Silver and I waited in the central plaza of the capital while the planet slowly settled into its new silence. The violet glow that now wrapped Abor's atmosphere had dimd slightly as the world adjusted to the shift in control. Around us, the capital city was still standing, though large portions of it had been cleared after the earlier battle. The teleportation hubs remained active.
Silver circled lazily in the sky above before descending beside again, folding his wings behind his back. "You know," he said with a casual tone, glancing around the city, "this place feels much nicer now that most of the ugly things living here are gone."
"That was the idea," I replied.
After Knight and Lyrate departed, I hunted down every Phantom that remained within the city. Eliminating them helped push my level further, raising it to 489.
He grinned faintly. "I approve."
Our conversation ended when a portal inside the teleportation hub flared to life. The circular gate brightened suddenly, its runic fra igniting as space within it twisted into a deep violet whirl.
A mont later, figures began stepping through.
Knight erged first, his black robes shining around him as he walked out of the portal as if returning from a routine stroll rather than a mission across sectors. His tail moved lazily behind him while his sharp gaze imdiately swept the plaza.
Behind him ca the others.
Steve stepped through next, stretching his shoulders as he looked around the city with open curiosity. North followed quietly, her eyes already scanning the surroundings. Ragnar's large fra filled the portal entrance for a brief mont before he stepped aside, and Aurora appeared beside him with clear irritation on her face.
Ash exited last, glancing briefly at the portal structure itself before turning his attention forward. The gateway dimd behind them as the spatial current stabilized again.
They flashed forward and appeared in the central plaza.
Silver crossed his arms as they approached. "That was fast."
Knight glanced at him. "I don't have wings to slow down."
Silver nodded. "Yes, very unfortunate for you."
Steve looked between the two of us before focusing on with a wide grin. "So this is the Hollow Star's base. Not exactly what I was expecting."
"Yeah. I was surprised too. Who would have thought that they will have a whole planet and civilisation to rule."
Aurora walked forward until she stood directly in front of , her golden hair shifting softly with her movent. There was mild amusent in her expression as she studied my face.
"You asked to lead the expedition," Aurora said calmly, studying with that quiet, knowing look of hers, "and then you summoned back before we even had ti to properly begin."
"I needed you here," I replied.
She tilted her head slightly, golden hair shifting with the movent. "I noticed. But did you truly need us that urgently? You could have given a little more ti."
"Well," I said with a faint shrug, "I lack the personnel to do what I am planning next, so you had to co back."
Her eyes narrowed as she looked at more carefully.
"Is that really the reason," she asked slowly, "or were you simply missing your girl?"
A quiet chuckle escaped before I glanced toward North. She t my gaze and gave a short, amused smile.
"I am not that fortunate, Aurora," she said with a cheeky smile.
Knight chose that mont to step forward, casually adjusting the sleeves of his black robe. "I have already inford them of the situation during the journey here."
Steve nodded once in agreent. "Seventy-two bases," he said, glancing around the ruined city as if imagining them all at once. "That's quite a list."
I gave both of them a silent look of gratitude for shifting the conversation.
North folded her arms loosely, clearly understanding exactly what had just happened, though the faint curve of her lips suggested she was enjoying the mont far more than she let on.
Ragnar remained silent but attentive, clearly following the conversation without interruption.
Ash finally looked up after being done with the city exploration. "Portal infrastructure is surprisingly stable," he comnted casually. "Whoever built this network knew what they were doing."
Silver leaned closer toward and whispered loudly enough for everyone to hear, "He ans the traitors were competent."
"They had ti to prepare," I replied.
Aurora studied the surrounding structures once more before returning her gaze to . "So what happens now?"
"We wait for Lyrate. She has gone to bring Primus and so manpower for us." I said.
Silver smirked slightly at that. "If she's involved, sothing dramatic is probably happening sowhere else right now."
Knight gave a small nod in agreent.
I cleared my throat awkwardly and glanced toward North.
"Uh… North," I said, rubbing the back of my neck, "can you co here for a second?"
Her eyebrow lifted slightly, but she stepped closer anyway.
Behind us, Silver imdiately leaned toward Steve with exaggerated interest. "You know," he said loudly, "this city probably has so excellent food. Civilizations that hide entire planets usually have good kitchens."
Steve's eyes lit up instantly. "You're absolutely right. We should investigate that."
Aurora hid a smile behind her hand. Knight nodded solemnly as if the suggestion carried great strategic importance. Ragnar shrugged and followed them, while Ash looked at unsure what was happening before Ragnar pulled him as well.
Within seconds the entire group began drifting away, very obviously leaving the two of us alone.
I watched them go, feeling the trap close around .
North folded her arms and looked at calmly. "So," she said, "what was so urgent that you needed to call aside like that?"
I coughed once. "Well… you see…"
She waited.
I looked anywhere except her face.
"I just thought," I said carefully, "that after destroying an entire planet's secret base and planning to attack seventy-two more… maybe we could talk for a minute?"
Her lips curved.
"I am all ears."
For a mont after the others wandered away, the plaza grew quiet. The tension that had filled the air earlier had faded. The sky above Abor held that faint violet sheen left behind by my control over the world core, and for the first ti since the fighting began, I realized sothing simple.
I was calm. There were no alarms. No enemies charging toward . No sudden threats demanding decisions. No urgent feeling to grow strong.
It was just her.
North stood a few steps away, watching with the sa steady expression she always carried, though there was warmth in her eyes.
I took a slow breath and stepped closer.
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