Carter arrived at Bruce's secret hideout, where Locki was already waiting. The two greeted each other warmly before Bruce entered the room and gestured toward a long table overflowing with food.
"Let's talk while eating," Bruce said.
The three of them sat down. Between bites, Bruce leaned forward. "I called you both here for one purpose—wiping out the cults and organizations. They control every land except this one and Hero Town."
"These cults have gotten far out of hand," Carter agreed. "It's time we teach them a lesson."
Locki nodded silently, his jaw tightening.
Bruce tapped the table. "But first, we need to take something from them. Because of that thing, they can communicate with the Beyonders."
"And what's that?" Carter asked.
Bruce turned a screen toward them. An image lit up—it was the magnifying glass Ron used to travel to and return from the World of Dark Souls.
Carter's eyes widened. "That's the same magnifying glass that started glowing back at Sami's house."
"Exactly. Remember the Zombie Apocalypse? That plague entered our world through this object," Bruce said grimly.
Locki frowned. "Then how did it end up in the cults' hands?"
"We don't know," Bruce admitted. "But they performed some kind of spell on it—now they can speak with the Beyonders directly."
Carter leaned in. "And how do the other cults get their powers?"
Locki answered this time, his voice low. "I heard from Aurora—the Beyonders declared war on our layer. But because of a certain powerful presence here, they couldn't invade directly. One day , human contacted them. Beyonders thought of a idea to destroy us from inside. In exchange for service, they were given power."
Bruce slammed his hand down. "Our first mission is to sever that contact. Once we do, their power crumbles."
Both Carter and Locki nodded in agreement.
Bruce stood and pointed to a set of advanced combat suits lined up against the wall. "We'll use these. Gadgets, cloaking tech, weapons—the works. And no real names."
Locki smirked. "Let them think real we aren't the real Carter, Locki and Bruce. Clever
"We move tomorrow at midnight," Bruce said.
"Why not tonight?" Locki countered.
"Because tomorrow, at eleven, the leaders of the strong cults are holding a meeting. The cult we're targeting will be missing their leader—and half their guards."
Carter asked, "Which cult has the magnifying glass?"
Bruce's eyes hardened. "Dark Aera. One of the strongest cults, they were the first to ever receive powers."
He gestured upstairs. "Get some rest. Everything's prepared for you."
Meanwhile
Ron and DA were hurled into a wormhole, suspended in midair.
"Ron!" DA spoke. "The moment you touch ground, run—and don't stop!"
He landed first, sprinting forward. Ron followed, but his gaze kept wandering. Countless doorways lined the walls of the wormhole, each leading to a different time. Then visions began to flicker across the floor, walls, and ceiling.
DA noticed. "Don't get distracted! Focus—think back eight hundred years ago. Think of you and Dream as children."
"I'm trying!" Ron muttered. DA tells Ron to focus. While he himself was looking behind at Ron and running in front at the same time.
Just then, a colossal shadow surged ahead—a Demonic Megalodon, tearing through the wormhole.
"Wormhole shark incoming!" Ron shouted, pointing.
DA turned too late. The beast slammed into them, hurling both across dimensions. In freefall, DA grabbed Ron's shirt and froze time with a spell. With his blade, he sliced open the fabric of space and time, forcing them back into the wormhole.
But the shark followed.
"Damn it," DA hissed, sprinting again. Ron trailed behind, then halted. His instincts screamed. He turned—
The shark was right there.
Ron drew the Blade of Vengeance and lunged.
"NO! DON'T!" DA shouted—
But too late. Ron's strike destabilized the wormhole. The entire dimension cracked apart, shattering into blinding fragments. Both of them were thrown out into the unknown.
They crashed into a snowfield, right in the middle of a battlefield—humans clashing against massive horned bears.
"Damn that shark," Ron muttered.
The armies closed in from both sides. Ron called for his Blade of Vengeance—but nothing happened. His face paled.
"Blade of Vengeance not responding? Why?" Ron thought.
"DA… the blade isn't responding to my Ki."
DA tried summoning his own weapon, but nothing came. For once, he looked unsettled. "Scratch that. I've got a better plan."
Ron narrowed his eyes. "What's the plan?"
"Run." DA bolted.
Ron stared, dumbfounded. "…What the heck, I thought you had a billion IQ plan." He sprinted after him.
"If it were any of your other powers, I'd believe you can't control them," DA said between breaths. "But the Blade of Vengeance? That's supposed to be your thing."
"Then why didn't you use your powers?" Ron shot back.
"Just keep running—and don't look back!" DA barked.
Of course, Ron looked back. Several bears had broken away from the main herd, charging at them.
"They're chasing us!"
"I said don't look back!"
Snow slowed their pace until the two were surrounded.
"Damn it!" DA cursed. "Why can't we use our powers?!"
Before the bears struck, they collapsed in an instant—cut down so fast Ron didn't even see the strike.
A woman stood among the corpses, her face hidden beneath a hood. Her gaze shifted to DA, and she froze.
"…DA? Is that you?"
DA stiffened. "I am Ron."
Ron blinked. "Are you kidding me?"
The woman ignored him and looked at Ron. This time the shock on her face was bigger. "You.... I know you."
"I'm Ron. And this guy is DA," Ron said flatly.
"Ron? You are not who I think you are?," she whispered and looked at DA. "It really is you, DA."
"No, you wrong miss." DA tried to explain that he is not DA. To Ron, it looked like the two of them knew each other very well.
Ron looked between them, confused. "You two know each other?"
"No," DA said immediately.
"Yes," the woman countered.
She strode forward, seized DA by the collar, and glared into his eyes. "Why are you avoiding me?"
Ron stood there, baffled, watching the tension spark between them.
Finally, she released him with a sigh. "Follow me."