Over half a year passed in Grand Heavens Boundary.
The Hephaestus raid was in full swing and the universe's forces remained focused on the goal ahead.
They were a fourth of the way through the ceasefire already, but they hadn't made much progress.
The Hephaestus raid was far more difficult than their projections suggested.
Most of the universe's willing experts were sent to the Nox base camp after months of preparation, yet they found that the Nox had long been prepared for it.
Millions were lost, and despite another 3 months passing, the raid was still ongoing.
Realizing the true extent of the effort they'd have to put into securing Hephaestus, Heaven's Army made the decision to split their efforts.
Millions of 4th class and lower experts were sent to the Infected Source Worlds in the Beast Domain and the Giant Domain since those two were judged as the weakest of the remaining targets.
Contrary to the main raid, these sub-operations went surprisingly well.
The Giant Domain was cleared by the end of the 3-month period, while the Beast Domain…
…fell within weeks.
It was a truly unexpected turn of events.
For the first time, the denizens had forces on the inside to assist them in attaining victory.
These forces were the remnants of the Black Dragon Clan!
While the Golden Dragon Emperor attended the Grand Assembly, he assigned a portion of his forces to follow a trail Damien gave them to find the remains of the Black Dragon Clan.
Their main world remained hidden for generations, but once the majority of their force was subdued and enslaved, their secret could no longer stay in the shadows.
Events matched up perfectly. The Golden Dragon Clan found the world hidden in the folds of space, and the Golden Dragon Emperor was able to make contact with his Black Dragon counterpart.
As it turned out, the Black Dragon Emperor learned of what happened to his clan, and he'd come to a decision.
Rather than fighting a being who held the lives of most of his clansmen in his hands, he decided to surrender.
Perhaps it was a humiliating choice, but it was the best path to take for the survival of the clan.
After all, the Nox didn't carry an overwhelming advantage in Grand Heavens Boundary anymore.
At least, not on the surface.
Nevertheless, the Black Dragon Emperor revealed that his clan had long been in a cooperative relationship with the Nox.
Now that he'd switched sides, he gave up a load of information that led the Beast Domain's raid to inevitable success in the shortest amount of time possible.
Another two wriggling black Corrupted World Cores were left guarded in their own sections of the universe.
And everyone kept moving.
The Divine and Infernal Realms were likely far more dangerous, so they couldn't be touched so easily.
Therefore, most forces were placed in reserve and given the order to increase their strength as fast as possible.
Hephaestus once again became the focus.
And a question appeared in the minds of more perceptive experts.
Why was there such a vast difference in strength between these Infected Source Worlds?
One could argue that the strength of the Nox base reflected the strength of the domain it inhabited, but that reasoning could only be used to a certain extent.
When things became too easy, concerns arose.
The Beast Domain was one thing, but both the Giant Domain and Soul World's raids started to look incredibly suspicious with the passing of time.
So…
If the Nox truly were concentrating their forces in certain locations…
Could it be explained away as fortification, or was there some underlying purpose Heaven's Army failed to understand?
***
Rose, Ruyue, and Elena found themselves in a strange set of circumstances.
Just a second ago, they were rushing to Damien's location after seeing the lightning pillar dying down.
They realized the consequences that could occur if Damien was heavily injured and left on the mountainside alone.
However, before they could reach him, their bodies were swept away in a spatial storm.
They landed in a beautifully vibrant hidden cove. It was a place where space and time had no meaning, and the fluctuations of law were extreme to the point of this place being a holy land for training.
Yet, they did not want to be here.
In a time when Damien could die at any moment, how could they be resigned to staying in this strange space?!
The first thing they did was try to find a way out, but once they realized that their search was fruitless, a voice boomed down from the heavens.
"I have some matters to discuss with your companion. Stay here and reap the benefits of this place until our matters have concluded."
It was deep and dark, and its words were a demand, not a suggestion.
"Rest assured, he and you will be safe. If you are unresigned to this fate, become stronger and challenge me. That is all."
The voice answered their most pressing question and forced them to accept its words before they could reply at all.
And its presence disappeared immediately after.
The three looked at each other with deep frowns on their faces.
"No matter what we think, it's right," Elena said solemnly.
"Are any of us strong enough to withstand that Heavenly Lightning attack? Can any of us even last a second in front of its power?"
The answer was no.
Damien had to borrow the life achievements of a 4th class creature to survive, but no matter his means, he managed to live.
They couldn't say they had any means to do the same.
"We're all geniuses," Elena continued.
"We're all people who can be regarded as the peak of the younger generation, to the point where an influence like Prismatic Sun Holy Land would want to nurture us without asking anything in return."
"But that isn't enough. They wanted to train us, but they tasked him with a task as difficult as this without a hint of distrust for his abilities."
She deeply exhaled, her expression filled with unwillingness, and voiced the thought running through all their minds.
"If we want to stand by him forever, being supreme geniuses isn't enough. The only option is to become existences that defy reality, just like him."
Rose sighed.
"An entity that can transport us to a location like this can't be weak. It has no reason to lie about our safety when it can kill us with a single thought," she said, looking out into the hidden cove.
"As you said, we've been boxing ourselves in too much. The logic that we've come to know and rely on needs to be thrown away. We need to start acting outside the bounds of logic."
Ruyue nodded in agreement.
"We have gained the qualifications to have such ambition in the past weeks, and now we have been given an opportunity to turn potential into power. Since there is no other choice, we should do as the voice said and utilize it."
Damien had always been a step ahead of his peers, including them, but now that they'd reunited, this disparity was extremely pronounced.
They refused to be bogged down by their comparative weakness.
"But…who is it that did this…?" Ruyue asked hesitantly,
Rose frowned. She looked at the sky with furrowed brows and spoke.
"Considering everything, it can only be one person."
All of their expressions were the same as they internalized this truth.
The only one in this realm that could pull a stunt like this…
…was the 2nd Primal Sovereign.
