Thalion had to admit this was one of the meetings he was most invested in. The weight of the information made his chest tight. All in all, New Earth seemed destined to be far harsher than he had anticipated, and his hopes for it were not high, more like a candle flickering in a storm than a blazing torch.

"We can't say which faction will buy an incursion," Maike said, her voice steady but strained. "An incursion doesn't even need to come from a god. It could be launched by E or D-grade factions. Their commanders might not match the strength of a god's or an S-grade faction, but it will still be one hell of a struggle. Gods will also be quick to purchase incursions to give their Chosen an even greater advantage.

Our only advantage is that they cannot choose where the incursion will appear on the planet. That randomness is our shield. But make no mistake. Closing incursions will be our highest priority if we want to live freely, rather than end up as war-slaves."

She let out a breath as though the words themselves had been carved out of her lungs.

"New Earth will be a high-value target," Evelyn added, her expression grim. "The news of Ankhet has spread far and wide. Many factions probably don't even realize he's dead. From what the Spider Queen told me, each faction gets ten planets to choose from for incursions, depending on their power. For a price, they can reshuffle the list. But the reshuffling period ended a few days ago. At that time, most factions still believed Ankhet was alive. That means Earth could already be marked, especially by non-godly factions."

Evelyn, more than anyone else, carried knowledge of New Earth. Kargul's and Annie's patrons had grown silent, barely answering at all. After Ankhet's death, most gods had abandoned their Blessed, treating them as pawns no longer worth the effort. Only Evelyn seemed unaffected. The Spider Queen whispered to her as freely as ever, as if the two were bound by a deeper pact.

That thought gnawed at Thalion. Just how rare was Evelyn's blessing, truly? He might need to speak with her alone.

"There's another problem," Kaldrek said, his deep voice rumbling like distant thunder. "Even if gods and higher beings can't enter New Earth directly, they'll be far less restricted in the new integrated universe. They'll guide their followers, show them where to gather, and grant them countless advantages.

We already have enemies, many enemies. That seems to be the natural order in the System: gain some power, rule some land, and suddenly you're a target. But this time it's worse. A great number of gods lost massive investments in this tutorial because of us. Right now, they don't know the full extent of it. But the moment the tutorial ends, they'll receive everything their Blessed experienced. They'll learn exactly what we've taken from them. And then?" He paused, his eyes cold. "Then they'll send their followers to retaliate."

That truth pressed on the room like a suffocating weight, the kind that makes silence louder than words.

"And that's not the only way they can track us," Maike added, concern etching deep lines into her face. "There are tracking crystals in the System Shop. Kael, Kai, and Sylas are still lurking somewhere in this tutorial. If they survived, they could give one of those crystals to their allies. It would only be a matter of time before they found us again. And this time, they wouldn't come alone. They'd bring armies."

A murmur rippled through the council. The thought of those three returning was like the shadow of a storm seen on the horizon—distant, but inevitable.

"And they're not our only enemies," Kaldrek sighed, shaking his head. "Let's not forget, we're currently slaughtering elves in ways that could be called… less than merciful."

Thalion had to admit it: from the outside, their actions looked cruel. No, he corrected himself, it was cruel. But cruelty had become survival. He was long past offering second chances to those who had tried to kill him or his people.

"If we kill Althirion too, then no one will be left to tell the tale," Annie said coldly. She had never hidden her hatred of elves, and she was not alone. In recent days, the elves had caused so much bloodshed that nearly everyone in the base despised them.

"Althirion told me something," Jack interjected suddenly. "He said he had to reject his blessing after leaving the elves. He feared his god would kill him outright, because the Elven Queen had become that god's Chosen."

The revelation cracked through the council like a hammer striking glass.

"What!?" Maike's eyes widened. "Why haven't you told us this earlier? The elves might be the most vengeful faction of all! They'll come for us, no matter the cost."

"Elves see themselves above humans. For one of their kind to be killed by us is an insult they would never let slide," Josh exclaimed, his tone sharp and accusatory as his eyes fixed on Jack.

"Well, the other things also seemed important, so I waited until now," Jack replied, surprised that the others hadn't known. "I thought at least Kaldrek or Maike were aware, since they allowed him to stay, as long as he helped the weaker humans level and tracked down those in the jungle who are still killing our hunting parties."

"Wait… someone is killing our hunting parties? Elves?" Thalion asked, intrigued.

It couldn't be the elves, could it? They had already killed a fair number of them. Even with their hatred, the survivors should know they stood no chance against him. Those who had escaped had used tokens, leaving them weakened for days, if not an entire week. That they could wipe out large hunting parties without being discovered was highly unlikely.

It had to be someone else. Maybe Kael? That one had also used a token, but enough time had passed, he could have recovered. Unlikely, but possible. The vampires who had fled for their lives? No, they were too broken to be a threat.

So who else was out there, strong enough to destroy entire hunting parties again and again?

The Water Princess? She had vanished, along with most of the Blue Robes who once enslaved Earth's humans. Their base might have a thousand of those robed followers, but they were weak, underleveled, fragile. Most didn't even know what had happened in the second and third stages of the tutorial. And why would the Water Princess waste her strength on mere hunting parties? That, too, was unlikely.

Thalion's mind spiraled. It was like chasing shadows in a hall of mirrors and each answer dissolved into another question. Could it be a new enemy entirely?

"We have no idea," Kaldrek summarized bluntly. "Whoever it is, they have some method of shutting down communication tokens in the area. Our only hope is that someone managed to escape with a token, but the chances are slim. The attackers are selective. They target only the weakest parties."

A murmur swept the council. The room seemed heavier, as if the words themselves were bricks added to the weight pressing on everyone's shoulders.

"We already restrict the weaker ones, letting them go outside only in large groups," Kaldrek continued. "But many don't listen, and we don't have the manpower to control everything. And the guards… they're losing motivation. Many already have their weapons and armor, so why should they work for us if they're not being paid?"

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His explanation did little to ease the tension. If anything, it deepened it. The guards who remained were weaker, unable to stop an E-grade if violence broke out. It was like patching a dam with paper and the cracks only spread wider.

"Do we even have an idea who's behind these attacks?" Josh asked after a long pause.

"No," Maike admitted, her voice tight with frustration. "We've already lost one hundred and sixty citizens. That's not catastrophic compared to the city's size, but it's more than enough to sow fear. I've tried multiple methods to uncover their identity these last days, but all have failed."

"Back to New Earth," Annie cut in, her expression grim. "How do we keep the citizens loyal if they're already abandoning guard duty?"

Her mood, like everyone else's, had been dragged down by the grim new revelations. The truth about New Earth and how dangerous it would be. It was crushing hope faster than their enemies could.

"That's one of the reasons we plan to split them into multiple groups," Maike explained. "That way, each group is forced to care for its own safety. But that brings another risk. The stronger ones may choose to leave, traveling across New Earth to find their families or search for treasures.

It's common knowledge that natural treasures, formed where the fusing worlds bled into one another, hold immense power. They can accelerate body-tempering and grant massive power-ups. Those treasures are also why the powerful beasts abandoned the tutorial. They already have a head start."

Her words trailed off, failing to answer Annie's question about loyalty. Thalion frowned. He would have thought safety was reason enough for people to stay, but without guards, murder would soon grow common. Worse, powerful enemies might seek revenge on him personally. Too many still lived who could spill his secrets, or at least the fragments they thought they knew.

They didn't know the truth. His title. His bond to the Outsider. His shapeshifting bloodline. All of that was hidden. At best, someone might have seen a recording of his battle with the female elf. Maybe they believed his lack of control gave them a chance. If so, they would be in for the shock of their lives the moment he activated the One form.

Until then, he would power up even in his crippled eclipsari form. But their anger worried him. Could they really be so enraged simply because he had refused to let their Blessed kill him?

The thought lingered, bitter and sharp. It was like a blade pressed against his back unseen, but always there.

<--

"I have good news about the one who stole from me in another tutorial," the voice of Aeta echoed in Ethan's mind, like the growl of a predator crouched in the dark, ready to strike. "It is a valuable item, and you must retrieve it. Not only that, you must also capture the man who stole it. With the bloodplant inside his body and the item in our possession, we can elevate one of our generals to new heights. That will give you far better chances in the coming System events."

Aeta had complained many times about his stolen investment being used by another. Ethan, of course, was Aeta's Chosen, and he had dominated his own tutorial. No other race had survived, except for a few scattered runaways. Hunting them down in the vast plains of the fifth stage was more trouble than it was worth.

"I shall do as you wish, my patron. Do you have any information about this human by now?" Ethan asked.

He leaned back in a chair overlooking an arena, watching two of his strongest warriors clash. Every member of his crew bore at least a celestial blessing from Aeta. It was natural, each of them was a high investment, carefully chosen because Aeta saw their potential to ascend to godhood. Over fifty in his city carried legendary blessings. They were disciplined, powerful, and unbeaten. Not a single one of them had fallen against elves, vampires, or orcs. The latter had been especially laughable, brutes who crashed against his disciplined archers like waves breaking on cliffs.

"Yes. I cannot watch him directly, but I can relay a recording," Aeta replied, his voice thick with killing intent that bled through the divine link. The god's rage was like a storm pressing against Ethan's chest, suffocating and electric. "After the tutorial ends, I will be able to see him myself. One of my Blessed has managed to place an infiltrator inside the humans' base. This infiltrator carries a tracker, and with it we can find him instantly. You will need to purchase the counterpart in the System Shop. But do not worry, it is among the items reserved only for my Blessed."

Ethan exhaled slowly, feeling the god's fury twist through him. Aeta wanted blood, and when a god demanded blood, it was always delivered.

His eyes returned to the duel below. One fighter wielded twin daggers, the other a saber. Both men were tall, lean, and built for speed—like panthers circling in the shadows, every movement a coiled spring. Their blades rang out in sharp, metallic bursts, echoing through the empty arena. No ground was given and neither faltered.

Their power was real, yet Ethan knew it only seemed overwhelming because he was holding back his own aura. They had bought this arena exclusively for Aeta's Blessed, those with legendary blessings or higher, so they could train without fear of spies. Other factions constantly sought to steal the secrets of rival Chosen, especially after the disaster with Ankhet's tutorial. Ethan was glad he hadn't been part of that chaos. With so many factions, building a proper army there had been nearly impossible.

But none of that mattered. Most wouldn't be able to keep their people alive on New Earth anyway. Ethan's path was different. He would open a portal to one of Aeta's worlds and receive supplies directly. Entire shipments of resources. Building crystals large enough to raise cities in days.

Was it fair? Of course not. But fairness was a dead word in this new reality. Some were ground into dust, while others rose like stars in the night sky. Ethan belonged to the latter.

He watched the duel continue, the clash of blades the only sound filling the arena. Yet through his bloodline, he saw more than just the fight. To him, multiple futures unfolded in ghostly slashes and faint afterimages. He could see where each strike would land, where steel would carve flesh, moments before his warriors even committed. When one of the many phantom strikes solidified while the others distorted, he knew his opponent's choice.

That was his bloodline. That was why Aeta had blessed him.

No one in his tutorial had even come close to his strength. From level one, his classes had always been celestial, lifted by divine favor.

A token solidified in his hand as Aeta sent the recording. Strange, Ethan thought, that the god couldn't simply share what his other Blessed had gathered directly, yet could transmit an entire recording.

A smile spread across his face as he watched the battle unfold. An elf against a human with blood skills. The human's attacks carried force, but to Ethan they were as predictable as raindrops sliding down a windowpane.

The longer he watched, the wider his smile grew.

Catching that human on New Earth would be child's play.

The only thing that could save him was spawning on the other side of the planet.

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