The conversation around us gradually returned as the workers resumed their tasks, though the atmosphere carried a different energy than before.
Watching a creature powerful enough to level mountains get cut apart by a single attack had a way of reminding everyone why certain people carried the reputations they did. My father had already returned to the center of the operation, speaking with several officers while teams moved through the surrounding ridges to assess damage and resume construction.
I found myself watching him more than I intended.
Beside him, my mother was far busier.
While the others focused on rebuilding damaged sections of the outpost, she seemed to be coordinating half the operation at once.
The realization had barely settled when movement erupted near one of the observation posts. Several scouts emerged from one of the underwater valleys at extraordinary speed.
We could tell something was wrong.
The men weren’t simply returning. They were racing back.
The moment they arrived, they bypassed everyone else and headed directly toward the command center.
My mother’s expression changed as she listened to the report.
Around the site, people began reacting immediately. Construction teams abandoned ongoing projects.
Survey crews withdrew from the outer ridges. Supply groups started moving equipment toward the mountain’s interior.
The entire operation transformed within seconds.
"What happened?" I asked.
Roland’s eyes narrowed slightly as he observed the activity below.
"Looks like they found another nest."
"A nest?"
Before he could elaborate, one of the scouts projected an image into the surrounding water using soul energy.
Even from a distance I could make out the shapes.
Four enormous creatures.
They looked vaguely like octopuses, but only in the same way a hurricane vaguely resembled a breeze.
Each creature possessed a central body larger than a fortress, covered in layers of black and crimson flesh that appeared to have fused together incorrectly. Massive tentacles extended from their bodies in every direction, some ending in hooked claws, others splitting into clusters of smaller limbs that moved independently.
Strange eyes covered portions of their skin, opening and closing at random intervals while distorted mouths lined their undersides.
"That’s one of the most disgusting creatures I’ve ever seen," I muttered.
"Agreed," Roland said.
I continued studying the projection for a moment before asking, "Where do these native creatures of the Null Realm actually come from?"
Roland shrugged.
"The Null Realm itself, of course. We’re the outsiders here. Humans, elves, dwarves, dragons, and every other race that ends up in this place are visitors. Those things were born here. Long before any of us arrived."
I nodded and expanded my perception further into the surrounding sea. The scout’s report had only shown their general location, but it didn’t take long to find them. Four enormous presences were racing through the depths toward the outpost, each one carrying enough soul pressure to make lesser Transcendents think twice about standing in their path.
"All four of them are Peak Transcendents."
"Well," Roland muttered as he folded his arms, "that’s unfortunate."
Below us, my father had already moved toward the command group. Several other Transcendent warriors joined him.
Nobody looked surprised.
"They knew these things were here?" I asked.
"They knew something was here."
Roland folded his arms.
"The reason they’re building this outpost is because this region is strategically valuable. Unfortunately, the local wildlife agrees."
I expected my father and the others to immediately head out to intercept the approaching creatures.
Instead, something unexpected happened.
My mother took control. The moment she finished reviewing the scout reports, she disappeared. A flash of soul energy appeared atop one of the surrounding peaks.
I watched as she moved across the mountain range with astonishing speed, appearing on ridge after ridge while strands of brilliant blue light followed her movements.
Every location she visited began glowing.
Intricate patterns spread across stone surfaces. Ancient runes emerged from the mountains themselves, forming vast geometric structures that connected one peak to another.
At first the inscriptions seemed isolated. Then lines of light began linking them together.
One mountain connected to a second. The second connected to a third.
The third connected to a fourth.
Within minutes, an enormous network had begun taking shape across the entire region.
My mother never stopped moving.
She flowed from location to location with practiced efficiency, carving runes directly into stone while simultaneously adjusting existing formations and activating dormant sections of the defensive network.
Around the site, other ironharts immediately began supporting the effort.
"The Ironharts have quite a few of these hunting teams," Roland said. "Most consist of a hundred to two hundred members and are led by a captain. The one you’re looking at belongs to your parents. I command one myself, and even my father still has his own team."
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"In fact, your parents and I are both members of his."
The entire operation moved with the precision of something rehearsed many times before.
Meanwhile, the enemy continued approaching.
The four creatures crossed the ocean floor like living disasters.
The closer they came, the more monstrous they appeared.
Their bodies were wrong. As though something had twisted them into shapes nature had never intended to create or maybe this is what they were intended to be.
My father and the other warriors gathered near the center of the mountain and waited. Trusting the defense being built around them.
The final rune ignited. A pulse swept through the region.
For one brief moment every inscription across the mountain range lit up simultaneously.
Then the shield emerged.
A massive dome of blue light expanded outward from the central peaks, growing larger and larger until it encompassed the entire operation.
Layers of runic patterns flowed across its surface.
Thousands of interconnected symbols moved continuously through the barrier like living currents.
The structure settled into place just as the first creature arrived.
The impact shook the mountain.
One of the enormous octopus-like beasts slammed directly into the shield, driving several tentacles forward with enough force to pulverize solid stone.
The barrier held. Blue light rippled across its surface.
The creature recoiled and then attacked again.
A second beast joined it.
Then the other two.
Suddenly the entire shield was under assault.
Massive tentacles hammered against the barrier from every direction. Waves of soul energy crashed against the defensive formation. Several of the creatures wrapped portions of their bodies around the dome itself and began squeezing with terrifying strength.
The mountain range trembled. Entire ridges cracked but the shield remained intact for the moment.
I found myself staring at my mother.
She stood at the center of the formation network, directing adjustments while teams fed additional power into the structure. Every decision she made rippled through the defense instantly.
This was my mother’s battlefield.