When he crossed the rift and took his first step back on Earth, Ethan immediately grimaced at the darkened and cloudy skies above. It wasn't anywhere as noisy and windy as it had been within the collapsing rift he'd left behind, but it still wasn't too pleasant either. And worst of all? More time than he expected had passed.

Ethan cursed under his breath as he took flight. It looked to be late afternoon. Maybe an hour or two away from dusk, though he couldn't exactly tell through the fog. Which was a problem.

His flight was fast, and he could definitely sense the empowered thrust of the wings. Coupled with his improved maneuverability and the crash-course of bad-condition flying he'd just come out of, flying almost felt as natural and comfortable as walking. Which was ironic, considering the massive talons he had at his feet. He might actually be more comfortable flying than walking right this second. And while he could always dismiss the harpy's talons and keep the bonus, he kinda liked their look and wanted to see what he could do with them. Plus, the constant electricity running along their surface was sure to be useful.

Still, taking stock of his new capabilities wasn't enough to distract him from the twisting knot of worry in his guts. Ethan urged his wings to propel him faster as wind swept his hair back. Wyldrock wasn't that far, he'd be seeing it in a minute or two at most with how high and fast he was going.

Barely half a minute went by when he saw something that made his eyes narrow.

Flashes of clear and orange lights. Barely visible through the fog, though [Sphinx's Gaze] assured him they weren't natural light.

Spells.

Ethan shoved more mana into his wings, urging them to go faster, and all of a sudden, Wyldrock's walls came into view as the fog parted, and Ethan grit his teeth as his interface blared with missed messages while the scene finally unfurled in front of him.

A hundred yards or so to the north of Wyldrock, rows of casters were hurtling spells at the gray stone walls, hiding behind barriers and shields while three commanders stood behind. The spells cracked and burned into the walls through the jagged, fractured hole in the translucent gray barrier that circled Wyldrock. The stone cracked and burned from the impact of the spells, but immediately, the damage slowly mended as the hidden defenders continuously patched the wall while their own people hurtled spells back at the besieging force. The pylon at the center of the city shone with red light, matching one of the figures upon the wall who shone with similar lights. The figure shouted something, and a massive fireball formed high above the pylon in less than a second before it shot out, curving above the battlement before it fell toward the assailants. The barrier slowly mended while the assailants were too busy defending themselves, hopefully giving Wyldrock's defendants a chance to recover.

The fireball rushed toward the attackers, but the glint of steel flew up and hit it, detonated the ball of raging flames, taking the wind out of its sail, and the flames washed out harmlessly around the barrier a woman in robe had summoned above all of them.

Taking a closer look at the trio standing behind the invaders, Ethan quickly noted they were all tier-2s. None was above level 75, and so far, it didn't seem like they intended on assaulting the walls just yet. One had a spear in hand, which had just been used to detonate the fireball early before it had flown back in its owner's hand. He was dressed in light leather armor that glowed in Ethan's eyes, signaling they were probably summoned armaments. One was a massive burly man with two axes in hands, one red and one blue, and the third was a hovering woman with multiple spellforms visible across her body. Ethan saw horns, eyes, wings, feet, and something hidden in her chest, under the airy red tunic she wore. She had been the one who'd summoned the barrier and right now, she was looking toward him.

Ethan met the woman's eyes, anger simmering in his chest before he turned his attention to more important matters. Thankfully, the people of Wyldrock seemed to be experts in holding defensive positions, and unless something tipped the battle over, this, so far, looked like a draw.

So he took a look at his notifications.

New Dawn: Intruders detected

Wyldrock: Intruders detected

Personal Messages (8 new messages)

Messages unfurled in front of his eyes and Ethan quickly figured he had to tune out most of them and thankfully, the last one told him everything he needed to know. Because Amanda was efficient, and trusting her might be one of his best decisions yet.

Amanda Daniels (3 new message): 16:42 - Head to New Dawn as soon as you read this message. Suspected coordination between the Brotherhood and the Union. Wyldrock will hold. New Dawn needs help.

She had summarized the situation succinctly, and choosing to trust her, Ethan immediately activated Administrative Recall and selected New Dawn. But right before he confirmed, he sent out a parting gift to rats that bared their teeth when his back had been turned. They hadn't had the guts to attack on their own, and instead chose to ally with other rats to make their move. So no more pulling punches. If he wanted to explore rifts and grow stronger, if he wanted to protect his people and create a safe home, he couldn't allow scavengers to nip at his heels unpunished.

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Ethan summoned his Prime wand and with a wave, he sent the spell, using his Essence to make it unstoppable and with his response sent, the purple light swallowed him.

He just hoped he wouldn't be too late and as for the attackers of Wyldrock? Well. If they died, they died. They were willing to risk innocent people's lives. So his sympathies could only go so far.

***

Megan's POV, a few minutes prior.

As the spells flew ahead of her, aiming to breach the stubborn walls of Wyldrock, Megan kept her expression neutral and patiently waited. She had read the reports and heard the briefings. She knew they couldn't commit until they confirmed the presence or absence of the city's champion, which, ultimately, was the whole reason all three of them were here. He was an obstacle to the Union in unifying the east coast and preparing for whatever came next, and considering he had kidnapped Isabelle, he had to be stopped before he could gain too much power.

She understood the motivation. She understood the leadership's vision. But coordinating with the Brotherhood? Agreeing to dispose of him and dividing his faction after they'd spilled so much blood trying to stamp them down?

Megan grit her teeth. Cooperating with those brutes left an ashy taste in her mouth. It made her doubt the intentions and integrity of the Board. So she was resolved to bring this up to the others once they finished dealing with the outside threats.

They couldn't really allow the rot to grow from within. Especially not this early. If they ignored this transgression from the Board, then the Union was dead before it could even grow.

This is the senator's work. That two-faced weasel, she cursed. The deal had his stench all over it. And he'd have them compromise with every tyrant and savage until none of could look themselves in the mirror.

Another volley flew out, cracking the pylon's refreshed barrier before slamming in the stone walls, and Megan called out. "Save your mana. We're still waiting."

Another fireball flew out from beyond the wall. Damian's spear triggered it far above their heads, and her Essence-empowered barrier shielded them from the worst of the heat, though it still made the air uncomfortably hot.

Pylon spells were definitely a step above regular casters.

It's been nearly an hour since they'd begun the assault. The assault on the other city was supposed to have begun at the same time but they had no news of what had happened there just yet. Which made things a little difficult, though both they and the dogs from the Brotherhood were ready for the champion.

Megan's [Eagle Eyes] caught the movement before anybody else, and she could feel her heart rate immediately pick up when she saw him.

[Human (II) - Level 81]

That's… a little higher than we've been told.

"He's here. Be ready," she said to her companions as she let a slow breath out. A scaled, bronze-colored body. Horns and wide black, scaled wings. Bone-white claws that ended in sharp black talons, and his feet looked like a giant eagle's talons. They crackled with electricity, which was also new. Then their eyes met. Even though he was pretty far, her eyes allowed her to see him in details, so she could tell the eyes weren't normal either. They were yellow and slitted. Like a lizard's. Or a cat's.

It took him a second to take in the scene, and Megan immediately put her mental finger on her Prime Manifestation. She was ready to funnel the might of all those present to empower her own spells as soon as he attacked.

A wand dropped in his hand, and he pointed at them. Megan called out a warning and activated her Zenith State. Mana and might rushed into her body, sharpening her senses and making the air ripple around her. Then as soon as the wand had come out, it disappeared, and the champion was engulfed in purple light.

He was gone.

"Megan! Above!"

She didn't know who called out the warning, but she tilted her head back so fast she might have strained something if this was still the boring world from before, and Megan's thoughts ground to a halt and what she was seeing.

A building-sized monstrosity of glowing rock and roaring fire was dropping on them and for the first time in weeks, Megan felt small, but she didn't let that stop her. With all that she had, she strained, summoning the thickest barrier she could manage as she angled it so the projectile would bounce away. Next to her, Damian was yelling at their soldiers to brace as a few of them were faltering. But they were serving a purpose. She was saving their lives. With him gone, they could start on the city and—

The giant meteor hit her shield and she felt the clash between her own barrier, empowered by the Path of the Unified Will, and the giant projectile, empowered by whatever the champion was using.

Her barrier held up for half a second, then the meteor tore through like a fist through sugar glass, shoving away her attempt at directing it with contempt, and the last thing she'd felt was the taste of her own blood on her lips, as the backlash slammed into her mind like a hammer, quickly followed by unimaginable heat bearing down on her from above.

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