Dumar stares at his phone in annoyance—but he's secretly glad Arthur called. He'd rather deal with him than answer calls from… Terranzine World News?!What the hell is Terranzine?!If you want to know, come here and see it yourself!
"You finished?" Dumar asks, his tone matching his irritation. There's never been a need to hide anything between them—never has, never will.
Arthur clears his throat. "Sorry, Dumar." But he's still grinning.
"What do you want?" Dumar snaps.
"Now that's insulting. You know damn well what I want. Now—show me."
Dumar grumbles but taps the "video" button, showing Arthur and Julian the pillar—complete with the deafening roar.
"Holy shit!" Julian blurts. Nothing could have prepared him for the sound.
"Dumar," Julian calls out, "please turn on the Arcatherm and point it at the pillar. It'll give us readings—I can study them later."
Without a word, Dumar ducks into another tent, pulls out the Arcatherm, and powers it on. The device hums to life.
"I wanted to ask if you're okay, but I can both hear and see that you are," Arthur says dryly.
Dumar exhales. "Yeah—no thanks to your Aegis."
Arthur frowns. "What do you mean? I can see nothing's getting pulled toward it. Isn't that thanks to my Aegis?"
"Hah!" Dumar scoffs. "Dream on! We rarely use your Aegis Ultra. Only for strong sandstorms. There was supposed to be one tonight, but the Arcatherm read it as level two—so we didn't turn it on."
"You're telling me you've got nothing on? No shield, no barrier, and you're still fine?"
"Correct. Not just us, Arthur—everything. As you can see, nothing's getting pulled in. Everything's still."
Julian and Arthur exchange confused looks.
"That doesn't make any sense!" Julian exclaims.
"Oh? I've got another call coming in," Julian says as a soft beep sounds. "Hey—it's Madison! Hang on, I'll patch her in."
He taps a few keys, and another face joins the call. A beautiful sun-tanned woman appears on screen—emerald eyes, jet-black hair, and an exotic face now dripping wet.
"Madison!" Dumar greets her.
"Oy! Good to see you both! I tried calling Arthur, but his line was busy—guess I know why now." Madison grins, completely unfazed by the downpour.
"Whoa, I'll be damned! That's the pillar from the news?"
"Yeah. We're kind of admiring it," Dumar replies.
"Why aren't you looking for shelter?" Arthur asks, frowning. Her soaked clothes cling to her, and the heavy rain cuts visibility to almost zero.
"Well, I was hoping to surprise you, Arthur. But since everyone's here…" She turns her camera. "Let me introduce you all to the current Sandrina Valley."
She flips the view.
------------------------------
Sam sits in the Monforts' living room, reading his tablet. The headlines flash across the screen: Torrential Rain Returns to Sandrina Valley! and Giant Fire-Wind Pillar Appears in Zarathun Desert!
He considers forwarding the news to Arthur, but reminds himself that his current duty isn't to report world events—it's to guard.
He scrolls again when Linus enters. Sam instinctively straightens in his seat, posture crisp. Old habits die hard. He nearly stands before remembering—he's technically a guest.
Linus notices and stops him with a hand gesture. "Please, stay seated." He picks up the remote. "Young Montrose certainly knows how to train his people. Excellent."
The TV flickers on—Breaking News.
"This is remarkable," Linus mutters, voice half-thought, half-speech. "Rain in Sandrina? That valley's been dead for a decade. And now this? Something's going on."
His tone makes it clear he's speaking to himself—but loud enough that Sam can't possibly miss it.
Linus turns to Sam. "What do you think, Mr. Mora?"
Sam stands up and bows. "Please, Mr. Monfort — it's Sam." He turns his eyes to the TV. "And I think you're right, Sir. Something is going on."
"Oh?" Linus takes a seat and gestures for Sam to do the same. "Why do you say that?"
"Because I just received word that both governments are looking for Mr. Arthur. They wouldn't do that if they believed this was a natural phenomenon."
Linus studies him, expression unreadable. "And you're telling me this because you want Monfort Industries to support Montrose Corporation in the negotiations. You know I have strong ties with both governments."
Sam smiles faintly. "Those are your words, Sir. Not mine."
Linus leans back in his chair, amused. "I like you, Mora. You should work for me."
Sam bows slightly again. "Thank you for the compliment, Sir."
------------------------------
Arthur is standing in front of his office windows. The view is amazing, but his mind is not admiring the view. He's processing all the information he received this afternoon. From the 100% purity Heartstone, the torrential rain, the wind-fire pillar.
His gaze travels to his phone on his table. After the video conference with the Emeralians government, Sandrina Valley and Zarathun Desert, both called him in succession to arrange a meeting with him, with Montrose Corporation.
He understands Emeralians. They want to buy the newest version of Montrose Aegis, for the previous version had saved the world's largest rainforest from total destruction.
And he kind of understand the Zarathis. Again, they might want to buy Montrose Aegis for protection from sandstorms. But Sandrina Valley? That torrential rain literally saved them. Why would they're looking for me?
And then, there's Sam's report. Arthur's brain is spinning again. Sam actually detected it. Meaning he was close enough to the source. But he couldn't find it.
The last thing Sam reported was the sprinklers incident. Arthur has this nagging feeling in his heart, but he cannot pinpoint which one.
He was going to find his mother and Thea, but knowing that they are safe in Monfort's Sky Suite, which is not far from his office, he's reluctant to go there.
Him and Liam Monfort, don't exactly see eye to eye.
Adding the purple flame incident that is somewhat connected to the Emeralians forest fire. What does it mean?
He's suddenly stunned. Wait a minute! What if…? He quickly goes to his table and checking something.
Holy… I was right! I can't believe I'm right! The rain and Julian's first 100% beep, then the wind and Julian's 2nd beep, they were at the exact same time!
He quickly contacts Julian.
"Yo, Art. You've found a pattern?" Julian knows how Arthur's mind works. Their afternoon has been filled with information overload, but Arthur's analytical thinking is just like their father's — he always manages to connect things others see as random.
"Listen to this," Arthur says directly.
"I might be wrong, I need you to check it again, but I think I'm right. The first 100% beep from your station and the rain in Sandrina — I believe they occurred at the exact same time."
"What?"
"That's not all. Check the second beep and the pillar in Zarathun. I think they also happened at the same time."
"Hang on… you might be onto something." Julian's fingers tap rapidly at his station. "Art, you're right. You're absolutely right! We've got two pairs of incidents."
"Three," Arthur corrects.
"Three?" Julian frowns.
"Yes. You forgot the purple flame and the forest fire."
"Oh my god…"
"And furthermore, have you noticed what all those three have in common?"
"Three? There were six, Art!"
"Three that are close to us. Pay attention, Jules." Arthur's tone sharpens.
"Oh, right. So what do those three have in common?"
Arthur takes a deep breath. He almost can't believe what he's about to say — but nothing else connects them.
"They were all near where Thea was."