The meeting chamber was silent. The room was large, oval and open to the night sky through a transparent crystal dome overhead. False stars twinkled high above, but none of them could relax enough to admire it.
Everyone was seated on curved seats carved from obsidian. They weren't in uniform—most of them wore casual or expedition attire—but the weight of the gathering pressed down on them more than any regalia could have.
The only ones missing were Vastarael, Adelasta, and Elyonari.
Phaenora stood at the front, hands behind her back, her usual smirk absent. Her sapphire hair was tied into a tight ponytail that fell over her shoulder, and she wore an unusually serious expression. Her eyes, normally gleaming with mischief, were cold.
"Let's not waste time," she began, pacing slowly in front of the crescent-shaped table. "We have a situation. And unfortunately for all of us, it's the kind of situation that marks the end of a Cycle."
Narisva Starisnova, lounging far too comfortably in her seat with one leg crossed over the other, rolled her eyes.
"You mean the climax of the Epoch Cycle is coming and earlier than expected. We all noticed the tremors."
She glanced over at the Andelaris twins, whose pale faces showed how deeply they felt the changes in the world.
Denisia was the first of the two to speak. She stood slowly, her long white cloak shimmering faintly.
"When Natalis and I explored the Lake of Miracles Island last week, we sensed a fracture.."
Natalis, her twin, continued for her.
"It's tied to the Fallen Bridge. That thing is not just breaking. It's... splintering from the inside. The cracks are visible even from miles away now. We saw it when we returned from the island."
Xander Fedres frowned, leaning forward with hands clasped.
"Then the reports were true..."
"They are," Phaenora confirmed, turning back to the group. "And that means one thing. The Frozen God is waking up."
The silence that followed was suffocating. Even Farrynelle, who was usually the first to break the mood with bluntness, remained quiet, her stormy eyes locked on Phaenora's.
"You're saying we can't stop him?" Eldrigan Hanabas asked evenly.
Phaenora exhaled. "Not in our current state. All of you are at the pinnacle of Third Phase Ascender level. You're strong, yes but the gap between that and Divine Rank is a chasm."
"Then we'll become Divine," Farrynelle said flatly. "We've fought through hell before."
"No."
Phaenora raised a hand.
"You don't understand. To break through to Divine Rank, you need a monumental reserve of essence. You need stillness, time and meditation. We don't have any of those. Not now."
"And we can't force it," Natalis added, looking down. "If we try to rush the Ascension, we could destabilize our own Tethers or fragment our Boons and Banes."
Narisva clicked her tongue and crossed her arms. "Then what's the plan, oh mighty spire whisperer?"
Phaenora gave her a look but didn't bite back. Instead, she answered.
"There's only two options that could slow the Frozen God's reawakening."
Everyone leaned in slightly.
"One, kill the last two Winter Labors. They're the emissaries of the Frozen God. Killing them will weaken the bridge holding his spirit together."
"Didn't Vastarael already kill some?" Xander asked, a flicker of realization dawning in his tone.
"He did," Phaenora nodded. "Two of them. He subjugated one during the first year and killed another later. That's likely why the Frozen God's awakening has been this slow. Vastarael's been single-handedly slowing the end of the Epoch Cycle."
"He's been in the Fallen Bridge this entire time," Eldrigan muttered. "Killing infected Krepsunas, keeping the system in balance."
"I thought he went in to prove something," Denisia whispered, staring into her lap. "That's what we all thought."
Narisva looked away, biting her lower lip.
"Adelasta... she told me that he's severely injured. He's fighting something massive."
"But... at least Elyonari is with him, right?" Farrynelle asked quickly. "That's something. If anyone could keep him alive..."
"Yeah," Narisva said with a scoff. "He's got Mother Tree priestess with him. They'll be fine."
"We need to focus on ourselves," Xander reminded them. "We'll be useless to him and the world if we aren't strong enough when the moment comes."
"So we take the first path," Eldrigan said firmly. "Kill the Winter Labors. That's something we can do."
"Yes," Phaenora agreed. "That's the only realistic plan we have."
"And the other option?" Denisia asked.
"Don't ask," Phaenora said sharply. "That's a last resort. Erna made preparations, but it's not something we should rely on. We need to act now, not wait for the spire to save us."
Before anyone else could speak, a soft knock echoed at the chamber entrance. The black crystal doors opened. and Adelasta stepped inside. Her eyes were pale and dim, her lips slightly parted as if she'd been running. Phaenora rushed toward her but paused as Adelasta raised her hand.
"I'm fine," she said hoarsely, though she was clearly not. There was a thin trickle of blood at the corner of her mouth.
"Adelasta—"
"I felt him again," she whispered, looking straight at Narisva. "Veneri reached out... through my Bane."
The room fell silent again.
"He told me to get ready," she said, voice shaking. "War is coming."
Adelasta exhaled as she lowered herself slowly into an obsidian-carved seat at the center table. Natalis moved beside her immediately. Her palms glowed as she began mending the internal bruises and frayed Bane threads plaguing Adelasta's body. She grimaced but didn't flinch.
"Veneri told me… that he went to the Fallen Bridge for one reason only, and that is to stop the Frozen God."
The others froze in place.
"He deduced it two and a half years ago that if such a being was ever sealed in Erna Isles, the only place capable of holding him was the Fallen Bridge. No other location had the structure, the density, or the primordial layering."
Xander looked stunned. "You mean... he didn't just go in for trial or conquest? He knew—?"
"He knew from the start. We misjudged him. We thought he wanted glory."
Adelasta closed her eyes as the healing flowed deeper.
"He never cared about glory. He knew the risks. He never told any of us because the truth would have crippled morale. He thought if he could kill the Infected Krepsunas and weaken the structure holding the Frozen God, he could delay his awakening And apparently Sentient Krepsunas exist."
Farrynelle's voice cracked in.
"Wait. Hold on. What do you mean Sentient Krepsunas? You mean to say some of those things can think?"
The entire room shifted in energy. Everyone had only fought Infected Krepsunas. But "Sentient" implied cognition. Will. Personality. Adelasta nodded slowly,
"Yes. Vastarael figured out that Sentient Krepsunas once existed across the Fallen Bridge long before the Infected spread. They were an actual civilization, of sorts. The Frozen God used his Forgotten Rank authority… and corrupted them. Their minds cracked first, then their souls."
Denisia gripped the table tighter. "And no one knew? Not even the academy?"
"Not a single person," Natalis answered in a breath. "Because it was sealed history. Only Forgotten Rank Krepsunas and above like the Frozen God can infect minds of their race without traces. And the bridge's nature, a self-contained realm, hid the signs."
Adelasta's gaze darkened.
"He used their existence… to build his power. A Forgotten Rank Krepsuna works the same way a Divine Rank being does. Instead of converting faith into Divine Energy… he converts corruption into his own power. Every Infected Krepsuna he creates and absorbs from strengthens him."
That statement shook even Eldrigan's composure. He leaned forward, resting his arms on the table, exhaling slowly.
"So we're dealing with a God-class predator who's been farming corrupted souls for three centuries?"
Adelasta nodded weakly. "And Vastarael has been killing every single one within the Fallen Bridge to delay the inevitable."
Phaenora, who'd been leaning against the side wall with her arms folded, finally stepped forward, pushing off with one boot against the polished stone.
"We were wrong about him," she murmured, her voice unusually low. "We all were."
Xander, arms crossed tightly against his broad chest, let out a slow breath.
"So now what? What's our window?"
Adelasta opened her eyes. "We have two weeks. At the end of the Longest Nightfall, the Frozen God will fully awaken. And no one, not even us can stop him then. Veneri says the Winter Labors are outside the bridge. If we kill them, it'll cripple the binding linking him to this world."
"And?" Narisva pressed, tapping her foot. "That's it? We just go hunting these freaks for two weeks and hope it works?"
"Not quite."
Natalis glanced up from her healing work.
"We have to kill every Infected Krepsuna as well. The more of them that exist, the more power he draws. We need to wipe them off the map."
Peroncerea groaned. "That's... thousands across the Isles."
"Then we kill thousands," Xander said without hesitation.
Phaenora, finally, walked to the center of the room and turned around to face them all.
"I'll stay in Halo Islands," she said, arms at her sides. "I will maintain defense. Since you're all finally acknowledging that I'm an Omniscient, I'll connect to each of your Systems personally. I'll relay real-time info, map Krepsuna locations and monitor any shifts."
"You're gonna spy on us?" Narisva raised a brow, a hint of that cocky grin surfacing again.
"No," Phaenora deadpanned. "I'm going to make sure you don't die."
Farrynelle cracked her knuckles. "You know, I've been wanting an excuse to go all out again. Let's hunt some bugs."
Peroncerea nodded, "We'll need a coordinated sweep to cover ground efficiently."
"And how do we get stronger fast enough?" Denisia asked, concerned.
Phaenora smirked. "We use the academy system itself. Every time you kill an Infected Krepsuna or Winter Labor, you'll earn immense System points. Those points can be used to force Ascension."
"Wait—you mean..." Eldrigan's eyes widened.
"Yes," Phaenora confirmed. "We cheat. We force all of you to break the bottleneck and reach Divine Rank by using the Academy System. It's dangerous and brutal but we don't have a choice."
They all looked around the room. Each of them had grown far stronger over the past three and a half years. But even still… this was the moment that defined legacies.
"Two weeks," Adelasta said again.
"Two weeks," Xander echoed.
"Let's make them count," Phaenora finished.