A few more days passed after that evening in the backyard. Ti did not slow for Erend, and he did not allow himself to drift.
He moved with quiet efficiency between worlds, making preparations in both his own realm and the Eternal Earth parallel world.
In his world, he recalibrated the subtle detection spells from Adrius that would warn him if sothing unnatural brushed too close to reality with Arty's help.
He did not tell anyone the full truth of what pressed against his thoughts, but he adjusted everything with the precision of soone who expected the worst and intended to et it standing.
When he visited the Elf Palace, he went straight to King Gulben.
He did not waste ti on ceremony. The towering white pillars and luminous crystal chandeliers above them reflected faintly in his eyes as he explained that he, Eccar, and Aesa would soon depart again to another world to carry out sothing important.
He admitted that he still could not reveal the full purpose of their mission, not because he did not trust the king, but because even they had not yet grasped the complete shape of what they were chasing.
The unknown still shifted like smoke between their fingers.
What he did emphasize, however, was vigilance. He urged the king to remain constantly alert, treat every anomaly—no matter how small—as a potential warning. Like a flicker in the sky, an unfamiliar surge of Magic energy, or beasts behaving strangely. Nothing was to be dismissed.
King Gulben studied him carefully as he spoke. The king had witnessed Erend's growth, seen the scale of power he wielded and the devastation he had endured.
This ti, he saw sothing sharper. Determination burned in Erend's gaze, as though he had already stepped onto a battlefield that others could not yet see.
King Gulben did not question why the details remained hidden. He understood that if Erend withheld information, it was because the truth was still too unstable or too dangerous to spread.
The king simply gave his word that the kingdom would remain on high alert, and every sentinel and Mage would sharpen their senses.
He carried the weight of that promise without hesitation.
Afterward, Erend sought out Aurdis. The elf princess t him in the quieter gardens behind the palace like always, where moonlight filtered gently through the leaves.
She listened as he offered her the sa explanation he had given her father. Concern softened her usually composed expression the mont she understood that he would leave again for sothing dangerous and undefined.
Worry had beco a familiar shadow in her eyes whenever he prepared to face the unknown.
Even so, she did not attempt to stop him. She knew who he was. She knew that asking him to not go would be like asking the wind to not blow.
He reassured her as best as he could. He did not offer false certainty, but he promised that he would be careful, that he would not rush blindly toward destruction.
That night they spent the ti together. The palace felt distant from the looming uncertainty, and for a few hours, the world shrank to sothing intimate and quiet for them only.
Erend allowed himself to rest beside her, drawing strength from her presence.
He carried so many burdens alone, yet in those hours he did not feel entirely isolated. The warmth of her hand in his chest reminded him that he still had sothing to return to.
He did not seek out Saeldir personally. He knew Eccar had worked closely with him over the past weeks and would inform him of what was necessary.
Later, King Gulben would provide further clarification. Erend chose not to stretch his ti thinner than it already was. Every mont counted, and he allocated them carefully.
From there, he traveled to Adrius and Lysander. He repeated the sa instructions to remain vigilant, observe every irregularity, and check anything that felt even slightly unnatural.
Adrius and Lysander both agreed without hesitation. Still, he saw the flicker of anxiety cross their faces.
They had already been through a lot to hear warnings lightly. They understood that if Erend prepared this thoroughly, sothing vast moved behind the curtain.
Erend deliberately avoided speaking of the missing Creation. He kept that particular fear locked inside himself. He did not want them imagining entities beyond their current comprehension. He wanted them alert, not paralyzed by fear.
His final visit took him to Sylmira. The air around her chamber carried its usual serene weight.
He delivered the sa warning and request for vigilance.
Sylmira accepted it with calm but also solemn expression. She did not press for explanations, but her perceptive eyes told him that she understood that sothing ancient stirred again.
Erend ntions Arty's possible visit in the future and she looks happy.
anwhile, Aesa mirrored his efforts in her own world. She inford the Elf Kingdom there of the sa necessity for readiness.
Though she found the process tedious and burdenso, she did not allow her irritation to slow her.
She understood the stakes as clearly as Erend did. Their preparedness could an the difference between their survival and death.
She relayed instructions, told them to reinforce Magical watchpoints, and made sure to their kingdom's leaders to not dismiss even the faintest tremor in their realm.
By the ti Erend completed his preparations, he felt the quiet tightening of fate drawing closer. He had placed every piece he could onto the board.
—
Erend, Eccar, and Aesa gathered once more inside Aesa's ice cave, where frozen walls glimred with pale blue light and cold mist drifted along the floor.
The air felt sharp and still, as if the cavern itself waited.
Erend stood at the center and looked at them.
"I will access the coordinates now," he said.
Eccar watched in silence while Aesa folded her arms.
Erend closed his eyes and reached inward, forcing his mind to grasp the pulsing pattern.
Pressure built behind his temples. The ice cracked under his boots from the Magic power erged from him.
Then space twisted, and a dark portal tore open before them.
—
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