Isaac slammed open the sliding door of Avery’s office hard enough that the panels rattled against the frame.
"I found it!"
Avery looked up from the stack of documents spread across her desk. Selene, who had been standing beside her while reviewing reports, turned at the same time. Both of them stared at Isaac, surprised by the sudden entrance and the excitement written plainly across his face.
"Found what?" Avery asked, folding her arms.
"The way to clear the Quest," Isaac said with a wide grin as he walked toward them.
Avery slowly leaned back in her chair. "Explain."
Isaac shook his head. "Not yet. Let Alice come first. I will explain the plan to everyone together."
Selene nodded, while Avery simply studied him with narrowed eyes. Isaac didn’t look like he was joking. She was curious what he had come up with.
The room fell into a quiet wait. Papers rustled softly as Avery organized her desk again, though her attention was no longer on the documents. Selene paced near the window, occasionally glancing at Isaac as if hoping he would change his mind and start talking.
Five minutes later, the door opened again.
Alice stepped inside. She looked between the three of them, immediately sensing the unusual atmosphere.
"Why did you call me?" she asked.
"Come sit. I found a way to deal with this Quest."
He moved closer to the center of the office and rested his hands on the table.
"Alright. I’ll start from the beginning," he said. "Moon Dragons and their descendants are mainly centered around Authority. Their entire existence revolves around command, legitimacy, and influence. They’re naturally suited to become rulers, negotiators, or political figures because their presence makes others instinctively listen and submit."
Selene nodded lightly. "And?"
At the same moment, Alice’s eyes sharpened. Understanding flashed across her expression as if she understood his plan before he even spoke.
"Defeating the Sword Empress or her army is impossible for us. I believe impossible for any trial taker. She isn’t meant to be beaten directly. That’s not what this Quest wants," Isaac said calmly.
He paused briefly, letting the words settle.
"We need to use Authority to defend against her instead."
Selene tilted her head. "Which means...?"
"It means," Isaac said, exhaling slowly, "you need to convince other kingdoms to help us. Or convince the Sword Empress herself to stop fighting."
The room went quiet.
Avery tapped her fingers lightly against the desk. "That’s not realistic. Even if Selene convinces someone, reinforcements won’t arrive in time. The Sword Empress will attack long before that. And convincing her personally is even less likely."
Isaac grinned. "Hence the Hell Difficulty."
Avery rubbed her forehead. "You’re smiling too much for a plan that sounds impossible."
"Because that’s what we are supposed to do. I’ve got a better idea," Isaac said.
He grabbed a marker from the table and walked to the board mounted on the wall. With quick strokes, he began writing while speaking.
"We are from the future. That’s what Alice and I are going to tell the Sword Empress," he said.
Selene’s eyes went wide.
Isaac chuckled at her reaction and continued, "We’ll defect to her army. Side with her. Tell her we came from the future and that we have a method to stop the Apocalypse."
Avery immediately frowned. "And she’ll trust you?"
"She will," Alice answered before Isaac could speak. "We were trained in her Arts. We can demonstrate techniques only her direct lineage should know. That alone will make her listen."
Avery shook her head. "Or she assumes you stole them. Do you understand what defecting means? She could kill you instantly. Then there would be no negotiations, or second chances."
Isaac shrugged lightly while Alice nodded once.
"We know. But we have to take the risk," Alice said.
Before Avery could argue further, Isaac continued quickly.
"We’re not putting all our eggs in one basket," he said, drawing three circles on the board. "I’ll create three clones."
He pointed to the first circle.
"One clone will stay with Selene. Together, we will use my farming ability to either join a merchant company or build one ourselves. With it, we will manipulate supply chains and markets."
Avery frowned. "Manipulate them? Why?"
"We target the families of soldiers serving under the Sword Empress, create shortages of goods, and apply pressure on them indirectly. This will make soldiers worry about their homes."
He paused, choosing his words carefully.
"When families will suffer, soldiers would want to go back. Morale would drop. Discipline would weaken."
Selene stared at him. "You want to influence an entire market within weeks? Isaac, that requires massive capital and infrastructure. That’s impossible."
"No, it isn’t," Avery murmured suddenly.
Both Isaac and Selene looked at her.
Avery slowly nodded, realization settling in. "This is before the Apocalypse."
Isaac smiled. "Exactly. And I’m a Farmer. Do you know what that means here?"
Selene’s confusion faded as understanding dawned. Her eyes widened.
"The crops... they’re still alive," she said slowly. "There is no corruption, no mana decay. Your Talent would produce absurd yields, and you can find countless variety of seeds here."
"Correct," Isaac said, snapping his fingers once. "With my production and your business skills, we can grow fast. Very fast."
The core of the plan became clear.
Isaac would generate resources at an unnatural rate. Selene would turn those resources into influence, contracts, and control.
"What about me?" Avery asked.
Isaac pointed to the second circle. "You stay with Selene and my clone, and protect them. At the same time, I’ll send another clone to contact potential allies — people you know, people with power. You’ll provide the information needed to approach them properly."
Avery nodded slowly. That part, at least, suited her strengths.
Isaac then tapped the final circle.
"Alice and I will delay the Sword Empress directly."
The strategy unfolded piece by piece.
Isaac and Alice would infiltrate her forces under the claim of being future survivors with knowledge of the coming catastrophe. While they stalled her decisions and bought time, Selene and Isaac’s clone would destabilize the army’s support structure through economic pressure.
If everything worked, the army’s morale would crumble before war even began.
If it failed, it would still bring time for allies to gather.
The weakened army of Sword Empress would face these newly recruited allies gathered by Avery and Isaac’s second clone.
The plan was simple in structure. Yet it could fail due to countless reasons.
The group spent the next hour refining details.
Problems surfaced constantly.
"How would you leave the Ladder of Heavens without raising suspicion?" Selene asked.
"You’ll be marked as deserters," Avery added.
Isaac nodded. "We accept that risk. Reputation doesn’t matter if we fail the Quest anyway."
They discussed cover identities, travel routes, communication methods between clones, and contingency signals. Every solution created two new problems, and each problem forced another adjustment.
By the time they finished, exhaustion had quietly settled over everyone.
The sun outside had already begun to set.
Isaac stretched his shoulders. "That’s enough for today. We will start the plan tomorrow."
No one argued.
Plans like this required clear heads.
Alice and Isaac left the office together, stepping into the quieter hallway. The atmosphere outside felt calmer, almost detached from the heavy decisions they had just made.
They walked side by side in silence for a while.
Alice seemed unusually quiet, her gaze lowered slightly as if she were replaying the conversation in her mind.
Finally, she spoke.
"Isaac."
"Yes?" He turned toward her.
Alice slowed her steps slightly before speaking again. "Have your real body stay with Selene. As for me, just send a clone with me."
Isaac blinked, caught off guard.
"What do you mean?"
"You need to protect Selene. I’ll be at ease knowing you’re with her. And... the Sword Empress might kill us. If you send a clone with me instead of going yourself, your chances of dying become negligible."
Isaac stopped walking.
A few steps ahead, Alice stopped too and turned around to face him.
"Alice—"
"I’m not going alone to sacrifice myself or anything," she said. A small, rare smile appeared on her face, soft enough that it almost didn’t seem real. "And I know Avery will be staying with Selene, so technically you don’t need to leave your main body there. But I’m not only talking about strategy. You should know Selene’s mental health isn’t good right now. She trusts you. If you stay with her, it will calm her down."
Isaac frowned slightly. "And what about you?"
"I’m not going to die. So stop worrying. I can handle the negotiations with the Sword Empress. Besides, you’ll still be there with me, even if it’s not your real body."
Silence settled between them.
Isaac’s lips pressed into a thin line. He clearly wanted to argue, but the words didn’t come immediately.
Before he could respond, Alice turned around again and resumed walking.
Her pace was a little faster this time, almost as if she was trying to leave the conversation behind.
Then Isaac spoke.
"I can tell you’re not asking me to stay with Selene just for her mental health."
Alice stopped.
She didn’t turn back.
The artificial sky above them shifted colors slowly, mimicking evening light across the ceiling panels.
"You want us to stay together for another reason, don’t you?" Isaac continued.
No reply came.
Only silence stretched between them.
Isaac sighed.
"Alice, you don’t have to force yourself if you don’t like this. I’ll do what you want, so—"
"Isaac."
She cut him off gently.
For some reason, Isaac knew she was smiling even without seeing her face. Though he couldn’t tell what kind of smile it was.
Alice lifted her head slightly, looking up at the artificial sky projected above them. The faint glow reflected in her eyes, making her expression softer than usual.
"You know, since childhood, Selene had a habit of taking a liking to my things."
Isaac stayed silent, sensing she needed to finish.
"She always wanted whatever I had. A toy, clothes, books... even small things that didn’t really matter. And I would give them to her without complaining."
Her voice remained calm, but there was a quiet nostalgia underneath it.
"She never asked maliciously. She just... liked what I liked."
Isaac listened without interrupting.
"This is the first time," she said softly, "that I don’t want to share what is mine."
"Then—"
"But," Alice continued before he could finish, her tone gentle but firm, "I still love my sister. Watching her happy makes me happy too."
She finally turned around.
There was no sadness on her face.
"I know her. She won’t say it directly, but she depends on you more than she realizes right now. So please, make her happy. Won’t you do it for me?"