As Septimus was speaking, his node suddenly pulsed. He frowned, lifting the sphere to his palm.
His eyes narrowed as he read the message out loud. "Return now. Shadows already walk into our walls."
"Cassian," he muttered under his breath.
The weight in his voice drew the group's attention. "Cassian says danger approaches, we must return to the residence now."
The others blinked in confusion. Kael asked, "What danger?"
Draven snorted, folding his arms. "He's a fate rat, always mumbling riddles."
"Half the time I can't tell if he's warning me about danger… or about stepping on a loose tile." His scarred face twisted with familiar irritation.
"But when he says it with this tone? It's best to listen. He's rarely wrong."
Kael exchanged a glance with Selena. Both nodded silently.
Whatever Cassian felt, none of them wanted to test it. Without argument, they turned and hurried back toward the outer ring.
...
Meanwhile, back at the residence, Aurelia stood across from Cassian, frustration threading her voice. "Can you narrow it? Who? From where?"
Cassian's eyes drifted, pupils clouded like tides. "The strands won't show me. Only that teeth are coming."
"Teeth with a name we already know." His voice carried the hollow echo of prophecy.
Lucian frowned deeply but said nothing.
And then, without warning, the doors slammed open.
Dozens of humanoid warriors strode inside without permission. Their skin held a faint crimson tint, their fingers sharp like dragon claws.
The lead warrior's lips curled into a mocking smile as his gaze fell on Aurelia. He turned to his companion and chuckled.
"So this is the woman our young lord chased across the stars? Pretty enough, I suppose… but hardly worth the trouble he caused."
The other chuckled, "Still. I can see why he wanted her."
The leader stepped forward, voice dripping with arrogance. "We are of the Drakenholt Clan."
"Our young lord Valerius vanished after pursuing you. And now you have appeared back in the hub, but he has not." His eyes gleamed with accusation.
"Tell me, woman… where is our lord?"
Aurelia's face darkened. Cassian and Lucian exchanged glances, understanding immediately what this meant.
Aurelia's brow tightened. "I have no idea what you're speaking of."
"If he chased me, then he was chasing shadows. Look to the stars if you want him."
The warrior's grin widened. "Fierce, isn't she? No wonder he wanted you for himself."
Another stepped closer, snarling, "If something happened to him, we'll burn you alive." Crimson essence flickered around his claws.
Aurelia's fists clenched, space essence flickering faintly around her, distorting the air. The temperature dropped as reality began to bend.
Cassian murmured, "Careful. Strike here, and the weave will tighten into war."
The leader only laughed. He reached out, dragging a finger along Aurelia's jaw.
"Perhaps we should take you to the Patriarch. Let him decide what to do with his son's… plaything."
"YOU DARE?!"
A roar came from outside, shaking the walls. Dust rained from the ceiling as the entire structure trembled.
"You dare lay hands on her in our home?!"
Draven charged into the chamber, blood boiling through his veins. His face twisted with fury.
He ripped open his forearms, crimson liquid fusing into twin blades. The metallic scent of blood filled the air.
He slammed his strike into the mocking warrior's chest, sending him crashing through the wall in an explosion of blood and stone.
Cassian cursed under his breath. "Fool… you've tightened the noose."
The chamber erupted. Dozens of Drakenholt SSS-rank warriors ignited their essence, their power flooding the hall in killing intent.
The air itself seemed to thicken with violence. Furniture cracked under the pressure.
Aurelia's space essence began to flare, the floor cracking, she was ready to unleash devastation.
But calculation held her back. A single misstep would mean war with a Stellar Patriarch.
Draven roared and fought recklessly, his blood essence burning as he smashed into the nearest warriors. Crimson arcs painted the walls.
The leader he had struck earlier rose, fury blazing in his eyes. Blood dripped from his chest wound.
But Draven did not notice this. He was too busy carving through three other warriors.
A dragon's claw of crimson essence coiled into existence around the leader's hand.
He lunged at Draven's back, the strike aimed to tear straight through his chest. The attack moved faster than thought.
Everyone noticed it, but they were far from stopping it. Time seemed to crawl as death approached.
Adrian appeared between them.
His Source blade materialized in a flash of white-grey light. The crimson claw met pure essence.
The collision sent shockwaves through the chamber. Windows shattered, and the floor cracked in radiating lines.
"Enough."
Adrian's voice cut like a blade through reality itself.
The floor shuddered. Walls stretched into infinity, the ceiling bent into a horizon.
A Space Domain unfolded, swallowing the residence whole. The familiar chamber warped into an endless void where Adrian's will became absolute law.
Aurelia's hands unclenched as space bent to Adrian's will. Relief washed over her… and with it, the bitter sting that she had never reached this far herself.
The Drakenholt warriors stumbled as gravity twisted beneath them. Their crimson essence flickered and died like candles in a hurricane.
The leader found himself running forward endlessly. Every step carried him closer yet never reaching his target.
His face contorted with confusion, then dawning horror.
"D-Domain…" one warrior stammered, his voice breaking.
"Stellar stage…" another whispered, crimson draining from his face.
The truth crashed over them. A Stellar Stage warrior stood before them, not some planetary rat, but a being who could reshape reality itself.
The leader's knees buckled. He collapsed, trembling like a leaf.
"We… we didn't know. Forgive us, Lord Stellar…"
Adrian's eyes narrowed. This was his first time using the domain to fight, but he felt like it was one of his body parts, it was easy to control. He extended his will, and an invisible force slammed into the leader.
Bones cracked. The warrior's spine bent at an impossible angle before he crumpled to the floor, his body broken beyond repair.
Adrian turned his gaze on the remaining warriors. His hand rose, white-grey essence gathering around his fingers.
"Enough, child." Cassian's voice cut across the domain, trembling but steady. "Threads fray tighter when pulled. Kill them, and the storm becomes a tempest."
Adrian's hand paused mid-gesture. His jaw clenched as he processed the prophet's words.
"Even if we spare them, the Drakenholt Clan won't let this matter rest." Adrian's voice carried cold certainty. "They'll come for blood either way."
Cassian nodded grimly. "Perhaps. But more slaughter here will bring them faster, with greater fury."
Adrian exhaled slowly. The crushing weight of his domain eased, though his gaze never softened on the cowering warriors.
He had seen enough of the galaxy's cruelty. Only strength mattered here, strength and the will to use it without hesitation.
Now that he possessed a space domain, he refused to cower before any clan's threats.
"Tell your Patriarch this," Adrian said, "His son fell because he was weak. If he wants vengeance, he can come himself."
The surviving Drakenholt warriors scrambled toward the exit. Their earlier arrogance had shattered completely, replaced by raw terror.
They stumbled over each other in their haste to escape, faces etched with the knowledge that they had barely survived an encounter with death itself.
Silence lingered as Adrian dissolved his domain. The residence reformed around them, walls solidifying back into familiar stone and metal.
Aurelia stared at him with a mixture of pride and concern. Draven wiped blood from his blades, grinning despite the gravity of their situation.