It wasn't the one he had once proudly tread. No, that path had ended. His true journey was about to begin. A harsher road. One not paved with effortless triumphs and infinite resources, but trials ant to shape him, break him, and forge him anew.
The being's hints were clear now. The challenges ahead wouldn't just test his strength—they would test him. His leadership. His resolve. His very will to continue.
And so, given these fifteen days… Kallus would not waste them.
"Good," the being said in response to Kallus's admission, his tone carrying a mix of amusent and finality. "I've said everything I needed to—for now. The rest is up to you, Kallus. Let's see how you choose to use this ti… for your benefit or your downfall. Either way, it'll be interesting to watch."
With that, the being leaned back lazily on his towering throne, lounging as if this was all just a passing amusent to him.
Kallus raised an eyebrow, saying nothing. He would prove himself through action, not empty words. Let the being enjoy his spectator seat—Kallus would show him the weight of his resolve.
The being snapped his fingers.
In an instant, reality blurred.
A flash. A ripple through space.
And just like that, Kallus was back—on his flagship.
The sound of battle filled his ears once more, alarms flaring and officers shouting commands. The chaos of war had resud as if nothing had changed.
His eyes narrowed.
Not even a second has passed? he thought in disbelief. The sa laser volleys, the sa fleet positions, the sa echoing tremors from enemy bombardnt. It was as if he had never left.
Strange...
He had been with the being for what felt like minutes, perhaps longer. At least several exchanges had occurred. And yet, here in realspace, it was as if ti had stood still.
A realization struck him. The flow of ti in the being's realm must be far superior—no, transcendent. A realm where ti itself could be slowed or stretched as desired. Hours in that place might only equate to milliseconds here.
Or… perhaps the being had simply paused this reality altogether during their conversation.
Yes… Kallus mused, That must be it. He controls even ti like a toy. That's the only explanation.
All of these thoughts surged through his mind in the blink of an eye—a ntal flash that took no longer than a single breath.
And just like that… the battle continued.
Yet the shift in Kallus wasn't on the battlefield—but in the war room of Admiral Ezzra's flagship, Eclipse Warth. As the high-level strategy eting unfolded, Kallus slowly began to piece together the aning behind the being's cryptic words.
He had presented three strategic proposals to his admirals. It wasn't until they finally settled on the third—his most ambitious—that the full weight of realization struck him.
This plan… this idea of recruiting people from Earth, of utilizing the planet's vast but untapped population… this was what the being had been hinting at.
And the being had been right.
To train this new human force within the temporal folds of the Universal Plane would require absurd amounts of resources. And building them ships—vessels of the sa caliber as his elite Void Fleet, which now spanned seven formidable divisions—would demand even more. Astronomical amounts. Rare materials. Ti. Energy. Knowledge.
Another deep sigh escaped Kallus.
Once again, he was faced with the cold, unrelenting truth:
He was utterly dependent on the Universal Plane.
And worse—he hadn't even realized it. Not truly. Not until now.
Even more unsettling… the being had been right about sothing else too. He and his fleet had grown arrogant—complacent. They had begun to take everything for granted.
Those miraculous resources they had been using as if they were endless—those were ant to be earned, to be treasured, not assud.
He rembered sothing he had overheard recently. Before coming aboard the Eclipse Warth, Kallus had caught word of a conversation between Admiral Ezzra and Admiral Alexander.
Ezzra had ntioned that they'd need to wait for the cleanup crews to salvage wreckage from the Minotaur strongholds. To which Alexander had scoffed and replied:
"Cleanup? For what? We don't even need that scrap anymore."
That dismissive tone, that entitlent… it had seeped in across the ranks.
And Alexander wasn't the only one.
Many in the Void Fleet had begun to view the real universe's resources as outdated, inferior… even beneath them. Their eyes were fixed only on the wondrous riches of the Universal Plane, blind to the real galaxy's worth.
Kallus clenched his jaw.
He understood now.
The restrictions weren't just limitations—they were a warning. A test. A nudge from the being to rember what had been given, and what could be taken.
If they were to rise further, they would need to wake up—to earn their strength, not expect it as a divine right.
While Kallus was beginning to grasp the harsh reality they were drifting toward, he never once ntioned the impending change during the entire eting.
Not even a hint.
He felt no need to. Not now.
They would all know soon enough—when the ti ca.
For now, his focus remained locked on the imdiate task: clean up and move fast. The longer they lingered, the more ti they wasted—ti he could not afford to lose, not with dangers unknown pressing ever closer.
As the war eting pressed on aboard the Eclipse Warth, Kallus's mind moved quickly, calculating logistics, resources, and risk. Yet underneath that calm exterior, frustration churned.
Because the mont he had returned from the realm of the Being, he had tried to use his Authority of Knowledge to pierce the veil—to uncover what exactly the being had ant. What danger was he talking about? What threat lood ahead?
But no matter how many tis he tried… he failed.
Sothing—no, soone—was actively blocking him.
His authority had never faltered before. But now… it was hindered by a force not entirely overwhelming, but unmistakably alien. Not impenetrable—but deliberate.
And he knew.
The Being was behind it.
The being wasn't even letting him peek at what lay ahead—not the nature of the threat, not its scope, nor its form. Not even a single clue.
Another ability, sealed.
Another harsh truth laid bare.
Even this power isn't truly mine, Kallus realized. It was granted. And it can be revoked.
But even more sobering was the nature of the barrier that had blocked him. It wasn't invincible. Kallus could feel that. If he were stronger—if he had evolved just a bit more—he could have broken through it.
That alone told him everything he needed to know.
He was still weak.
Far too weak.
Kallus exhaled sharply, shaking his head to cast off the haze of his spiraling thoughts. He refocused and turned to the seven admirals seated before him—n and won who had led fleets through hell and returned victorious.
"It's decided," he said, his voice steely. "We move with the third plan."
Every admiral straightened.
"But before we regroup," he continued, eyes narrowing, "I want every last piece of Minotaur shipwreck secured. No exceptions. Anything left behind is a resource wasted—and we can't afford that now."
His tone was sharp. Final.
The words hung heavy in the command chamber of the Eclipse Warth, the air thick with tension.
Admiral Alexander blinked.
We can't afford that now?The words echoed in his mind.
To him—and likely to a few others—it sounded off. Strange. The Void Fleet was at its peak, supplied by endless resources from the Universal Plane. So what did the Imperial Commander an by "can't afford"?
A question was forming on Alexander's tongue.
But he didn't speak it.
One glance at Kallus told him why.
There was a new weight behind the young commander's voice—a grim resolve that hadn't been there before. A subtle change in his deanor that even soone as proud and seasoned as Alexander couldn't ignore.
Sothing had shifted.
And the rest of the admirals could feel it too.
So, like Alexander, they said nothing.
They simply nodded.
Silently, obediently.
And Kallus noticed. but he ignored it and continued.
"I want this done as fast as possible. No delays."
Kallus's words fell like a hamr on steel—unyielding and absolute.
Without another mont wasted, the admirals stood.
Ezra. Elira. Ryn. Kyle. Benjamin. And the rest.
In one fluid motion, they rose from their seats and straightened their backs. The room echoed with the soft rustle of uniforms and the heavy silence of shared understanding.
Each admiral brought their right hand up to their chest in a crisp military salute, the gesture precise, unwavering, and unified in its respect.
Kallus returned the salute with a nod—brief, but weighted with silent acknowledgnt.
Then, in a flash of light and warped space, the admirals vanished.
One by one, they teleported to their respective flagships, their minds already racing through tactical calculations, salvage protocols, and redeploynt orders.
And just like that, the command room of the Eclipse Warth was silent again.
Now, only two remained.
Admiral Ezra.And Kallus.
The tension eased slightly, but sothing lingered in the air between them—a question, unspoken.
Ezra turned slowly to face the Imperial Commander, his eyes searching Kallus's face, unsure whether to speak or stay silent.
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