Eventually I reached the heart of the city.
And stopped.
A second barrier stood before me. Unlike the city-wide barrier surrounding the outer perimeter, this one felt completely different.
My eyes narrowed.
The translucent dome stretched high into the sky while countless layers of soul force rotated beneath its surface. Silver runes flowed continuously through the structure, forming an impossibly complex network that covered the entire central district.
This wasn’t designed to keep ordinary people out. This was designed to stop powerful people.
I activated Insight.
Immediately information flooded my vision.
My expression slowly changed.
Life Detection.
The barrier wasn’t merely checking identity signatures. It was actively searching for living beings.
Every soul passing through was verified.
I extended my perception further and immediately noticed multiple checkpoints hidden inside the structure itself. Any living presence entering the barrier would trigger alerts throughout the entire district.
A small smile appeared on my face.
For the first time since entering Region Three, I had found something that genuinely concerned the Eternals.
Because this barrier wasn’t designed to detect rebels.
It wasn’t designed to detect criminals.
It wasn’t even designed to detect powerful Saints.
It was specifically designed to detect life.
Which meant one thing.
At some point in the past, a living being had entered the Prime Territory and caused enough trouble that the Eternals had felt the need to create an entire security system dedicated to preventing it from happening again.
Unfortunately for me, hiding a living signature was considerably more difficult than hiding soul force.
I could disguise my appearance. Disguise my aura. Even disguise my soul.
Life itself was another matter entirely. For several moments I remained motionless while studying the barrier.
The only problem was that every path I examined eventually ended at the same conclusion.
There was no quiet way inside.
I spent nearly an hour studying the barrier, tracing the flow of soul force through its countless layers while searching for weaknesses. The more I observed, the more impressed I became.
Someone very competent had built this. Which meant one thing.
If I entered through the barrier normally, the district would know. If I tunneled through space, the district would know. If I tried to disguise my living signature, the district would know.
Eventually I sighed.
Sometimes the best solution was the simplest one. I activated the communication link connecting me to my summons.
"Everyone hide yourselves."
Several responses immediately arrived.
"Why?" Silver asked.
"What happened?" Aurora added.
"Did someone find us?" Knight sounded curious.
I smiled.
"No. I’m about to cause some chaos."
The silence that followed lasted several seconds.
Then Ragnar spoke.
"Didn’t you literally tell us not to cause chaos?"
"Yes."
"And now you’re causing chaos."
"Also yes."
Another pause followed. Knight was the first to recover.
"So the rules only apply to us?"
"Exactly."
"That doesn’t sound fair."
"I’m the boss."
I shrugged despite knowing they couldn’t see it.
"Life is full of disappointments."
Lyrate immediately laughed.
"I like this version of leadership."
"Of course you do."
Ash’s voice finally entered the conversation.
"What do you need?"
I looked toward the barrier covering the central district.
"A distraction."
That immediately got everyone’s attention.
"What kind?" Aurora asked.
"The kind that makes every phantom patrol in the city suddenly decide they have more important things to do than guard the central district."
A moment later Ragnar laughed loudly.
"Oh now we’re talking."
"Nothing excessive," I warned.
His laughter only grew louder.
"I make no promises."
I decided not to ask. Then I rose into the sky. The city spread beneath me.
Countless lights illuminated the streets while millions of souls continued their ordinary lives completely unaware that the next few minutes were about to become significantly more interesting.
I ascended higher.
Then higher still.
Eventually I reached the altitude of the barrier itself and continued beyond it until I stood directly above the center of the enormous dome.
From here I could see the entire central district beneath me. The heart of Eternal authority within the city.
I waited.
One minute passed.
Then another.
Then the city exploded.
A surge of lightning erupted from the northern side as a massive storm suddenly appeared above several government buildings. The skies darkened instantly while pillars of blue-white energy struck downward.
Aurora.
Almost simultaneously, the eastern sector erupted with countless vines tearing through streets and buildings. Gigantic trees began growing from seemingly nowhere, lifting roads and structures into the air.
Lyrate.
Then came Ragnar. I didn’t even need to see him.
The shockwave alone was enough.
An enormous boom rolled through the city as something detonated with enough force to shake entire districts.
Several seconds later another followed.
Then another.
The communication bond activated again.
"I found a phantom station," Ragnar said happily.
"What did you do?"
"I improved it."
I decided not to ask. All throughout the city, alarms began screaming.
Phantom patrols changed direction. Emergency formations activated. Countless signatures rushed toward the disturbances.
The central district reacted exactly as expected.
I raised my hand.
Soul force gathered.
Silver-violet currents spiraled around my arm while countless runes formed before my palm. The surrounding space trembled as the pressure continued building.
"Erase." I muttered.
A beam of condensed soul force erupted downward. The barrier reacted instantly. Countless defensive formations ignited across its surface while layers of protection converged toward the impact point.
The collision shook the city. Silver light exploded outward.
The barrier resisted. Then cracked. A spiderweb of fractures spread across the dome before an opening finally appeared.
Alarms immediately intensified.
The entire district had noticed.
Which was exactly why I activated the second part of the plan. Deathmist erupted from my body. The black mist spread outward at terrifying speed, swallowing the sky above the central district. Light vanished. Perception vanished. Even soul force became distorted as the smoke expanded across the battlefield.
I moved.
Space folded around me. My body shot through the opening before the barrier could repair itself. The moment I crossed into the district, I immediately closed the breach behind me.
The fractures vanished.
The barrier stabilized. From the outside, it appeared as though nothing had happened. Meanwhile the black smoke continued causing absolute chaos above.
I descended rapidly through the darkness while dozens of signatures rushed toward the wrong locations. Within seconds I landed atop one of the massive administrative buildings near the edge of the district.
The structure stretched hundreds of meters into the sky and was connected to several neighboring towers through enclosed bridges.
A perfect hiding place.
I slipped inside through an upper window.
The interior appeared deserted. Most of the staff had already evacuated.
I smiled.
Outside, alarms continued screaming. Phantom patrols raced through the city.
The black smoke consumed the heavens.
And somewhere in the distance Ragnar was almost certainly committing several crimes simultaneously.
Meanwhile I had successfully entered the most heavily protected section of the city. Now all I needed to do was figure out what secrets the Eternals were hiding inside it.