The six months began with blood.Not Zoran's blood. Not his family's. The blood of the Colosseum. A dungeon that Lirien had discovered hidden beneath the ruins of Universe 0. A place where the Triumvirate had tested their first experiments. A place where the Order would now test itself.[ LOCATION: THE BLOOD COLOSSEUM ][ DIFFICULTY: ADAPTIVE ][ REWARDS: COMBAT SKILLS, ABILITY UPGRADES, UNIQUE WEAPONS ][ WARNING: THE COLOSSEUM LEARNS. EVERY FIGHT MAKES IT STRONGER. ]Zoran stood at the entrance with Kessa, Hope, Oryn, and a squad of the Order's best fighters. Thera stayed behind. Her body couldn't handle this anymore. But her eyes followed them through crystal projections."Remember," Thera's voice echoed through their crystals. "The Colosseum adapts. Don't use the same move twice. Don't show it everything you have. Save something for the final floor."Kessa cracked her neck. "How many floors?"[ FLOORS REMAINING: 100 ]"One hundred floors of adaptive combat," Oryn said. "I've done

They gathered in the command center three days after the Colosseum fell. Not just the core team. Everyone. Representatives from every world. Every alliance. Every order. The room was packed. Thousands of faces, watching. Waiting.Zoran stood at the center. Kessa beside him. Hope, Lyra, Oryn, Sera, Lirien. Thera sat at the front, her cane in her hand, her eyes sharp."The Triumvirate knows we destroyed their outpost. They know we killed their Judge. They know we're coming for them."Murmurs spread through the crowd."They've been dormant for billions of years. Watching. Waiting. Testing. But now they're active. Now they're scared. And scared gods are dangerous."Oryn stepped forward. "What's our plan?"Zoran activated the holographic map.[ TRIUMVIRATE LOCATIONS: 3 ][ LAW: UNIVERSE 0 - THE ORIGIN POINT ][ CHAOS: UNIVERSE 1,000,000 - THE END POINT ][ BALANCE: THE VOID BETWEEN ]"We split up. Three teams. Three targets. Hit them simultaneously so they can't reinforce each other."Kess

Lirien slid a crystal across the table. "This contains the Merchant Queen network. Every trade route. Every resource deposit. Every favor owed to me across 10,000 worlds."The Forge Master picked up the crystal. His eyes widened."This is... this is everything.""It's yours. If you join us."The seven Forge Masters huddled. Whispered. Argued.The senior Forge Master turned back."YOU HAVE A DEAL."[ NEW ALLY: THE FORGE MASTERS - LEVEL 350 EACH ][ RESOURCES: 1,000 FACTORY WORLDS ][ JOINED ORDER: UNIVERSE 203 - THE FORGE WORLDS ]UNIVERSE 500 - THE GHOST FLEETOryn's lieutenants found them first.A fleet of ships that had been fighting the Triumvirate for longer than anyone remembered. Their crews were dead. Their captains were ghosts. But their ships still fought.Oryn boarded the flagship. A spirit appeared before him. Translucent. Wearing armor that had been out of date for a billion years."You're alive," the spirit said."I'm Oryn. Commander of the Order's military forces.""We k