Echoes of the Forsaken.

It had been around 30 minutes since the battle started, and Flavia's eyes shifted from despair to hope. The same happened with Roan beside her, their breath hitching at the sight of such powerful warriors standing against the monstrous threat. They were probably lost in some noble story about how the emperor came to save their little lives from monsters.

Beside her, Nemsus was lost in his thoughts. Delilah and Nero's faces didn't reflect much, but inside, they were more concerned than all of them. They weren't fooled by what was happening. It was clear to them that these nobles were here for their own benefit, most likely for the runes they would gain after killing the two sovereign beasts.

Nero could see the greed on their faces through the screens, and his heart wasn't any different. A Level 5 rune. His breath hitched slightly. How many of those even existed in the whole world? They were the rarest treasures one could obtain, the most crucial requirement for anyone seeking to become a Sovereign, an Emperor, a ruler over everything.

And yet here he was, a mere brat, watching all these men chase after power while he hid in the shadows. These past few years with Viser had made him softer. After all, he no longer had to fight for his life over a piece of bread. But he had never stopped training. No one ever knew what could happen.

Still, he pushed his greed aside. There was no way he could gain anything from this fight, not when he was this weak, just a mage looking at sovereigns.

Whoever won that battle would come for them, Nero knew that, Surrender wasn't an option. If the two beasts won, they would be devoured. If the nobles won, they would still be killed to cover up what happened in the village.

Ravemont was completely destroyed. Nero knew it from the sheer force of the shockwaves that struck the shelter, and Viser's scream only confirmed it.

The nobles could have fought from a distance, could have given those poor souls a chance to survive. But they hadn't. For them they were just Minor injuries mere collateral.

Nero turned to look at his sister. He saw it in her eyes, they were thinking the same thing. Even when escape was almost impossible, their minds refused to stop searching for a way out.

After all his thinking, he reached only one conclusion, he could do nothing. If anyone could save them, it was Viser. Not only was he stronger than all of them, but he was also far more experienced.

Nero lifted his head toward him, his voice calm. "What are we going to do?"

"We hold position." Viser's eyes never left the battle. "If they push the fight far enough, I can shield us just long enough to break south. But not yet. Outside this barrier, we wouldn't last a second. The shockwaves alone would rip the flesh from your bones."

That wasn't the best thing to hear, but at least they had a chance.

Nero took another look at the screens Viser had created. He was fascinated. This spell was truly impressive, it displayed two battles from different locations, and in the center, a large map provided an overview of the situation.

As he analyzed the information, Nero realized the old emperor's battle was happening roughly 200 miles south-east. That shocked him. Even from that distance, small shockwaves kept hitting the shelter, he could feel them.

But the bigger problem was from the other side. The second battle was much closer, only about 120 miles northwest. That was the real danger, the reason they couldn't leave the shelter.

Nero glanced at Viser, his eyes filled with gratitude. He could have run. He could have taken Nemsus, his real son with him. For a Dominus like Viser, protecting a single person outside wouldn't have been difficult.

But he stayed. He chose to save them all, risking his life for every one of them.

"Why don't we just stay here?" Flavia broke the silence. "They look like they're winning."

Viser let out a tired sigh, covering his head with one hand, while Roan nodded in agreement.

"We can't," Nero said firmly. His golden eyes flickered to the screens, still scanning the battlefield. "One wrong spell in our direction, and we're dead. We can't just sit here and hope for the best. If we get a chance to leave, we take it."

Flavia crossed her arms, a small, almost amused smile appearing on her face as if she had just found the perfect solution.

"And you think the nobles will just let that happen? They'll protect us."

Nero was impressed. Was she really this dumb? He glanced at Delilah, who seemed to be thinking the same thing. But then, they both remembered, Flavia was just a kid. Unlike them, who had lived on the streets, she had only ever heard stories about the nobility's supposed glory.

Nero shook his head. "Not after what happened in the villa—"

"Not another word, Nero." His voice cut through Nero's mind like a blade, sharp and absolute. "Flavia's parents were there. Choose your words carefully."

The others didn't hear what he said it was all in nero's head

Flavia looked up. "What were you saying?.

Nero let out a hesitant laugh, but Viser's sharp gaze stayed locked on him.

Before he could respond, Delilah spoke in his place. "He was saying that they have their own fight. How can they save us if they can't even save themselves?"

Flavia nodded, her brown hair shifting with the movement. "I see."

Nemsus frowned, confused by what just happened and Delilah, however, merely looked at her brother and said nothing.

Nero actually felt something close to relief. They should have been with the other kids in the village, but he and Nemsus had simply decided not to go, and Delilah had been training with Viser. As long as the people he truly cared about Viser, Delilah, and Nemsus were alive, nothing else mattered. He didn't wish death upon the others, and the loss of the kids he had lived with made him a little sad, but that was it, nothing more.

His attention shifted back to the screen displaying the eight sages battling the black wolf.

"They're not fighting to win," he muttered, eyes narrowing. "They're stalling. Buying time. Either they think the old emperor will finish his fight and come help, or they're waiting for another kind of backup."

His gaze sharpened. "All that greed in their faces... all of them are here for the same reason, the Sovereign runes. But how will they split them?"

Nero exhaled sharply, shaking his head. That wasn't the real problem.

That wolf…" Nero muttered, his voice dropping as he studied the screen. "He's just walking around. He hasn't even taken a single proper hit… and neither have the nobles. They're not even fighting at their best."

His eyes narrowed as he analyzed the scene. The nobles looked hesitant—confused, even. They were supposed to be buying time, but the wolf wasn't even trying to move. Why?

Nero was trying to predict how the fight would end. The old emperor was a Sovereign, and so were the two beasts. Since the old emperor had chosen to keep his distance, he must have been confident in his chances of winning while the wolf fought the nobles.

But those nobles were only Sages. Could they really hold off a Sovereign?

Then it hit him.

He remembered what Viser had said earlier. But before he could speak, Delilah beat him to it.

You said there were two Sovereigns," she said, her tone cold and sharp. "Where is the other one, the current emperor?"

"Octavian? If he's not here, he's handling politics—war, treaties, or securing alliances. Being emperor is more than just swinging a sword. But I'd wager he's already on his way. A Sovereign beast stepping into human lands is rare. Two at once? That's not a battle—it's an opportunity. No emperor would risk missing the chance to claim four Level 5 runes."

He exhaled, rubbing his forehead. "There are at least seven other Sages in the empire, aside from those fighting that wolf."

Silence stretched for a moment before he continued, this time more deliberately.

"Some are probably with Octavian. Some didn't make it in time and are on their way. And some can't leave their posts guarding the borders." His voice dropped, turning grim. "And of course one of them is already dead."

The shift in tone made the room even more tense. Nemsus frowned, glancing at Nero. He didn't look surprised—more like he had already figured it out.

Nero smirked. "I told you I'm smarter than you."

Nemsus stared at him, speechless. Was he really cracking jokes right now?

Nero leaned back, eyes still on the screen. "Sage Arus," he said, his smirk fading slightly. "How do you think those two beasts got here? The Blue Castle is probably rubble by now… and so are the people in it. Fuck, I doubt those beasts even spent ten seconds on him."

The two younger kids in the back stiffened, fear creeping into their faces. Nero glanced at them, still smiling, before turning his attention to the other screen.

A gravity spell, Nero realized Unlike the second battle, this one was different. The panther was injured, but its wounds were healing fast enough to see with the naked eye. At the same time, its limbs trembled, as if weighed down by something invisible.

Gravity, Nero realized.

It was easy to guess. Even the ground around the beast was compressed, and though it was moving slower than before, the pressure was clear. Viser had once told Delilah about the Royals' runes when he asked about her past, and she had passed that knowledge to Nero.

Meanwhile, Gaius hovered in the sky, his form engulfed in red fire. Everything he touched burned. Spears of flame rained down toward the beast, blazing with destructive force.

But it's not like they were They hitting it at all.

Nemsus looked at nero as asking what was happening but nero only moved his head around saying he didn't know

The beast was still controlling the ground, shifting it as though it were liquid. The terrain moved beneath its feet, carrying it without requiring it to move its legs. At the same time, tendrils of stone and a strange liquid metal lashed out, hunting Gaiu down like living creatures.The moment the attacks neared their target, they slowed, like they didn't want to strike or more Like something was resisting them. As if they were moving through water.

Nemsus glanced at Nero, silently asking what was happening, but Nero only shook his head, signaling that he had no idea.

The beast was still controlling the ground, shifting it as if it were liquid. The terrain moved beneath its feet, carrying it forward without the need to walk. At the same time, tendrils of stone and a strange liquid metal lashed out, hunting Gius down like they were alive.

Rocks, sharp as blades, shot through the air at terrifying speeds.

Gaius dodged each one effortlessly. With a flick of his wrist, he seized them mid-air with gravity only to send them hurtling back at the monster with twice the force.

The two battles raged across the land. They didn't seem to be ending anytime soon. Yet, despite all the destruction and the area they were fighting in, they never drew close to one another. It was clear, the humans were determined to keep the two beasts apart, ensuring they never converged on the same battlefield.

The wolf was getting further north, making Viser's eyes glow. He just needed it to go a few more miles, justfar enough for him to grab the kids and escape safely.

As they kept watching , Nero felt something shift deep within his heart, a sensation both powerful and strangely familiar. Instinctively, he turned his focus inward, peering into his Eny.

And there it was.

A slow smile spread across his face as he realized what had happened, his Refiner layer had completed its evolution, finally making him ready to ascend. He had everything he needed, but he would stick to his plan. He wouldn't ascend until he found a level two ice rune.

Viser's gaze flicked toward Nero. For a brief moment, the mana around him shifted. A silent acknowledgment.

"Congratulations."

Nero smirked. "Took you long enough to notice."

With that, their attention snapped back to the flickering screens. The battle hadn't changed much، both sides were still locked in their brutal clash. But the white panther was now taking hits more frequently. Yet, each wound vanished almost instantly, its injuries healing at an unnatural speed.

Nemsus furrowed his brows. "Do all monsters have this kind of crazy regeneration?"

Nero and Delilah wanted to know that too. They looked at each other, then moved their heads toward Viser.

Viser shook his head in response "No, it's not regeneration." Viser's eyes didn't waver. "Watch closely. The wounds aren't healing, they're vanishing. That's its Time Rune. It's not fixing the injuries, it's erasing them, rolling them back like they never happened. But that takes mana. And it drains fast. The beast won't hold out forever… then again, neither will Gaius. One of them is going to run out first. That's when the real fight begins."

"Beasts usually have a larger Eny, therefore larger mana reserves than humans. This is a battle of endurance, whoever runs out of mana first loses."

On the other screen, a sudden cry of pain rang out.

One of the eight nobles had lost his arm. His face twisted in agony as blood poured from the wound.

The wolf lunged to finish what he started, but the other seven nobles managed to pull their wounded ally to safety. Not only that—Victry used his teleportation to retrieve the severed arm, then reattached and healed it as if it had never been lost.

"Wow..." Flavia's eyes shone with excitement as she watched.

But the most focused of them all was Delilah. She, too, had a Life Rune. If Victry could do that, then one day so could she.

It was Nero who brought their attention to the first screen.

A streak of red shot through the sky, getting closer to the emperor's fight.

A woman appeared in the air, dressed in pure white, a long blue sword in her grasp.

Her flowing crimson hair was impossible to miss, even from a distance.

Viser's eyes narrowed, he recognized her. In this empire, anyone who reached the Sage realm was either already a high-ranking noble, usually a duke, or, if they were not of noble birth, offered a place in the emperor's guard. With wealth, influence, and the promise of future nobility, Gaius had gathered several of them under his banner.

She was one of them.

Without hesitation, she dove straight into battle.