When Arnel left the Sim Pod, it was already well past midnight. Still, the Exalt clan — everyone except Camille — assembled in a private domain of the cybersphere in response to the emergency meeting.

This place was Arnel’s mind-construct, and it had not been updated since he was a child. It was a castle from the outside, but inside, it was a floating sky chamber. One could see through the transparent floor and see clouds beneath their feet, and a landscape that did not match the castle’s forested surroundings at all. To be fair, Arnel was very young when he created this place, and back then, he was very proud of it. Actually, even now, he was still fairly proud of it.

The ability to detach a viewing portal, like the transparent floor, from the surroundings was a very difficult technique to pull off. In the cybersphere, everything came from the mind and creativity of the one designing it, and creating such leaps in logic and reason to disconnect one’s internal sense of location with a realistic depiction of a see-through floor that showed another location entirely required extreme skill — or stupidity.

Not everyone took to this view with excitement or wonder. For those who have lived in Arcologies their entire lives, seeing large, open spaces or the sky was already disorienting and intimidating. To see the sky beneath one’s feet, and such a huge and open expanse of land visible several kilometers below inspired utter terror.

In particular, Nissa’s, Damien’s, and Fang’s knees buckled when they saw it, and they fought with all their might against the impulse to vomit on the spot. It was such a severe reaction that Arnel had to quickly disable the feature of the sky chamber. While the others showed less violent reactions to it, Estella and Cassandra didn’t seem to be bothered at all.

“I am so sorry,” Arnel said. “I completely forgot about that.”

While Nissa retched on the now blackened floor, Fang shot Arnel a hateful glare. “You forgot?! How can you even stand looking at it?”

Arnel chuckled. “I got used to it. You will too, one day.”

“Why?” Fang asked — a perfectly reasonable question. There was no reason to leave the Arcologies. Ever.

“Why not?” Arnel retorted. “If things go the way we want, we will be able to go anywhere — live anywhere. We can see the world if we want to. We won’t be stuck in the Arcologies.”

“There’s nothing out there but ferals and non-citizens,” Nissa said, agreeing with Fang.

Arnel nodded and didn’t push the issue further.

Everyone except Arnel came wearing their Singularity avatar. The only person who looked like his true real-life counterpart here was Arnel, and he somewhat understood why the others chose to wear their alter-egos. Still, because of the rules, honorary citizens and non-citizens were not allowed to adjust their avatars too far from what they looked like in the real world. They could not even choose a race other than human. But when privacy is concerned, every little bit helps.

Fang was taller in Singularity than he was in the real world. And Nissa was, to put it bluntly, somewhat less curvy in the real world than her avatar would suggest. Arnel was not entirely sure about the others, except Ame whom he met in the real world recently. Ame looked pretty much the same as he did in the real world. He wore his guise — his perfections and his flaws — openly.

“Anyway,” Fang said, calming down from the disorienting experience. “You called an emergency meeting. What’s up?”

“Are we under attack?” Nissa asked. “I can’t log in right now.”

Arnel shook his head. “The attack is over. I took care of it.”

It was obvious by their expressions that those words were the last thing any of them wanted to hear. They actually did come under attack.

“So, it started,” Fang said. As the Clan’s strategist, he was the most aware of what this meant. He was the one most likely to see the far-reaching consequences of the prologue to war.

“It is a bit soon,” Ame said. “We aren’t ready. Unless you kept an ace up your sleeve.”

Fang shook his head to Ame. “No aces.”

“I got cursed by Ytra,” Arnel said. “I can’t heal.”

Cassandra gasped.

“What? Why?! Did you use the lightning blade again?” Fang asked.

The news fell on the group like a hammer striking an anvil. This was a worst-case scenario — one they didn’t even consider. But they all knew what it meant. Aren’s defeat was inevitable if he couldn’t heal.

“At all?” Cassandra asked. “Healing magic?”

Arnel shook his head. “From what I understand, I cannot heal at all. If I so much catch a cold…” Arnel trailed off and shrugged. “But there is good news.”

“How can there be good news?” Ame asked, stepping towards Arnel.

“Ytra won’t let me die.”

Fang burst out into laughter.

Nissa looked at Fang as if he went insane. “Why are you laughing? This is a disaster. If he can’t resurrect, then all his wounds won’t heal.”

Fang’s shoulders raised, like a wolf’s hackles. He laughed even more. “If he can’t die, then he can’t be banished! His Status, it can’t change!”

Nissa’s lips parted and she sucked in a breath. “You are right. If he can’t die…”

Fang all but cackled now. “Our only lose condition is if Aren dies. But if he can’t die, we can’t lose!”

“Not losing is fine, but if something happens, we can’t win either,” Estella said.

Damien — eternally silent and mute — nodded in agreement.

“Do you know what happens if your vitals are destroyed?” Estella asked.

Arnel shook his head. “I assume nothing happens. Same with amputated limbs.”

Fang’s laughter ceased suddenly and he shot Arnel a concerned look. “In theory, if your lungs are destroyed, you won’t be able to breathe.”

Arnel nodded. “Yeah. If I can’t breathe, I likely can’t recover stamina either. Eventually, if my vitals are destroyed, I don’t think I’d be able to move at all.”

Fang shook his head. “That’s not what I mean. You would be suffocating. Eternally. If you can’t die, you can’t asphyxiate.”

Arnel frowned. The rest of the group showed similar expressions and signs of concern and worry.

“As long as I can protect my vitals and limbs, this is a good thing. I won’t bleed out, die of sickness, disease, or poison,” Arnel said, trying to cheer his companions up.

Fang nodded. “What happened? Why did Ytra curse you?”

“I did not use the lightning blade. It turns out, Ytra is the patron of Stygian. Three of them came to meet me and to discuss Exalt’s disbanding. I killed them,” Arnel explained.

Fang cursed something under his breath, and even Ame narrowed his eyes.

“Was any one of them named Alex?” Ame asked.

Arnel glanced at Ame and shook his head. “The only person I learned the name of was a guy called Titor. He had a Unique class.”

Ame’s eyes widened. “Titor? Unique class?”

Fang glanced at Ame. “You know these people?”

Ame nodded at Fang. “A while ago, they stole four Unique classes.”

“They stole them?” Fang asked. “How are they still Unique?”

Ame tilted his head. “It wasn’t that kind of stealing. There was an event, earlier, and the reward was a Unique class. They were tied to objects and were claimable in the Forbidden Abyss. I won one of them.”

Everyone stared at Ame.

“It is complicated, I don’t want to talk about it,” Ame said. “Suffice to say, Alex found out and took his group into the Abyss and found them.”

“And no one stopped them? Not even the Alliances?” Nissa asked.

Ame shook his head. “As I said, it is complicated. Stygian is just a lapdog of the other Alliances. They most likely let them have the classes.”

Fang’s expression was thoughtful. “Is that why you joined us, Ame?”

Ame glanced at Fang. Then he nodded. “It is one of the reasons. I have a debt to settle with Alex.”

Ame’s words were made of steel and warrior’s intent. It probably wasn’t even about the Unique class or the stealing, but simply a matter of honor or wounded pride. That is what it seemed like to Arnel.

Arnel smiled and tapped the back of his wrist. “Is this the class you won?”

A black circlet appeared in the prismatic light of a hologram projected from the floor of the room, hovering in the center. An info-window popped up above the circlet, displaying the words Lord of Ash - Unique Class.

Everyone’s eyes widened at the image and the words. Everyone’s except Ame’s and Estella’s.

“You stole it from them?” Fang asked.

“This is not the one that belonged to me, but…” Ame said, trailing off and allowing a faint smirk to appear on his lips. “Good work. How did you do it? It is supposed to be soul-bound.”

Arnel shrugged. “Something to do with my Calamity powers. I think I can steal classes.”

Those words were the largest shock — so far — that the group received. The idea that Arnel could steal classes — not just Unique ones — was absurd.

“What happens to the one you steal it from?” Nissa asked.

“Who knows,” Arnel said. “But I can modify it. Or absorb its power into my own. But it will become a Legendary class if I do that.”

Fang smiled brightly. “You are absorbing it? You are gonna become even more absurdly powerful?” His words were hopeful — approving even.

Arnel shook his head. “I won’t be changing it or absorbing it,” he said. “I am giving it to Nissa.”

Nissa blinked, stunned. “Why? Why me?”

The group observed Arnel with a kernel of confusion.

“We need your long-ranged artillery,” Arnel said. “You will be the linchpin of our strategy. Our defensive strategy.”

Fang narrowed his eyes at Arnel. “Defensive… strategy?” he pronounced each word with a healthy pause between them. “What did you do?”

Arnel smiled apologetically. “I declared Total War on Stygian,” he said.

Fang’s eyes widened progressively until it seemed like they might pop out of his skull. Then he exhaled sharply through his nostrils. “It was the right choice to make,” he said, reluctantly after a pause.

“What?!” Nissa exclaimed, glaring at Fang. “How is that the right choice?”

“I agree with Fang,” Ame said, nodding.

Arnel licked his lips, about to explain, but Fang beat him to it. “When you think about it, we cannot attack them outside of Rakab.”

Nissa nodded. “Right?” Confusion still lingered in her eyes.

“If we don’t declare Total War, we can only wait in Rakab and die. Or flee and give it up,” Fang said.

“Ok, it’s not ideal, but I see your point,” Nissa said. “With Total War, we can attack them anywhere, right?”

Fang nodded.

Arnel smiled. “Especially if we have a long-ranged artillery specialist, with a Unique class.”

Nissa’s eyes widened. “We can attack them before they reach us!”

Arnel, Fang, and Ame nodded at the same time.

“Damien could be our spotter,” Fang said.

Damien nodded.

“You can leave the spotting to me,” Arnel said.

“What do you mean?” Ame asked. “We can’t risk you.”

“You will just have to trust me, I cannot explain it very well, yet,” Arnel said. “But there are a lot of preparations that we have to do if we want to stand a chance at winning this war.”

Everyone became thoughtful, slowly nodding to the words, but not entirely convinced.

“All can see these tactics by which I conquer, but what none can see is the strategy through which victory is evolved,” Fang said, his tone implying it is a quote.

Arnel nodded to Fang. “Sun Tzu.”

Fang smiled. “I trust you. What do you need?”

“Let’s finalize our agreement with Eli, from the guild.”

“We are giving them building rights?” Cassandra asked.

Arnel nodded. “Yes. Our priority is a fortress and a temple.”

“A temple?” Cassandra asked — this was also her specialty.

“Aurora already has a temple in Rakab,” Estella said. “Or are you trying to appease Ytra?”

Arnel almost glared at Estella, for even suggesting that he would try to appease Ytra. “It is to Luna.”

“Luna? Luna and Aurora are enemies,” Estella said.

“But it is the only place where I can resurrect if the worst happens,” Arnel said.

Fang nodded. “Right. Right, we can figure this out. Temple and stronghold, got it. Anything else?”

Arnel pondered. “While Nissa practices her new class with Estella — for the bonuses — we will be doing some hunting. I have to learn how to use my Calamity powers.”

Fang smiled. “Know yourself and the enemy, huh?”

Arnel nodded. “And a hundred battles.”

“So, we are not going back to sleep, I take it?” Nissa asked.

Everyone chuckled.

They couldn’t remember the last time they were this excited.