I stood on one of the remaining platforms in the core layer, fragments of shattered structures still drifting slowly around us. The battlefield was quiet now.
The system notifications were still buzzing at the edge of my awareness.
I exhaled and finally allowed them to surface.
I started with the latest one.
[Rift Closed – Grade 4
Merit Points Awarded: 10,000 ]
Below it, another followed almost instantly.
[Major Enemy Forces Disrupted
Phantoms Eliminated
Merit Points Awarded: 5,000]
I stared at the numbers for a moment, then dismissed them without much emotion. Merit points were useful, yes, but they felt strangely small compared to the scale of what had just happened.
I scrolled further back.
[Warning: Eternal Race Entity Detected
Warning: Eternal Race Entity Engaged]
Then another.
[Advisory Issued: Capture Recommended. Termination Not Recommended.]
My eyes narrowed slightly.
There were several more warnings stacked together. Alerts about sealing domains. Alerts about reinforcement portals. Alerts about catastrophic law fluctuations. The system had been screaming while I fought.
But most of them were : [Advisory Issued: Capture Recommended. Termination Not Recommended.]
I closed the panel and let the silence return.
Capture recommended, not kill.
That thought lingered.
Why would the system care whether an Eternal lived or died? It was not sentimental. It never was. Which meant there was something about them that mattered. Something that killing erased, but capturing preserved.
Information. Laws. Or something deeper.
I filed the thought away for later.
Essence fluctuated beside me.
Knight, Steve and others appeared.
Steve stepped forward and held out a small cluster of crystals.
"Memory crystals," he said. "Instructions. Anchors. Everything they used to mess with people."
I took them and slipped them into my storage ring.
Then I turned toward Primus. "Did you receive your quest?"
He shook his head. "Not yet."
"Alright," I replied. "We’ll deal with it later."
The void shifted again.
Saleos arrived, his armor still stained dark. He looked around once, then focused on me.
"I’ve sent word," he said. "Reinforcements are coming. Demon authorities as well. They’ll salvage what they can from this place."
I nodded. "Good."
He hesitated, then added, "The rift closure has already been reported."
I glanced at him. "Make sure one thing is clear."
He raised an eyebrow slightly.
"The Order of Absolute was here."
A slow smile spread across his face.
"You don’t need to worry about that," Saleos said. "Leave it to me."
I glanced at Knight. "What happened to the remaining traitors?"
"Gone," he replied simply.
Saleos studied me for a moment before speaking again. "Are you planning on leaving?"
"Yeah. We’re moving toward Dragos," I said.
He nodded once, then added, "Then why don’t you come with me. I need to report as well. This is a major achievement. A celebration will be held in Dragos, and the Order of Absolute can be the chief guest."
I looked at him, considering the offer. There was nothing wrong with it. We needed to move closer to the center anyway, and a pause after everything that had happened did not sound bad.
"Alright," I said. "But when do we leave?"
"Once the authorities arrive," Saleos replied. "After that, we can go. Rael and Dravon will take care of the remaining forces while I handle the report."
I nodded in agreement.
"By the way," I said after a brief pause, "do you know about Zerathul?"
Saleos’s expression shifted, just slightly. "Why do you ask?"
I glanced at Primus once, then continued. "Let’s just say he might not like us."
Saleos looked between me and Primus before answering. "Zerathul is an upper transcendent like me. And... I believe he’s a traitor."
"Really?" Steve asked, clearly surprised.
"I believe so," Saleos said. "But we were never able to prove it. If you run into any trouble with him, be careful. That said, he’s not strong enough to move against you directly."
I nodded. "That’s fine. So we might meet him in Dragos?"
"Probably," Saleos replied. "Unless he’s been sent on another mission."
He offered a few more words of thanks to everyone present, then turned and left, his figure quickly disappearing into the void.
I let out a slow breath and looked around.
Ragnar was sitting cross-legged nearby, already back in his human form, a wide smile fixed on his face as if the battle had left him lighter instead of drained.
"Why are you so happy?" I asked, moving to sit beside him.
"I like this," he said without hesitation. "This kind of relentless, completely unrestrained battle. This is what I call life."
"Yeah," I muttered. "It does look fun."
But my thoughts drifted elsewhere. To the floating corpses. To the shattered layers. To how many lives had been lost so that this kind of fun could exist.
"I’m tired," Silver said.
He was lying on his back, already returned fully to his human form. His wings were gone, as if they had never existed.
"I pushed myself too hard," he continued. "That form took too much Essence and energy out of me."
"But it was majestic," Ragnar said with a laugh. "In one swoop, you wiped out more abominations than me and Aurora combined."
I turned toward Aurora.
She was standing apart from the group, silent, staring into the void where the rift had once been.
"Aurora?" I called.
She turned, her expression serious.
"What happened?" I asked.
"When the rift closed," she said slowly, "I felt like someone was watching."
I blinked.
"Watching?" I asked.
I trusted my senses. I was sure I would have noticed something like that.
"Yeah," she replied. "I’m sure of it."
"Me too," Knight said.
"Me too," Lyrate added.
My expression hardened.
"Did you not feel anything?" Knight asked, looking directly at me.
I shook my head.
Silence fell over the group, heavier than the aftermath of battle.
"Was it just a feeling?" North asked, her gaze moving across my summons. "Did all of you feel it?"
"I didn’t," Ragnar said immediately.
"Me neither," Silver added, pushing himself up slightly.
"That’s strange," North murmured.
I stayed quiet, my thoughts already spiraling.
It could have been someone from the Eternal side. A lingering presence retreating too late. Or something else entirely. The Fallen. A third party watching from beyond the battlefield. Even the System itself, or someone acting on its behalf.
All of those possibilities were troubling.
But what unsettled me the most was something else.
I hadn’t sensed anything at all.
No fluctuation. No distortion. No pressure on space, Essence, or law. Nothing that even brushed against my perception.
That bothered me far more than the idea of being watched.
Because whatever it was, if it truly existed, then it had either hidden itself perfectly...
Or it had been standing somewhere I could not yet reach.