The Ferans moved quickly once the dust settled.
Recovery units deployed across the surviving base, pulling injured soldiers from shattered positions, healing injuries and working on recoveries. Their rune masters began assessing what little remained of the defensive infrastructure, marking debris fields for later salvage and clearing paths where evacuation corridors would be needed. The shock of what had happened still lingered, but discipline took over fast.
They were used to war.
Just not to something ending this cleanly.
We didn’t stay.
As Feran forces reorganized, all of us returned to the ship. The hatch sealed behind us, muting the sounds of the battlefield. Inside, the atmosphere shifted from battlefield tension to something quieter, heavier with thought.
North broke the silence first.
"Is it really all right for us to go there directly?" she asked, arms folded loosely as she leaned against the wall. "Feradros, I mean."
I nodded once. "It’s fine."
She waited, clearly expecting more.
"It won’t be a long stay," I continued. "I want to see how the Ferans operate from the inside before we make any serious move. How they talk. What they prioritize. What they hide."
Steve glanced up from where he was seated, expression thoughtful. "So we’re not committing to anything."
"No," I said. "We’re observing."
Aurora stepped closer to the central console, her eyes reflecting the star map as it slowly rotated. "Then what’s the goal?" she asked. "Long-term, I mean."
I didn’t answer immediately.
Outside the viewport, the void stretched endlessly, calm now that the rift was gone. Sector Zero felt different from the rest of the Blue Spiral Galaxy. Tighter. More watched. Like space itself was paying closer attention.
"The goal is simple," I said finally. "The next move we make should put us in a position where no one in this galaxy can ignore us."
Steve let out a quiet breath. "That’s... ambitious."
"It has to be," I replied. "By the time our next move ends, I want the Order of Absolute to be the dominant force in the Blue Spiral Galaxy. Not just in strength. In influence."
"And how do we do that?" Ragnar asked.
I turned slightly, meeting his gaze. "I don’t know yet."
There was no discomfort in admitting it.
"We’ll find out by testing the depth of this galaxy," I continued. "By pushing into places that matter. Ferans. Nagas. Elementals. We’ll measure their limits, their fractures, their responses. And while we do that, we’ll keep growing."
North tilted her head. "And if they resist?"
I smiled faintly. "Then we adapt. By hook or by crook."
That earned a low chuckle from Steve. "That’s reassuring."
"It’s honest," I said. "The Nagas are still the strongest race here. The Ferans want to replace them. The Elementals think they can balance both sides while pulling strings in the background. None of them expect a new variable that doesn’t fit their assumptions."
Aurora’s expression sharpened. "And the Eternals."
"Yes," I agreed. "They’re the real war. Everything else is positioning."
********* [Shera’s PoV]
I contacted Feradros the moment the battlefield stabilized.
The projection chamber responded immediately, light gathering in the air before me as the communication array locked onto secure channels. One by one, figures formed, five in total, each a high-ranking authority within Feran leadership. Different bloodlines. Different factions. The only thing they shared was power.
I inclined my head briefly, then straightened.
"The Grade 4 Rift I arrived at has been closed," I said.
That alone caused a stir.
"With no Feran casualties," I added calmly. "Not a single confirmed loss."
For a moment, no one spoke. Then disbelief surfaced.
"That’s not possible," one of them said, his massive bull-kin frame shifting as restrained force rippled through his projection. "Even the Nagas pay a price for operations of that scale."
"I know what I saw," I replied. "The rift was sealed completely. Not collapsed. Not destabilized. Closed."
Another leaned forward, avian features sharpening. "External intervention?"
"Yes."
"And you allowed it?" someone demanded.
"I didn’t stop it," I corrected. "And I wouldn’t have."
I explained what I learned from Kepal, step by step. The sudden breach of the shield. The speed of their assault. The way the battlefield had been overwritten rather than fought over. I told them about the Eternal being captured.
When I mentioned that every member of the group was Transcendent, the chamber shifted.
"All of them?" the avian asked quietly.
"Yes," I said. "Every single one."
"That’s not a mercenary band," another voice said. "That’s a force."
"They call themselves the Order of Absolute," I continued. "Their leader is Billion Ironhart."
Recognition flickered across more than one face.
"Dragos," someone muttered.
"And the Elementals have begun monitoring him as well," another added.
I nodded. "I extended a formal invitation. To Feradros."
That was when the chamber erupted.
"You invited them here?" the bull-kin snapped. "Without consensus?"
"This could shift the balance," the avian countered immediately. "If we leverage them correctly—"
"Or it destabilizes us entirely," another interrupted. "You don’t bring an unknown variable like that into the heart of Feran territory."
I let them argue.
Some spoke of opportunity. Of using the Order of Absolute as a blade against the Nagas. Others warned of arrogance, of mistaking a force that didn’t need permission for one that would accept oversight.
No agreement formed.
One of the projections remained silent throughout. A tall Feran whose features were indistinct even through the projection, aura drawn inward so tightly it revealed nothing. He watched. Listened.
"They haven’t accepted yet," I said when the voices finally began to fade. "They’re holding position."
That unsettled them.
"Monitor them," someone ordered.
"And prepare contingencies," another added.
The silent Feran finally spoke.
"We can use them for our next expedition," he said quietly. "This will give us an advantage over the Nagas, if successful."
The projections dissolved moments later, leaving me alone in the chamber.
I remained there for a long moment, staring at the empty space.
Things were moving too fast. The Crimson zone had just activated, the internal conflicts were increasing, we lost contact with our expedition and now this new variable.
I exhaled and left to meet with the human leader of Order of Absolute.