By the next day, everything was in place.
We stood on an open platform just outside the capital, the sky above calm and clear, the air dense with Essence. Steve and North stood beside me. All three of us wore the black robes of the Order of Absolute, the emblem resting over our chests.
I exhaled slowly, then lifted my hand.
Red circles flared to life around me. One after another, they ignited, glowing with a deep crimson light before stabilizing. From within them, figures began to step out.
My summons.
In seconds, they had all gathered, forming a loose circle around us.
I looked at them.
"I hope everyone is well rested," I said calmly. "Because we’re not going for a walk."
Knight stepped forward slightly, his usual calm expression unchanged.
"Well," he said, "I was planning to take it easy today, but I suppose saving the galaxy will have to fit into the schedule."
Steve let out a short laugh.
"Really?" he said. "That’s what you came up with?"
Knight shrugged lightly.
"I had a better one," he replied. "But I didn’t think you’d survive it."
Even North allowed a faint smile at that.
I shook my head slightly.
"Alright, that’s enough," I said. "Let’s move."
With that, I stepped forward.
Space folded.
In the next instant, all of us vanished from the platform and reappeared at Base 27.
When we arrived at Base 27, Xeron was already there, standing just outside the teleportation circle as if he had been waiting for a while. This time, he wasn’t alone.
Azalea stood beside him.
"Right on time," Xeron said, glancing at us. "Impressive. I thought you might take longer."
"Couldn’t afford to," I replied with a faint smile. "Excitement has its own way of speeding things up."
My gaze shifted briefly to Azalea, and I gave a small nod.
She stepped forward in response.
"We meet again, Lord Billion," she said, her tone composed.
Before I could respond, Steve leaned forward slightly, squinting at her for a second before recognition hit.
"Wait... Azalea?" he said. "Is that actually you?"
North’s expression shifted as well, a hint of surprise showing.
Azalea turned toward them, and for a moment her serious expression softened.
"It’s been a while," she said.
Steve let out a short breath, half amused, half impressed.
"You’ve changed," he said. "Last time we met, you weren’t... this strong."
North nodded slightly in agreement, studying her more carefully.
Azalea gave a small smile.
"And yet," she said, "both of you have already gone beyond me."
There was no bitterness in her tone.
"Upper Transcendent already," she added, her eyes moving between them. "Looks like I’m the one trying to catch up now."
Steve scratched the back of his head.
"Yeah, well... we had some unfair advantages," he said.
"It’s good to see you again," North said.
Azalea nodded once.
"You too."
Xeron’s gaze shifted over the group, lingering briefly on my summons before returning to me.
"Is this all the force you’re bringing?" he asked.
"Yes," I replied. "This will be enough."
He studied me for a moment, then gave a small shrug.
"If you say so."
Without another word, he turned and began walking. I fell into step beside him, the others following behind.
"Four of our elders are already stationed at the rift we’re heading to," Xeron said as we moved. "Another four are tied up at the second Grade 3 rift. Between the two, nearly thirty percent of our total force is occupied."
His voice carried a quiet seriousness now. He glanced at me briefly before continuing.
"Given your presence... and the fact that you’ve somehow stepped into the domain of a World Lord, we believe our chances this time are significantly better."
He paused for a moment.
"We will be shifting from defense to offense," he added. "There will be losses. That much is unavoidable. But if this works... those losses will be temporary. Ending the rift permanently will change everything."
I nodded.
"I understand," I said. "You don’t need to worry about me, Xeron. Once I step into that rift, I’m not leaving until it’s closed."
He held my gaze for a second, then gave a firm nod.
"I believe you."
We came to a stop.
Ahead of us stood his craft. Without wasting time, we stepped inside.
The interior adjusted instantly, accommodating everyone with ease. The moment the last of us entered, the ship sealed, and within seconds it lifted and shot forward.
Space parted around it.
We entered the void.
The stars stretched into lines as the craft accelerated, cutting through space toward a distant sector.
Toward the Grade 3 rift, known among the Nagas as the Hecom Rift. The moment the craft came out of the space jump, the view ahead changed completely.
What lay in front of us was not a battlefield.
It was something far worse.
Space itself looked torn open.
The rift was not a single crack. It stretched wide across the void like a wound that refused to close. Colors shifted across it constantly bleeding into one another as if reality itself was unstable there.
And from that wound, black crystalline spikes extended outward.
They were enormous. Each one looked like a nail driven into space itself, holding the rift open by force. Their size was hard to grasp. Even from this distance, they dwarfed everything around them. Compared to them, we were nothing more than dust in the void.
Above those spikes, the enemy had gathered.
There were Phantoms leaking deathmist out in the void freely. Abominations moved between them, large, twisted bodies pulsing with unstable energy. And deeper within, closer to the spikes, I could sense something else.
The elite Eternal legions. Two of them.
Between all of this, the battlefield itself was shifting.
Fragments of space floated everywhere. Some looked like broken pieces of land, others like transparent bubbles that distorted whatever was behind them. They drifted slowly, changing position without pattern. At times, one would ripple and from within it, a wave of enemies would burst out into the open.
It was not a fixed battlefield.
It was alive.
Then my gaze shifted to the other side.
The Nagas.
Their formation was completely different.
Instead of static lines, their entire force moved like a single organism. Massive serpent-shaped constructs coiled through their ranks, wrapping around groups of soldiers and moving them across the battlefield. As they shifted, the space around them stabilized, holding their side together against the chaos ahead.
At four distant points, I could feel them.
The elders.
Each one held a section of the battlefield, their presence anchoring everything around them. Wherever they stood, the space was calmer, stronger, resisting the pull of the rift.
I stood there for a moment, taking it all in.
Then I smiled slightly.
"Yeah..." I muttered. "This looks fun."