It was indeed a mechanism to protect the geniuses.
Damien revisited Zenith when the invasion began. During their first meeting, they'd already planned the race for the crown. At that time, Damien hadn't scanned the world so he didn't know about the forsaken dragon clans or Rose yet. Still, he knew that there would be a massive change soon.
After all, he was the one who asked Serena for help with the time array. Though he couldn't tell exactly what they were doing, he could feel the changes in the world.
Arulion was just as affected as other places. In order to include the secluded plane without alerting its people, the array lines were run through the Western Region itself and connected to the hidden realm through more esoteric means.
