[Billion’s PoV]
I let my gaze drift from Saleos to the suspended form of Phegor.
"I’ll take care of him," Saleos said, his voice steady but cold. "I’ll get everything out of him. Names, contacts, methods. He won’t resist for long."
I nodded without hesitation. "Good. Do what you need to do. If you want help with the... unpleasant parts, let me know."
His eyes flicked to me for a brief second, something unreadable passing through them, before he gave a short nod. There was no gratitude in his expression, but there was understanding. My attention returned to the three runes floating in the air between us.
They pulsed faintly, black lines etched with authority that didn’t belong to our universe. Even now, with Phegor unconscious and restrained, they felt wrong. Not hostile exactly, but invasive. Like hooks left behind after something had already torn through.
I studied them in silence for a few seconds longer than needed. Saleos noticed but didn’t interrupt.
Finally, I made a decision.
I reached out and closed my fingers around the runes.
Saleos’s brow creased slightly. He didn’t move, but I could feel his awareness sharpen. The runes resisted at first, vibrating faintly as if reacting to my touch, but I tightened my grip and pulled them inward.
They sank into my palm without a sound.
I didn’t let them disperse into my body. Instead, I guided them straight into the Dawn Core, isolating them completely. That space was cut off from the world. Even if the Eternal tried to pull on them, there would be nothing to answer.
The pressure vanished.
Saleos raised an eyebrow. "You absorbed them."
"Yes."
"You know what they are."
"I know enough."
He waited for more, but I didn’t give it. After a moment, he nodded once, accepting it without pushing further. That, more than anything else, told me he had already decided to gamble on me.
I turned slightly. "We should move. Dravon will be agitated by now."
That earned a faint huff of breath from him. "That’s an understatement. I can’t stay away from the battlefield for long either. My absence will be noticed."
"I know," I replied. "This won’t take long."
I took a step forward and reached out, locking onto the spatial anchor I had left behind earlier.
The hall vanished.
In the next instant, we were standing inside the storage-like bunker Dravon had prepared, surrounded by broken weapons, damaged armor, and crates stacked with things meant to be forgotten rather than cataloged.
Dravon was already there.
But not in the position I had expected.
He, Mazikeen, Korvath, and the watcher demon were bound back to back with thick chains of lightning. The arcs crawled over their bodies in slow, controlled loops, pinning them in place without causing harm, but making escape impossible. Even their mouths were sealed by thin bands of lightning, cutting off any chance of speech.
Aurora floated nearby, sitting cross-legged in the air with her eyes closed, her posture calm and relaxed as if she were meditating in her own room rather than holding four Transcendents captive. The lightning responded to her presence, stable and perfectly controlled.
The moment Saleos and I appeared, her eyes snapped open.
"Oh. You’re here," she said lightly, lowering herself to the ground as if nothing unusual was happening.
I coughed once, and snapped my fingers.
The lightning chains unraveled instantly, dissolving into harmless sparks that vanished into the air. The bindings around their mouths disappeared as well.
Dravon staggered half a step forward, then straightened. His eyes moved from me to Saleos standing beside me, then back again.
"So," he said flatly, rolling his shoulders. "That’s how you handle negotiations now."
"We finished our talk," I replied calmly. "Thanks for the help, Dravon."
He stared at me for a second longer, then threw his hands up in open frustration. "Whatever," he muttered. "As long as the rift gets closed."
I turned my attention back to Saleos and waved my hand.
Phegor’s unconscious body slid through the air and toward him. Saleos caught his former right commander without difficulty, his expression hardening slightly as he looked down at him.
"I have a proposal for the first step," I said.
Saleos lifted his gaze. "Go on."
"Phegor won’t be standing beside you anymore," I continued. "That absence will be noticed. The Eternal and his forces will react to it sooner or later. So instead of leaving a gap, why not fill it immediately."
His eyes narrowed slightly. "With whom."
"One of mine," I said. "You take him as your new right commander. That gives us a direct line of communication. It also limits leaks on your side."
Saleos considered it in silence. "That will draw attention," he said. "They’ll probe him. Try to find everything about him."
"I know," I replied. "And I’m sure you can handle the suspicion. As for the rest, he can take care of himself."
Saleos studied my face. "How capable is this man you’re offering."
"Capable enough that you won’t feel the loss," I said honestly. "He likes to fight. He has a big ego. But those won’t be problems on a battlefield."
That earned a faint huff from Dravon.
"Let me meet him," Saleos said at last.
I nodded and turned slightly. "Knight."
Knight stepped forward and brought his palms together.
Shadows surged outward from him, folding over themselves and forming a dense dome that covered him and the space beside him. The air inside warped subtly as spatial fluctuations spiked, making it look as though a portal was being forced open.
Every pair of eyes locked onto the dome, especially Saleos’s.
Inside the shadows, a red circle flared.
A heartbeat later, Ragnar stepped out.
He emerged with a wide, confident grin, a massive club resting casually on his shoulder. He wore the dark robes of our organization, the insignia clearly visible against the fabric. His presence was heavy, solid, and unapologetic.
Knight dissolved the dome and stepped aside.
Ragnar looked around once, then planted the base of his club against the floor.
"So," he said cheerfully, eyes settling on Saleos. "You must be the commander everyone’s been losing sleep over."
The room went quiet.