Not long after the conclusion of the tournament, I found myself being called back to the Admin Room, Talon wanting to speak with me about her findings during the recent Keeper Meeting. Given that she had hired the Gilded Branch to keep an eye out for BloodBrother, I assumed that meant that they had found something.

EarthForceOne: I’m here, sorry for the wait.

Aerial: It’s not a problem. It’s good to see that you’re spending time in your world.

EarthForceOne: Thanks. Did you manage to get anything from the meeting?

Aerial: Well, yes and no. The Gilded Branch managed to identify BloodBrother with their scouts, so we have a good idea of where he spent his time. However, it doesn’t look like he had any substantial meetings with other Keepers. He ate alone at the restaurant, and the only confrontations that he had with others at the meeting seemed to be hostile. So, at the very least, we can assume that he wasn’t looking for any information broker in the meeting to learn more about you. If he’s contacted anyone, it would have been through private channels.

EarthForceOne: Is that so? What are the odds that he didn’t even know I was his opponent yet, because it was his turn to send out an attack this month?

Aerial: I hadn’t considered that. Really, he could have checked the public board to find out who his next opponent would have been, even if he hadn’t sent his force yet. You’ll be able to do the same when the information updates halfway through this month.

Aerial: Just checked. His last round was a defense, so he was definitely aware of his next opponent in advance.

EarthForceOne: Could he just be that confident in his defensive power?

Aerial: It’s his home turf, and he’s had a solid footing for decades. It wouldn’t be unusual for him to be confident, especially looking at your record. The only victory you’ve had against another Keeper was a blank slate, and you’ve only been around for a few short years. For an experienced Keeper like BloodBrother, you probably still look like a fresh fish.

Aerial: If he were attacking, he’d probably send enough enemies to be able to wipe out a normal Keeper of your rank, and wouldn’t pay any attention to whether or not he succeeded. Given that his ‘weakness’ appears to be the Void, which is a situation that only Fourth Rank or higher Keepers dabble heavily in most of the time, he probably assumes he is safe until he ranks up. At the same time, this means that his general troops will have a higher combat power than yours, so the only way for you to seize victory will be through the use of this weakness.

EarthForceOne: I’ve already prepared my forces. All that’s left now is to wait for the attack deadline. I’ve never used void entities in an attack before, so hopefully he won’t have any reason to suspect it.

Aerial: Here’s hoping! From the report I got from the Gilded Branch, he won an attack ticket, but not a defense one. So, if you are able to trap him, he won’t have a way to force off the invasion.

EarthForceOne: Alright, is there anything else that I need to be aware of, then?

Aerial: Not that I know of! As long as you can keep your void troops a secret until the invasion happens, there won’t be any reason for him to use his attack ticket to forcibly change his opponent.

EarthForceOne: Thanks. I’ll let you get back to what you were doing, then.

Aerial: You too. Thanks for helping me resolve my grudge.

I gave a small nod as I closed the chat, thankful that there didn’t seem to be anything else that I needed to worry about when it came to the upcoming attack against BloodBrother. I smiled slightly, focusing on descending to my world once again.

A young man sat within a dark void, specks of light like distant stars surrounding him in all directions. He extended one hand, and the stars gathered, forming a scimitar in his grasp. He released the blade, and it formed a ring on his finger, before shattering and returning to the form of distant stars.

As he was performing his regular training, he felt a presence outside of his sanctuary. His eyes narrowed, his vision extending beyond the wall of his world. However, when he saw the identity of the intruder, his gaze softened, and he opened a door to allow them entry.

The person who entered his sanctuary was a silver-haired elf, not unlike Leowynn herself. Apparently, she modeled her body after Leowynn as soon as she was able to do so, something that he could somewhat understand. “What is it, Hanya?” The young man asked in a gentle tone, the elf sticking her tongue out.

“Can’t I just come and visit the man I’ll be spending the rest of my life with?” She asked in a playful tone, causing the man to chuckle. “I got bored with my training, and wanted to come and hang out. I even thought of some practice that we could do for our upcoming battles.”

“Oh?” The man looked at her in interest. “They haven’t told us the specifics on what we will be expected to do, so how did you plan to practice?”

“It’s easy!” Hanya nodded her head. “They haven’t told us what you’ll need to do once we get there specifically, but we know that you’ll be needing to alter stars in some way, right? Why else would they want a Fallen God of Starlight?”

The young man nodded his head in confirmation, having come to a similar conclusion long ago. “I don’t know what method they’ll need me to employ, but you are correct. Still, what did you have in mind?”

“Well, if you want to practice altering stars… why not head to Spica?” She asked with a smile, crossing her hands behind her back. “The stars in Spica are the most special of anywhere in any world. If you can change them to produce different types of energy, surely you will have an advantage when it comes to whatever it is that they ask us to do later!”

The young man thought it over for a moment, before nodding his head again and rising to his feet. “And I suppose you’ll want to come along to watch?”

When Hanya saw the almost teasing smile on his face, she pouted her lips. “Like I said, I am so bored! There’s only so much that I can practice becoming immune to. I know how to become immune to the elements, to known divine powers, any form of disease or poison I can encounter… I’ve learned how to become immune to practically everything except boredom!”

“Then it seems like you have some more training to do.” He grinned, taking a step to exit his sanctuary. “Just like we know that they need me to tamper with the enemy’s stars in some way, it will be your job to protect the two of us while I do so.”

Hanya let out a huff at that. “I know… but there’s only so much that I can think of becoming immune to. I’ve already created a pretty comprehensive line to let me see what outside influences are attempting to affect me, and then selectively become immune to the ones I deem harmful. Speaking of which, try not to talk above ninety decibels, or you’ll be filtered out.”

The young man raised an eyebrow at that, but simply shook his head. “Well, let’s find Spica.” He turned his head, mentally identifying the numerous worlds within the void. He could see the Guardian standing vigil over Earth, though his armor seemed to have blackened in recent years. Likely a sign of evolution. Eventually, his eyes fell upon the familiar sphere in the distance, and he began walking along.

As the two of them walked through the void, they were able to see the multitude of other sanctuaries that had been erected for the other fallen gods. Some of them were known to the pair, while others often kept to themselves. It wasn’t uncommon for them to look outside of their sanctuaries and find void monsters being hunted.

“Are there any new beasts that we need to watch out for?” The young man asked, Hanya taking a moment to think about it.

“Not that I know of. There was this one last week that randomly caused people to disappear if they weren’t being observed by anyone. It was plaguing one of Deckan’s secondary worlds, but someone stepped in to kill it a few hours later. Right now, I think that the biggest problem is still the one that is hovering around Lorek. I think it consumed excess mana? There have been some guys that went over to try to hunt it, but it chased them all off. It’s not directly harmful, so the Guardian won’t get involved, but… it’s making it a lot harder for people to cultivate on Lorek.”

The young man furrowed his brows, nodding. “That’s why you wanted me to go to Spica instead of Lorek. If I make a mana star in Lorek, the energy will be extinguished immediately.”

“Well, that’s certainly not going to make your job any easier!” Hanya tacitly agreed. Once the two arrived in front of Spica’s sphere within the void, they each observed it carefully. “So, where do you want to go to try this out? I imagine nowhere near the inhabited worlds?”

The young man nodded his agreement. “That’s right… this spot should do.” He said, opening a portal in front of them. Hanya didn’t hesitate to jump through the portal, the young man following behind her.

“Woah… a binary system! I heard that these are insanely rare in these realms because of the contradictory energies repelling each other.” Hanya looked with wide-eyed amazement as she saw the green and blue stars in the distance. Between the two of them was a constant ring of flame, looking as if a storm was raging and swirling between two giants.

“That’s why I wanted to come here.” He answered, his voice transmitted directly to Hanya. “The light here won’t reach any other world for quite a while. More importantly, even if it did, they would only receive the benefit of one star at a time, depending on which one was facing that world.”

Hanya nodded her head quickly, looking back at her friend. “So, what are you going to do to them, Geoff?”

The young man, Geoff thought it over before looking at the green star. “Let’s test this one, first.” After saying that, he held one hand out towards the star, his eyes going pitch black. Darkness seemed to radiate from his hand as he read the information of the star. “As expected, it is a natural energy star, and it carries the fire element.” After saying that, he turned his arm to read the other star. “Mana, and lightning element.”

Geoff closed his eyes, focusing on the natural energy star first. The space around them rippled and distorted, darkness spreading out to engulf the area around them. It took only a few seconds for this darkness to completely surround the two stars, the explosions between them fading in response to this black energy.

“Wow, you’ve managed to expand your field to this level?” Hanya asked, seeming impressed by the accomplishment.

“It’s not difficult. Even this is less than a grain of sand within the void. Since I locked down the coordinates while we were outside, it’s just a matter of using those to summon my sanctuary. Now, let’s see what we can do here.” He looked at the green star once again, his black eyes seeming to swirl with chaotic energy. “Override local space, activate Starlight Principle. Modify source energy from Natural Energy to Ki. Modify attuned element from fire to lightning. Harmonize wavelengths with paired star.”

The green star pulsed in response to his words, the green surface seeming to burn away into a deep orange light. Once the orange light completely covered the surface of the star, they only had to wait for a few moments to see the results. In the space between stars, where the constant storm had once existed, a new energy was forming. This energy seemed to take the shape of a miniature star, hovering between the other two and releasing a constant stream of chakra.

“Oooh! Nice!” Hanya held a thumbs up towards Geoff in praise. “What happens if you try to make a star give off divine energy instead of one of the base types?”

Geoff lifted a brow, also curious now that she had brought it up. “Let’s change location.” He said, removing his sanctuary and teleporting the pair to another distant star. Once there, he took a moment to analyze the local coordinates, and once again expanded his sanctuary around the blue star of this system. “Override local space, activate Starlight Principle. Modify source energy from Mana to Divine Energy.”

The star trembled at his words, Geoff watching intently to see if anything would happen. Parts of the surface of the star gradually seemed to turn gold, before the star collapsed in on itself, erupting into a supernova that rapidly swept towards them. Geoff held out his hand, stopping the wave of energy from expanding in their direction, and shook his head. “The laws of this world aren’t compatible with divine stars like this. We would need an entirely new star, like the one used for Sanctum.”

Hanya pouted her lips, seeing the paused wave of nebulous energy. Thankfully, they chose an area that did not appear to have any planets with life on them. “Well, it was worth a shot, at least.” She said, shrugging her shoulders. “Let’s go and do more experiments! We saw that little chakra star, so… what about a main star with an advanced energy?”

Geoff smiled slightly, nodding at her enthusiasm. “Let’s go, then.”