Years continued to slip away. In some way, the passage of time was beneficial. It gave an opportunity for training and improvement- but that applied to all parties. In general it could be assumed that younger cultivators would be advantaged by further passage of time, so in comparison to Fajra who had officially been called an ‘old hag’, those from the lower realms had some advantage there. However, that did not mean they would have the confidence to directly deal with her. Instead, they had to think of the majority of the invading forces and what they might be.

Through slow and careful work they did determine where Fajra would be stationed. They were also able to confirm the target was indeed Ceretos- though there were three outposts on the planet Tatera. Fajra seemed to be in control of the forces that would be attacking Brogora, while another individual would be leading the attack on Aicenith. That second individual was a woman known as Juta, a member of the Fearsome Menagerie. It seemed she was also a cultivator in the Augmentation stage- which meant they were taking things quite seriously. Even so, the two groups were disconnected from each other.

That left a third outpost. After some effort, it was determined they would be attacking Weos. Though none of those in the upper realms had interacted with them, as an ally of Ceretos they would try to do something about the third group- beyond just the warning that an attack was definitely on the way.

-----

The fact that things had gone rather slowly was good for Alva, giving her some time to improve her stealth abilities. Even so, she was hesitant to actually enter any of the outposts on Tatera. Whether it was a group of Integration cultivators or a single Augmentation cultivator, she wasn’t able to handle them. There was no information so critical at the moment that risking her life was worth it- at least, not to that extent.

Simply being on the planet was a risk, as if Alva or the ship were noticed they would find all further operations more difficult. But unlike Velvet, she was remaining at a proper distance, observing the longer term happenings on the planet.

A small fleet of ships was leaving again. They always came back, but the very fact that anyone was leaving except for the purposes of picking up supplies said quite a bit. Following those ships was a project for another day- or another year perhaps. The important thing was that it wasn’t limited to any single outpost, though they didn’t seem to gather together or coordinate anywhere near the planet.

Looking for other long term patterns was about the best Alva could do from a distance, but that was still important work. She might even gain the confidence to enter the outpost at some point, though if she was going to it would have to be before the commanders actually arrived. There was currently another Augmentation cultivator in each place, though whether they would be staying or not was unclear. Either way, Alva wouldn’t want to risk two people at their level or the individually stronger ones. So she assumed, at least. It was unlikely there were any actually weak Augmentation cultivators, but importance and strength were closely tied in the cultivation world. At best, the current occupants would be similarly talented and less well connected as they were given the unimportant and more boring longer term positions watching over the area.

The fact that the Trigold Cluster had Augmentation cultivators to spare, even just a couple, was concerning. Either they had more than anticipated or were prioritizing this task. Neither was good news for Ceretos- though at least the invaders from the upper realms would be hampered by their positions.

-----

Velvet was focusing on the stealth capabilities of their vessel, but she was still able to keep track of things outside to some extent- and especially oddities with their own vessel. “What’s going on?” she asked. “Aren’t we outside the system already?”

“We are,” Alva confirmed, “But they’re still going at sublight speed.”

“It might be a trap,” Velvet frowned. “Perhaps they’re watching for us.”

“There’s no way they’d know we are following them this particular time. This must be what they’re doing.”

The trip from there was quite uncomfortable, with the small fleet flying ahead of them for days with no real change. Then there was a slow deceleration. Alva and the rest of the crew was carefully monitoring their relative speeds and they kept their position. It was simply odd when the fleets suddenly… stopped. In the void between systems it would generally be impossible to determine if anything was stationary, not without some sort of reference. And that was exactly what was ahead of them, an extremely uncomfortable reference plane.

It was like looking over a cliff- if Alva were still a young child and unable to even climb, let alone fly. It was a feeling she hadn’t felt even in space away from everything, with infinite distances in every direction, most of which had nothing in her path.

She’d felt this feeling from the other side, but significantly less pronounced. The amount of energy thinned out significantly away from planetary systems, but even so there was an obvious transition where it rapidly became nothing.

No, there was still lower energy beyond the slowly undulating edge- but having functioned solely on upper energy for more than a third of her cultivation time, Alva no longer felt like it had any power. There was no connection there for her to draw upon.

The mere idea of powerlessness was frightening, and that was what the space beyond represented. “The Tides…” Alva said as she looked ahead. Visually, it was almost indiscernible- at best a haze in the boundary zone. “I guess that’s not quite right.” The tides of the world were more than just the border. This was just what could be sensed. Something like… waves?

“I can’t believe we lived there,” Velvet said. “It feels so empty.”

Alva nodded.

Soon enough they were able to discern why the ships had come to this place. One at a time, the ships began to creep across the border. The followers continued to maintain their distance.

“Energy reserves dropping rapidly,” one of the deck crew commented. “The upper energy is not being maintained.”

“How long do we have?” Alva asked.

“Less than a day, if it maintains its current rate.”

“So not that bad, yet,” Alva shook her head. “Keep an eye on it. They don’t look like they’re bleeding as much energy, but I definitely sense some…”

Over the course of the next eight hours, everyone grew increasingly uncomfortable- with the exception of Alva and Velvet. They weren’t exactly feeling welcomed, but there was a nostalgic presence to the lower energy around them. Even as their personal reserves leaked out of them as if they were sponges laying out in the sun, they were able to absorb some of the diffuse lower energy.

“It still feels weird,” Velvet commented. “Maybe if there were more…?”

“I think I get what they’re doing, though,” Alva said. “They have to acclimatize people to this. Most people haven’t felt natural energy before. Right?” Alva asked the crew.

“This energy feels thin,” commented the same individual from earlier. “I have felt it before, though only in passing, in training materials from the lower realms.”

Right. That was, in a way, the entire reason for the invasions. Objects infused with natural energy could carry a significant density of the energy and theoretically provide a good basis for control to those of lower cultivation while still being somewhat beneficial to those of higher cultivation. For two cultivators who had undergone Ascension, it was odd to return to the other energy, but it wasn’t completely unpleasant.

At the end of the eight hour span, they were soon going to turn about even if the Trigold Cluster’s ships hadn’t- but just about the time they were ready to make that call, the followed ships began to reverse direction. Throughout the fleet it was possible to feel cultivators expending the lower energy they had absorbed, and though Alva would have said it was clumsy and awkward they weren’t particular worse than she would expect for people of their cultivation. She would be interested in trying it herself, but she didn’t want to give away their position.

When they were far enough back across the border, the Trigold Cluster’s ships paused. They were monitored for some time longer- after another eight hours of rest they headed back through the mixed area.

“Clearly they have storage devices that can maintain their upper energy better,” Alva said. “Though we knew they had something of the sort. Though they didn’t bring ships last time…”

“Perhaps they can’t actually get them to their destinations. These might be simply for training. Which is too bad,” Velvet said. “As it will make sabotaging them less effective.”

“I know their stronger cultivators shielded them…” Alva said. “Did they fly all that way carrying others?” She locked her eyes on the star that should have been the home for Ceretos- though she was only ninety percent certain. It was the right color, but there were a few in the same general region of the sky. Without proper instruments determining which one was the right size and distance was not that easy.

“I do believe the border will be closer, when the time comes,” Velvet said. “Yet still not particularly close. They must have special techniques.”

“Yeah, we did get something like that from… the scholar. Though they were for individuals.” Not that it was a problem for Alva and the others- they were all Integration cultivators, and they didn’t even necessarily plan to return to Ceretos themselves. There were plenty of cultivators there to take care of things. On the other hand, it would be interesting to see the Assimilation cultivators.

-----

Everyone from Ceretos- and a few other allies- were gathered together on Xankeshan to discuss possible actions. “A frontal attack is foolish, obviously,” Catarina commented. “At best we might take out one of the military encampments, if we caught them off guard. And they might simply replace or augment their numbers if we do it too soon.”

“Can’t sabotage their ships,” Velvet said. “At least… not directly. We could maybe pick off a few groups near the end.” Taking out a few Integration cultivators would still be valuable to the lower realms- and Life Transformation cultivators as well. “We could perhaps slowly poison their wells, but that has many opportunities to get caught. Either from the repeated entrances required or someone discerning trouble with the water itself.”

“What about a trap along their route?” Prospero asked. “There’s a predictable route, if there was some sort of wide scale formation…”

“It would have to be excessive in size to be certain,” Catarina said. “And we would have to move ahead of them. I don’t think we could set it up significantly enough in advance, and getting materials properly reactive with lower energy… I could make something happen but I don’t think it’s practical.”

“How about we ignore Tatera entirely?” Timothy suggested. Many heads turned towards him, “I don’t mean we do nothing. Just… focusing elsewhere might produce better results. If we pick a few places to cause trouble, destroying supply ships or causing more overt damage, they might have to take people from elsewhere. Like Tatera. Obviously they’re not going to send over the big wigs, but maybe an Integration cultivator or two. And if we can cause general damage to their forces…”

“I like the idea,” Velvet said. “The worst case is we make an invasion worse for one of the other lower realms… though given that the general state of things is for them to get wiped out to the point of nearly everything being lost, that might not change anything. Or we get caught ourselves, and they learn our plans. So we… can’t get caught.” She shook her head, “I’m not sure what would be required to strain the Trigold Cluster, though, so we’d have to cause as much damage as possible while not having them bolster everything. Which sounds… difficult.”

“Maybe we should just stay out of things?” Alva said, clearly unwilling to just stand by, especially after all their effort.”

“Or…” Kseniya said. “What if we do get them to send more troops to Ceretos?”

“More people from there will die,” Alva said. “Even if they’re driven off.”

“Yes,” Kseniya nodded seriously. “They will. But I don’t think Ceretos will lose easily. You haven’t seen what your grandfather can do now. Or rather, what he could do when I ascended some time after you. And he’s not alone. Don’t forget, they don’t have to match Integration cultivators one for one. In the lower realms, we killed them even with small groups of Life Transformation cultivators.”

“Yeah!” Chikere nodded. “Rahayu and I got this sword that way!”

“You don’t count,” Alva said. “But I get the idea. I just don’t know if drawing more attention is the right then.”

“Then we should ask,” Kseniya said. “If they’re willing to face the risk, then we can cause whatever damage doesn’t get us killed here and win in every scenario. First, they don’t replace the forces- making things easier for Ceretos. Second, they replace them but no more. More dead members of the Trigold Cluster- that’s good. Third, they add more forces- that all get killed there. If Ceretos is up for it.”

“With Anton leading the Order, and with everything else I’ve heard?” Prospero asked, leading into his conclusion. “They will be.”