(12 Days After Juxta's Fall, Planet Ixtal, Leo's POV)
The report arrived on his desk just before dawn, showing a collection of the most important clips and snippets from Tithia that confirmed its fall into Righteous hands.
For a long moment, Leo said nothing, his gaze fixed on the data slate that showed the planet's defensive barrier collapsing, followed by the city by city bombing, as despite the best effort from the defending forces, in the end Tithia was captured by the Righteous Fleet in under two hours.
"Prepare the evacuation craft.... Also inform Veyr that we are leaving." he said finally after watching the video, as although he had resisted running away to the Time Stilled World until now, he knew he could not delay it anymore, for Tithia's fall indicated that Ixtal was next.
"Lord Boss, I have tried my best to convince the Dragon to accompany you.... However, he still remains adamant on not coming. Even now, he talks about running away to other neutral planets. And says that he will not come with you no matter what...." Chaosbringer said, as before they left Ixtal, he confirmed one last time that Veyr would not come with them, no matter what.
"Fine, If he doesn't want to come, then there's nothing we can do about it. You just inform Su Pei and Dupravel that we are leaving, and that they be ready to accompany us within the hour."
Leo instructed, as exactly an hour later, he left planet Ixtal aboard a small merchant's vessel, with only Chaosbringer, Su Pei, Dupravel and Dupravel's son Darnell on board, while Veyr left an hour after that, aboard a communal vessel bound for the neutral planet 'Wamir'.
---
It took Leo nearly six hours to reach the outer perimeter of the Time-Stilled World's entry gate from Ixtal, and during that long stretch of silence, his thoughts drifted endlessly across the wreckage of the past twelve days.
He thought of the faces he had saved, and the countless more he could not, as the numbers carved themselves into his mind like a wound that would never close.
In the end, between himself and Veyr, they had managed to rescue roughly seventy-two percent of the Cult's total population, while the rest had been left behind to meet their fates.
According to reports, fourteen percent were expected to be granted the mercy of instant death, while the remaining fourteen were condemned to live as slaves beneath the banners of the Righteous in what was a life even worse than death.
"Forgive me.... To every soul that I failed to save, I beg you to forgive me. For although I could not save you, I promise to avenge you."
Leo said right before his craft entered the Dimensional Pocket, as he re-affirmed his intention to someday come back from the Time Stilled World, and avenge every soul that he failed to save today.
*THRUMM*
*SHAKE*
The transition through the dimensional barrier lasted barely a heartbeat, yet when the turbulence faded and the light outside the cabin softened, Leo felt his breath still within him.
The world beyond the viewport was not what he had expected at all, as instead of the barren gray that had welcomed him when he first entered Zhanrok's Time Stilled World, this one had a sprawling metropolis constructed just under the entry gate.
"Woah—"
He mused, as the sight that greeted him was both haunting and awe-inspiring, as a modern city glowed faintly under a twilight sky that never changed.
The sky above was a muted purple, thick with oppressive mana that pressed upon his senses like an invisible weight, yet even under such oppression, life found a way to thrive. MORE CHAPTERS In t.me/+yv9m3XKk8BxjMmEy
There was no sunlight, no wind, only a still atmosphere that shimmered faintly as if the very air pulsed with restrained power, yet despite the depressing sky, the city below still looked vibrant and well illuminated.
The mana refinement poles erected at regular intervals across the city pulsed in steady rhythm, their invisible pulses purging the taint that once made this world uninhabitable.
From his vantage, Leo could see the massive hangar bay that sprawled across the valley below, as he got the first look of the 'Skyshard City', as it was now called.
With the place being unlike anything he had imagined, despite him having read several reports on how it was supposed to look.
Buildings rose in layered tiers, their walls forged from mana-treated alloys that glimmered faintly beneath the twilight.
Streets overflowed with movement as workers, engineers, soldiers, and civilians all moved with unbroken rhythm, their faces tired but determined.
The city was overcrowded beyond reason, as even from a distance Leo could see that millions were living in a space where perhaps thousands were meant to, yet despite the suffocating density, order somehow prevailed.
Artificial lights bathed the streets in soft amber hues, while mana conduits ran along the rooftops like glowing rivers, feeding energy into the forges, clinics, and protective domes that shielded entire districts.
"By the stars..." Su Pei whispered, pressing a hand to the glass. "This isn't a doomsday shelter anymore... it's an empire in exile."
Leo did not answer. His gaze swept across the horizon where dozens of new expansion zones were under construction, scaffolds rising amid the shimmering haze.
The Cult's people, those who had survived, were still building, still enduring, still refusing to vanish.
*FSHHH*
His ship soon began its descent into the main hangar, gliding between flight paths illuminated by faint azure lights.
From above, he saw the banners of the Cult fluttering once more, not in defiance, but in quiet perseverance.
When the craft finally touched down, the faint vibration beneath his feet felt almost surreal.
Chaosbringer stepped forward and bowed slightly. "We've arrived, Lord Boss. Your new Empire awaits you."
Leo nodded slowly, his eyes still fixed on the shimmering skyline visible through the hangar's translucent dome.
"This is what remains of us," he said quietly. "And it's from here that our revenge begins."
He stepped down from the ramp, feeling the weight of the still air wrap around him, thick, heavy, and unchanging, yet somewhere within that stifling stillness, he sensed the faint pulse of life.
The Cult had endured the impossible, and against all reason, it still breathed.
With this Skyshard City standing as living proof of that defiance.
The Righteous Faction had taken their best shot at eradicating the Cult.
Yet in the end, it was still not enough. (More chapters in Buyers club for TMT)