As they stepped out of the house the air immediately felt different, heavier, filled with low growls and the restless movement of the beasts surrounding them. The horde hadn’t dispersed, if anything, it looked more agitated now, like it could sense movement from inside and was ready to rush in the moment the opportunity appeared. Some of them shifted closer, claws scraping against the ground, eyes locked onto the three of them with hunger and impatience.Kai didn’t rush forward immediately.He stood there for a brief moment, observing, then spoke without turning back.“We’re not clearing everything at once,” he said calmly. “You two will fight… then retreat.”Abigail frowned slightly and Emily tilted her head.Kai continued, “Go out, fight a few, come back in, rest, recover, then repeat. No rushing, no trying to act like heroes. If you get surrounded out there, it won’t be funny.”The two of them exchanged a glance, then nodded slowly. It made sense. The numbers outside were too much

Three days passed quietly.Not the kind of quiet that meant peace had truly returned, but the kind where everything held still just long enough for them to breathe, recover, and prepare for whatever was coming next. The horde of beasts had been cleared, the barrier stood untouched, and the portal had remained silent, but none of them were foolish enough to think that meant danger was gone.Inside the barrier, Abigail and Emily had spent those three days fully focused on cultivation, absorbing the beast cores they had gathered earlier. It wasn’t rushed, and it wasn’t careless either. They took their time, refining the energy properly instead of forcing breakthroughs that might destabilize them later.Outside, Kai stayed mostly relaxed.Well… as relaxed as someone like him could be.At that moment, he was sitting outside the house within the barrier, leaning slightly against a rock, casually eating spiritual fruits like nothing in the world could bother him. Every now and then, he would

(Five Months Later)It had been five months since the last real trouble.Five whole months, and compared to everything that happened before, those months had been strangely calm. Nothing dangerous came out of the portal, no arrogant invaders stepped through it, no giant beast tried to tear them apart, and no sudden disaster forced them into another life-and-death fight. The portal was still there, still twisting quietly in the distance like an ugly wound in space, but it remained silent. It did not sleep, and it did not look harmless, but for those five months, it simply stayed there like it was watching them and waiting.At first, none of them trusted that peace.Kai especially didn’t.For the first few days, he kept checking the portal every few hours, using his third eye again and again just to make sure there wasn’t anything hiding behind the quiet. Abigail stayed sharp too, and Emily was even worse because she looked nervous every time the wind changed direction. But as the day

The illusionary man blinked, clearly confused by what Kai had just said and he couldn't comprehend no matter how many times he tried to think“Work?” he repeated slowly, like he wasn’t sure if he heard correctly. “What exactly do you mean by that?”Kai shrugged like it was obvious.“That’s just how she operates,” he said, waving his hand lightly as if the explanation was already complete.The man frowned.“That explains nothing.”Kai clicked his tongue, then shifted slightly, as though he was about to give a proper explanation, but even then, the way he spoke made it sound more confusing than helpful.“Look, Zora doesn’t do things directly,” he began, pacing slowly as he spoke. “She doesn’t say ‘do this’ or ‘do that.’ She puts people where they need to be, at the time they need to be there, and lets things unfold. It’s like… she already sees ten steps ahead, so instead of moving everything herself, she arranges it so everyone else moves exactly the way she wants without even realizing

From a distance, Kai and the others stood quietly, but their silence wasn’t empty. Their eyes stayed locked on the sect and the portal at the same time, carefully watching every small change, movement or shift in energy. None of them were relaxed, even if their bodies looked calm. They all understood that what was about to happen would decide a lot more than just one fight.Kai leaned slightly against a broken stone, arms folded loosely across his chest as he observed the sect’s positioning. Abigail stood beside him, her posture straight, eyes sharp, while Emily stayed a step behind, her gaze moving between the portal and the group of disciples like she was trying to anticipate where things would go wrong.“They’re spreading out too casually,” Emily said after a while, her voice low. “It doesn’t look like they’re preparing for something serious.”Abigail nodded.“They think they’ve already won,” she added. “Look at them. Half of them aren’t even paying attention to the portal anymore