After the few hours that followed Daniel's second climb of the stairway, the crowd had almost completely disappeared. In its place were the leaders of the unranked groups, and with them, was the old man whom they referred to as the Ancestor, who was also the leader of the fifth rank group that was tasked with obtaining this universe for his faction.
The presence of a person of this calibre at one of these events was usually indicative of the fact that a champion of Competition had finally appeared, which was a joyous event that the leaders of the unranked groups would normally celebrate. However, this time, not only was there no trace of happiness, but the area was shrouded by an uncomfortable silence.
