The second Elder Relic sat on the table in front of Benjamin Moore, glowing faintly. Its light was softer now, like it had calmed down after Amanda's sacrifice. The camp was too quiet. Everyone felt the weight of what had happened the night before, and though nobody spoke about it directly, the silence said everything.Benjamin hadn’t slept. He kept turning the relic over in his hands, studying the strange markings etched into its surface. Unlike the first relic, which had given him visions of power and possibility, this one seemed heavier with meaning. It whispered, in a way not in words, but in feelings. And those feelings weren’t comforting.Emily stirred beside him. She had stayed close through the night, refusing to let him drown in his own thoughts. Her voice was soft, almost like she was afraid to break the fragile quiet. “You’re still awake?”Benjamin nodded slowly. “I can’t put it down.”“You don’t have to carry it all the time,” Emily said, sitting up straighter. “It won’t v

Benjamin Moore never thought the relics would lead him here. Not to the bottom of an ocean, not into the heart of a volcano, not into the stars but to something painfully ordinary. Something human.The first two Elder Relics had already tested him in ways he could never fully explain. The first had forced him to think with his heart as much as his mind. The second had made his team suffer sacrifices. They had bled for it. They had cried for it. And it had changed them.But when Benjamin placed the second relic beside the first, something happened that none of them expected.The relics hummed. A vibration passed through the air, low at first, then rising into a strange resonance that made the walls of the safehouse tremble. Light flared between them not blinding, but sharp and cutting, like reality itself was bending to let something through.Emily grabbed Benjamin’s arm. “Is this supposed to happen?”He shook his head slowly, eyes locked on the relics. “I don’t know… but I think we’re

The air felt heavy. Not the kind of heavy that comes with rain or storms, but a deeper heaviness, the type that seeps into your chest and makes it hard to breathe. Benjamin Moore stood at the threshold of the chamber where the final Elder Relic was kept.It wasn’t hidden in a jungle or buried under the sea this time. No, this one was right here, in the center of the city, in plain sight. A tall glass building rose above him, gleaming with power, the headquarters of one of the largest financial institutions in the world. People walked in and out like it was an ordinary day. Cars honked on the street. Somewhere nearby, someone was selling hot dogs, the smoke drifting lazily through the air.But Benjamin knew the truth. Behind all that ordinary life, in the depths of this building, lay the last piece of the puzzle. The final Elder Relic.Emily stood beside him, her hand clutching his tightly. She didn’t speak, but her eyes told him everything. She was ready. Ready to stand with him no ma

The war was over.The systemic flaw, the endless cycle that had shaped humanity for centuries, was gone. The relics had done their work, and Benjamin had made the hardest choice of his life. He gave up power so that humanity could have freedom.Now, the world was free.But freedom was not simple.Benjamin knew that clearly as he sat on the balcony of his home, looking out at the horizon. The city stretched out before him, alive and buzzing. For the first time in centuries, the streets hummed with real hope. People walked without the invisible fear of collapse hanging over their heads. Markets grew, schools thrived, and conversations about the future were no longer painted with cynicism.It should have been perfect. But Benjamin knew peace was only the beginning.“Are you thinking again?” Emily’s voice pulled him from his thoughts. She came out carrying two cups of tea, the steam curling softly in the evening air. She handed him one and sat beside him.“I’m always thinking,” Benjamin a

The first months of Benjamin Moore’s reign brought hope. People were smiling again. Markets were fairer, children were fed, and leaders no longer sat behind closed doors plotting for themselves. The world felt lighter, freer, as if humanity had finally stepped out of a long, dark tunnel.But peace, Benjamin soon learned, was never absolute. For every face that looked at him with gratitude, there was another that glared with resentment.Not everyone liked the new world order.The people who had benefitted from the old systems like wealthy elites, corrupt officials, corporations that thrived on exploitation were not gone. Many had lost power overnight when Benjamin dismantled their structures. Their influence was cut down, their secrets dragged into light.For ordinary people, it was justice. For them, it was humiliation.And humiliation, especially for those who once ruled, never stayed quiet for long.In the corners of dimly lit boardrooms, in lavish homes tucked away in remote places