've already prepared a path for him. He'll return to where he truly belongs."

Raven fell silent. "What are you going to do with me?"

"You'll return to your father's side."

Raven took a long look at the two, then slowly closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

She could already foresee what was to come.

Bardi would battle Trigon to rescue her and reclaim his existence. And in the process, to oppose Trigon, Bardi would spare nothing—destroying the multiverse if he had to.

This multiverse... is doomed.

In an instant, Raven opened her hands. A wave of blood-red light erupted from her soft body.

She curled into herself like an infant, arms wrapped around her knees. The flowing blood solidified in an instant, forming a diamond-shaped crimson crystal that sealed her within.

The sunlight struck the blood-red crystal. Inside it, Raven slept like a baby—knees drawn in, arms wrapped tight.

"Bardi, I'm fine..."

(To be continued.)