The aura, clearly that of someone in one of the domain realms—though I couldn't tell which for sure—froze us all and dragged us out of the ship through the small hallway in the ceiling. Alice's aura flared in defiance of the oppressive control being applied to her, and normally my pseudo-domain would have done the same instinctually, but knowing we were in the sect made me think twice about fighting back. Being unable to tell Alice not to fight back was unfortunate, but luckily nothing happened as a force I couldn't see lifted me up even as similar forces lifted up everyone else and whisked us out of the ship and into the harsh midday sunlight.

By the time my eyes adjusted to the new, non-artificial, light, we had all been placed down in a large open paved area surrounded by various elders and cultivators of the sect. A lot of them looked angry, but the two I was most concerned about were Elder Hazeon who was looking to both Yin and I confusedly, and the man floating above the assembled elders and powerhouses of the sect.

The man, crowned by a resplendent halo sitting above his mop of sandy blonde hair, wore the elegant robes of an elder of the sect, but with additional rainbow filigree across the fabric. His garments were also pinned up in certain places making the robes hug his body more without sagging in the normal places. He was around Jia's father's age if I had to guess by his looks. His piercing blue eyes were overwhelmed by a triple set of interconnecting rings surrounding his pupils and it felt like his gaze would pierce right through me. I wanted to avert my eyes, but I couldn't. He had an inquisitive look on his face while inspecting Rin, Yin, and I though his gaze lingered on Alice for a few moments longer than the rest of us.

I realized she was still flaring her aura and quickly told her everything was fine and she could relax. She followed my instructions immediately, the surrounding elders withdrawing some of their hostility in tandem with Alice. Shimmer merely cleaned one of her paws, completely unbothered by the current predicament we seemed to be in.

Despite how big of trouble we were clearly in, I couldn't help but notice the faint sound of a rumbling waterfall off in the distance. I looked over to see a massive deluge of water cascading over a raised cliff on the edge of a valley and crashing into the river below. That river wound toward us through the various pavings and structures the sect had created around it. More buildings stood atop the cliff, speaking to the sprawl the sect had gone through. Above the waterfall, the near perpetual rainbow I had heard about struck out in a riot of vibrant colors. Above it all, adding to the sunlight without being overbearing or harsh, an enormous shining halo, mirroring that of the scary looking man floating above the elders, sat unmoving and emanated a deep and powerful hum. Looking at it, I could almost feel the power radiating from the floating ring and stared at it until a steady voice broke me from my sightseeing.

"Elder Vale. Elder Yang. I believe three of these young ones belong to you two?" He said, seriously, but maybe with a note of amusement in his voice?

Elder Hazeon and Elder Yang both appeared inside the artificially created encirclement of cultivators. Elder Yang bowed to the man in a formal way while Elder Hazeon raised his hand up in greeting and a nod of his head.

I hadn't known Elder Hazeon's surname before, but why did everyone call him Elder Hazeon if that wasn't his surname anyway? Elder Yang shot elder Hazeon a dirty look at his haphazard greeting but he didn't seem to mind.

"Yes sir. I apologize deeply for my direct disciple causing such a scene in the sect. She was on a mission until recently and has been missing for nearly a month. I will be sure to give you a satisfactory reason for this…disruption…once I've had time to debrief miss Xiong." Elder Yang said. I looked over to Rin, but she had a gloomy and determined look on her face and her hands were balled up into fists. To my astonishment, she stepped forward then and spoke before Elder Hazeon could address the man who must have been the sect leader based on Elder Yang's deference to the man.

"That's not my name anymore! My name is Rin Xiong Everwood and I won't let anyone disgrace the Everwood name, and its legacy, by forgetting that!" She shouted, loud enough for everyone assembled to hear it.

…what? ………what? When did that happen? Their final conversation in the trial…maybe? I was definitely going to sit her down for a nice conversation about that particular tidbit of information once we had the chance. While I had been dazed, Rin's statement had had a profound effect on Elder Yang too.

"What? Young lady Xiong, you-"

"No!" Rin spat out, unrelenting determination in her voice. She looked nearly twice as large standing there now, her conviction clear as she stared her master down.

"Rin. Xiong. Everwood." She said, each part of her name a new, pointed, statement.

Elder Yang looked confused, then angry, then frustrated before sighing.

"Fine. We'll discuss this later. For now, please do not interrupt Elders when they're speaking, miss…Everwood." Elder Yang relented, much to my surprise. I had pegged the woman as no nonsense, severe, and stubborn, but maybe I had been wrong?

Rin stepped back, now mollified by the use of her new name, at which point Elder Hazeon spoke up.

"The other two, and the fox, are mine indeed, though the green haired girl seems like she'd fit in well under my tutelage as well, assuming they have an appropriate explanation for her, and this strange ship's, existence." He said, looking past us. At his mention of it, I realized the ship was now totally unearthed and we could see what it looked like. I turned around, expecting a ship style like I was used to and froze in place, Rin, and Yin turning as well. Rin gasped at the same time I facepalmed.

The ship was about the size I expected from seeing only the main deck of the ship above ground. It was a bit smaller than the city lord's manor back in Cheng Lian city in length, but not nearly as tall as that building was. All things considered, the parts of the ship that had been above ground before made up only around 20% of its total length. It was a sleek metallic silver color with various trimmings, windows, panels, and all the normal things you'd expect from a space-faring ship. The jarring part of the ship, and what caused Rin to gasp and now be trying to hold back giggles, was the vibrant red-orange stylized flame pattern radiating outside of a cleared circle with a wisp of the same flame in the center of the circle. The flames trailed down the side of the ship and to the tail but didn't venture farther up the ship from their location around the circled flame.

I couldn't believe how…tacky it looked. I looked to Alice.

"Alice…what is with those flames??" I whispered to her. She clearly didn't understand my issue with it as she just answered me.

"That is the symbol of the Aurion sect. It represents the devotion they have to the Divine Flame and how they strive to ensure its warmth reaches all." She said.

"Wasn't this supposed to be a secret research base? Wouldn't emblazoning the mark of your sect on your research ship make tracking it down, and knowing research is going on there, easier??" I asked, very confused at the design choice.

Alice shook her head.

"Every ship in the Aurion sect uses that design somewhere on it. And the Aurion sect wasn't hiding that research was being done, only what that research was." She explained. I guess that made sense, though I still wish it didn't look like it did.

Then I realized that Elder Hazeon was looking toward me expectantly, as were all of the other elders, clearly drawn by the hushed conversation I had had with Alice.

"Uh…it's a long story?" I tried, with a sheepish smile prompting Elder Hazeon to smile slightly while Elder Yang scowled at me.

"All four of the young women, the young spirit companion, and Elders Vale and Yang will come to the meeting hall to explain what exactly is going on." The floating sect leader said, gesturing to a large nearby structure. We all dutifully followed his orders, Alice following when I gestured for her to do so.

We walked down a few hallways within the well furnished building, the design style not really meshing with what I had come to expect from Dou Can. It was closer to that of the city lord's manor in Shironia than other sects and cities I had seen. No one spoke during the walk, though I looked over to see Rin was busy manipulating her flames to create the Aurion sect symbol, even adding the trailing flames to it. She caught me watching and winked before giggling at the embarrassed look on my face. Elder Yang looked peeved when she looked back to see our antics while Elder Hazeon smiled at me warmly.

We finally arrived to a meeting room and all took seats, us four on one side with the two elders, Yin, and the sect leader on the other side, though Shimmer sat in my lap rather than using a seat for herself.

Without preamble, I jumped into an explanation of what had happened since Rin and I left the sect, leaving almost nothing out except for things like the impromptu therapy session Alexis had given Rin and I. I tactfully left out any mention of the current objectives for completing Project Eden but did explain I had been given leadership over the project. Sometime during the explanation, Shimmer had curled into a ball and fell asleep, clearly bored and hoping to get some well deserved sleep while I explained everything. I absently pet her while recounting the story, the feel of her soft fur keeping me calm, even through the more traumatic parts of the story.

After I finished explaining, hoping it would be the last time I'd have to go through the Shironia trial for a while, I felt drained. It was a long story, and it was hard to think it all took place in a little under a month.

I inspected the faces of the elders and sect leader, though I couldn't read anything from them. Luckily, Elder Hazeon was the first to speak up not too long after, leaving the awkward silence in the room short.

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"That's…quite the story. It would explain why no one was able to find the ruins after you two disappeared. Though, to think an entire ship was buried that close to the sect beggars belief." He said, glancing over to the sect leader who sat there, staring slightly down at the table.

"I'm finding this all quite difficult to believe, but miss Xi- or rather miss Everwood is corroborating everything. If a demonic threat greater than what we're currently facing lays in wait somewhere out there, its seal weakening by the day, we must do something to stop it." Elder Yang chimed in. The older woman again surprising me. I would have bet she would have been difficult to convince, despite Rin being there with me. Maybe I had the entirely wrong impression of her.

"Can you show us the Divine Flame?" The sect leader asked, the question expected. I nodded and conjured a wisp of the incandescent flame in my palm. The light enraptured the three senior cultivators, each inspecting it closely.

"I don't feel anything from it, it seems like a normal flame, though its color is somewhat unique." Elder Yang commented.

"You might need an affinity with the element to begin with to feel it, this flame truly is special. I can feel it resonating with my fire affinity." Elder Hazeon chimed in.

The sect leader reached out with a finger and touched the flame, the fire quickly attacking the man, growing in strength as he let it burn on his hand for a few moments before quashing it with his own qi, the small flame unable to survive the torrent of deep blue qi the man flooded it with, though it lasted much longer than I expected, even burning some of the water qi away before it was extinguished.

There was no damage or indication that the flame had been there, but the sect leader frowned.

"Quite curious. It feels no different than a normal flame created by qi, though perhaps it feels slightly different? Not enough that I would be concerned about it in a fight, but it does feel more pure, more refined, than traditional fire qi. I don't have that particular affinity, but Elder Vale's mention of its resonance would make sense." He said, still staring at his hand.

This was all very interesting, and I didn't totally hate the attention from the more powerful cultivators, but that really wasn't the most important thing at the moment.

"So…what are we going to do about the seal on the demons weakening?" I asked, then a follow up question came to mind.

"Also, we learned that a whole sector or multiple sectors of the universe were sealed off with the demons inside of it. Is there part of the known universe where we just can't go?" I asked, somewhat ignorant to knowledge about the wider universe due to how secluded Setria 9 was and how insular Dou Can seemed to be.

Both Elder Hazeon and Elder Yang looked to the sect leader who thought for a few moments.

"I spent a good majority of my young life in the outer reaches of the universe as we call them. Out there, there's a boundary that we call 'The Precipice". Beyond that artificial zone in space is pure void. Nothing can be seen when looking out into it, and no one knows how far it reaches. Journeying into the void will immediately cause you to lose your sense of direction, and become lost in the void. Only a few have ever successfully escaped from that place, and all of them are permanently changed. They fear the darkness, lose sight of their paths, and are plagued by heart demons until they perish.

Over the past centuries, I've heard some claim that the void has receded. That some have discovered planets, or entire star systems that previously had not existed.

I'm unsure of the veracity of these claims, but should any part of this universe be a seal to protect against the demonic threat, then my guess would be that it was the void. There's nowhere else in the universe as unknown and intraversable as that place." He said.

I couldn't think of a reason why that wouldn't be the seal, though I was unsure of how we could confirm. If we knew where the threat would come from, we might be able to prepare more and get a more accurate reading of how long we had before the seal was broken. Then the sect leader thought for a few moments, his hand on his chin before continuing.

"As for what we need to do, I think our plan of action should be three-fold.

Firstly, we need to contact all of the other sects on Dou Can not outwardly supporting the demonic cultivators of the Inferno Scorpion Sect. We'll need to convince them that this demonic threat is much larger than just the Inferno Scorpion sects and its allies. We'll need Dou Can to be united against them. This will also let us work toward finding possible locations where the other trials may be located. From what you explained, Astra, Dou Can should have trials for the other elements. Should finding inheritors for these elements be the key to survival, we should work toward finding them with all haste. Convincing everyone of this truth is going to be…difficult though. But we have no choice but to try. At the least, the increasing demonic presence on Dou Can should be convincing to most that something larger may be happening.

Secondly, we'll need to send an envoy to the Beltigo corporation. This threat is not merely one that affects Dou Can. The entire universe will be swallowed up should the demonic threat not be handled. We need the wide reach of the Beltigo corporation to get a message out to the powerful forces within the universe and rally together as a combined front.

Lastly, we'll need to ensure Astra grows as strong as possible. If she is as important to the fight against the demons as the Aurion sect seemed to think the inheritors would be, we need to help her grow in strength. Elder Vale, I assume you'll be pulling out all the stops in her teachings?" He asked, looking toward Elder Hazeon who nodded. He nodded, then continued.

"These are, of course, only the early steps needed to prepare. This is becoming a much larger issue than our little planet, and we're going to need to work together so we do not share the same fate as our predecessors." He said, his voice growing solemn toward the end.

This was growing larger than just what I could handle, and I wondered what part I would have in this whole plan, outside of just getting stronger—which I was going to do anyway.

"What should we do, sir?" Rin asked, saving me from having to ask it myself. He nodded to Rin, Alice, and I.

"For now, there isn't much for you three to do other than growing in strength. You're not far enough on your paths to have a marked change on the war with the Inferno Scorpion Sect, nor should we waste your talents by having you act as envoys to the Beltigo corporation or other sects. I think it would benefit humanity the most if you all grew stronger first. You especially, Astra.

Considering your designation as the Head Researcher of this 'Project Eden', would it be possible for you to transfer the Head Researcher position over to someone more suitable? They could work on improving Alice's combat capabilities, giving her much better tools to fight against the demons herself." He said. There was no malice in his words, but my stomach twisted at the thought of someone else taking over the research. Someone twisting Alice's mind and forcing her to fight like the upper echelons of the Aurion sect had wanted.

"NO!" I shouted, much too loud and abrupt for the question that was asked. Shimmer jolted awake at my sudden exclamation, her ears turning every which way, sensing for any danger. After a few seconds of searching, she deemed everything safe and sent me an annoyed feeling through our bond for daring to disturb her slumber.

"I-I mean… no, I can't do that. Alice is my responsibility, and as the person with the highest rank in the Aurion sect, despite its fall, I have an…obligation to see Project Eden through to its end." I hurriedly said, flushing with embarrassment at my sudden outburst, and hoping my cobbled together excuse wouldn't be too unbelievable.

The sect leader looked to Alice, and then back to me, his expression inscrutable, then he nodded slowly, and sighed.

"That's fine. I'm sure you have your reasons. In the end, I doubt we have the resources or capability to make more cultivators like Alice. I'm also unsure we should. Despite my personal feelings, should Project Eden be feasibly recreated, we may need to use any method at our disposal to fight against the demons. At that point, we may have to revisit this topic." He said, again his words held no malice, but they rubbed me the wrong way.

I didn't like the idea of reviving Project Eden as it was. I had no doubt that someone would try to use the project to create a true weapon like Alice was meant to be. In order to make sure no one could do what was almost done to Alice, I needed to get stronger.

The sect leader seemed to have noticed my newfound look of determination. And he nodded.

"While I doubt anyone will be able to take the position of Head Researcher from you without killing you, if the wrong person learns about this project, they may try and recreate it themselves. After all, Alice is living proof that it can be done. Should they assemble the correct people, I have no doubt they could replicate Alice's existence in due time." He said, giving me a meaningful look.

I recoiled at the idea, and the implication that Alice could just be replicated sat wrong in my stomach. I didn't want to know the answer, but I needed to ask anyway.

"And why won't you do the same thing?" I asked him. He shook his head.

"Like I said. We don't have the capability or resources to do so. Even if we did, I find the idea distasteful and have doubts as to how useful it could be for us. I think it would be more prudent to focus our energy, attention, and resources onto avenues that will help us survive. " He said. It all made sense, but it was hard to believe he didn't covet strength in the same way those in the Aurion sect had when it came to the project.

He seemed to notice my suspicion and he sighed again, deeper this time.

"I understand that a lot of responsibility has been foisted upon you in such a short time, but you're only at the core formation realm, Astra. This fight against the demons will likely involve forces at the level of the domain solidification realm or even higher. If we had centuries to research and work on the project, then maybe we could create powerful cultivators, but creating cultivators in the core formation realm isn't worth our time. While you may become pivotal to humanity's survival once you've grown to the domain realms, before then, the scale of this fight is above what you're capable of bearing." He said, splashing cold water on the growing burden of responsibility that had been festering within me.

From the trial, to becoming the Head Researcher of Project Eden, I had felt that I was somehow integral to humanity's hopes. At least the message Joam had left for me in the ship had made me think so. But thinking back to it, Alexis wasn't one of the strongest in the whole sect alliance, but she was squarely in the domain creation realm, even if her ascent to that realm was too fast and left her foundation damaged. What could I do to truly turn the tide in the fight against the demons? If the Divine Flame was enough to make up the difference in realm for me to be useful, then how had they failed to defeat the demons in the past with all six of the divine elements?

That must mean I'm probably more effective against fighting demons, but not enough that I can ignore the difference in realms too drastically. Without becoming more powerful on my own path, I wasn't going to be able to truly help in the fight against the demons. But…did I need to help? How long did we have before the seal was broken? Would I even become powerful enough in time to be of use?

"Astra, I can imagine what you're feeling." The sect leader said, pulling me from my thoughts before I could spiral any further.

"I'm not saying you aren't important in the fight against the demons. You took part in the trial and successfully completed it. Then you were able to find that ancient ship and bring it back, along with the information about the demonic horde. That in itself is invaluable to our fight. While you're young, and relatively weak at the moment, there is still time to grow." He said, sounding a lot like a wise teacher in the moment. It reminded me of the note Joam had left for the inheritor of the Divine Flame and his words in them.

The Divine Flame will not show pity to a mortal, nor will the other Divine Elements. Be assured, those chosen as inheritors are worthy. You are worthy.

It did make me feel better. I may not be a powerhouse capable of destroying star systems or fighting toe to toe with the strongest demons, but the Divine Flame had chosen me. If I grew strong enough, I might be able to make some difference in the fight. My determination was renewed, and it must have shown on my face because the sect leader continued.

"Good. I'm sure that with Elder Vale's tutelage you'll grow in power quickly. I've heard quite impressive things about your cultivation ability. You'll also need to gain more real battle experience which reminds me, the direct disciple tournament is happening soon. Perhaps it would be a good idea for you to join in and see what your fellow direct disciples have to offer?" He suggested and my blood ran cold at the mere suggestion.

"Absolutely not!" I exclaimed, surprising everyone in the room.

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