If he hadn't seen its formation process with his own eyes, Bologue would definitely have taken this for a sphere cast from gold, its gleaming surface reflecting one blurred face after another.
"Begin compression!"
Mamo shouted, and at his command, the Garden's output power surged sharply.
Arcs of electricity struck the Ethereal Ball again and again like forging hammers beating on steel; with every impact, the Ethereal Ball shrank slightly, as if the energy inside it were being evaporated.
Bologue had seen a similar scene inside Raymond Gaudent; this wasn't evaporation, but compression.
The Garden was attempting to constrain the Ethereal Ball, forcing it to compress and concentrate even further, and then…collapse.
Boom—
One of the restraining metal spikes couldn't bear such immense energy; it burst and warped, and in the layered electric rings gathering around it, a gap appeared as a result.
