“...The gods disappeared.” Mo Ying walked slowly, murmuring to herself.

She walked through a gray world. There were no trees here, no trace of life—only a faded wasteland, crumbling ruins, and a few large rocks. In the distance, a cliff could faintly be seen ahead.

“So there really are living people who come here. A living person.” A voice sounded. Mo Ying looked up and saw a young woman in her twenties, her figure slightly translucent, staring at her with curiosity.

Mo Ying had deliberately come to a place with... little traffic. She hadn’t expected there to be wandering souls here as well.

“Is this the first time you’ve seen a living person here?” Mo Ying asked.

“That’s right. This is the Netherworld—the world of the dead. Of course I’d find it strange to see someone alive.” The woman said.

“Some Affinity Users with a Death Affinity can travel through the Underworld.”

Among Affinity Users, this was common knowledge, though some ordinary people still didn’t know about it.

“I heard about that before. So it’s actually true! Oh right, you can call me Laura.” Laura said.

“Alright, Laura. I’m Mo Ying.”

Laura looked somewhat excited, perhaps because she had finally met someone she could talk to.

“Do you come here often? Will you stay here long?”

Mo Ying: “...I know you don’t mean anything bad by it, but those words don’t sound very auspicious. Why would a living person frequently visit the world of the dead?”

“Hm? Wouldn’t they?” Laura blinked. “If I had that ability, I’d definitely come here all the time.”

“No. Even for me, this isn’t a place I can visit whenever I want. There are certain conditions.” Mo Ying walked over to a large rock and sat down. “Why would you want to come here often?”

Laura sat beside her.

“So I can meet the people I want to see.”

The people she wanted to see...

That made sense. In a person’s life, loss was inevitable. It was impossible to keep everything one cherished—everything beautiful—by one’s side forever.

Mo Ying didn’t ask Laura who she wanted to meet.

“You might not necessarily find the person you’re looking for. You’ve probably been here for quite a while already. Did you find them?”

Laura fell silent for a moment before saying,

“I didn’t realize the Underworld was this big.”

“Do you feel lonely?” Mo Ying asked.

“A little. But there are other wandering souls here too, so I’m not completely alone.” Laura said.

This was the shallow layer of the Underworld. Many wandering souls drifted here. Even some people who had once been in near-death states had brief experiences of arriving here.

“Logically speaking, you should have already found rest...” Mo Ying murmured.

“What?” Laura turned her head.

“No, it’s nothing.” Mo Ying stood up and began walking toward the distance. “I should leave now.”

“So soon? I finally met a living person. I was hoping we could chat a bit longer.” Laura looked slightly disappointed, but quickly regained her smile. “I hope I can see you again. Bye.”

Laura waved her hand.

“That’s hardly a blessing.” Mo Ying shook her head. 

Still, she hadn’t found her parents yet.

Where exactly could they be?

“Rest... No, they haven’t found rest yet.” Mo Ying sighed.

She had encountered many souls in the Underworld. Among them, the one who had died the earliest had passed away fifty years ago.

Exactly when the gods disappeared.

Therefore, one could reasonably speculate: after the God of Death, Nihilab, vanished, the operations of the Underworld stopped. The rules no longer functioned, which was why so many souls remained trapped here.

“What exactly is the truth?”

Sibelyna voiced the question that countless people had wondered about.

“Madam Diviner, what do you mean?” asked Colton Brown, the representative of the Omniscient Scholars Association.

“It’s nothing. I was simply thinking about a mystery... one that no one has solved yet. However, it isn’t related to today’s topic.” Sibelyna said.

“Then what is the purpose of gathering us here?” Anastasia asked.

Inside a private room in a café sat representatives from various major organizations.

The Hayes family and the Haruwa family had their heads present in person, while the Yan family was represented by Elder Yan Hong from their council.

“There is indeed something to discuss, but first let’s review the recent investigation results.” Sylvelina said. “First, regarding the attack before the ball. After interrogation, we learned that those individuals acted on their own initiative. It was not an order issued by the Non-Affinity Group.”

“That was easy enough to guess. Their actions lacked any real organization.” Colton said.

“Some people think that grabbing a few firearms means they can defeat Affinity Users. They don’t stop to consider—if that were really the case, would Affinity Users still hold the dominant position?” Yan Hong snorted.

“That’s not necessarily true, Mr. Yan. It depends on what kind of ability the Affinity User has.” said the representative of the Heliox Consortium, a multinational corporation that had extensive cooperation with the Hayes family.

“That’s true. But there’s an interesting phenomenon. As times change, the abilities of Affinity Users seem to evolve accordingly.” Anastasia said.

“You mean that newly emerging abilities change with the era—like system updates? For example, among younger Affinity Users, abilities related to controlling firearms or creating electronic devices have appeared. Is that what you mean? That’s definitely a field worth studying!” At the mention of this, Colton grew excited.

“Wait. Academic discussions aren’t the focus right now.” Sibelyna raised her hand.

“The reason there were more attacks targeting the Haruwa family is because the Haruwa family once treated the family members of several of the attackers. However, they failed to save their lives, or were unable to fully heal them, leaving them disabled.”

“So that’s the reason?” Haruwa Ginako said. “I regret what happened to them. But if everyone attacks doctors because of such things, who would still dare to practice medicine and save lives?”

“Exactly. But there will always be some irrational people.” Anastasia nodded.

“That concludes the current investigation results. Now we come to the main reason I invited everyone here.”

“A few days ago, I believe all of you received my warning.”

“The upcoming Three Great Families Conference will not proceed very smoothly.”