There's going to be a few chapters that has Zedd going around on his own (three planned so far). Garnet has split up from the main group and the others are doing other things. These chapters are meant to help fill in what the bad guys are doing as you will not see them for a while.

So far the plans are

Zedd - 3 chapters

Riley - 1 chapter

Anna - 2 chapters

Unnamed Hero - 1 chapter

This is the first of the Zedd chapters. They're not as good as the main chapters, but they help fill in some of the gaps.

The other Zedd chapters planned are

Spoiler :

Zedd attempts to hunt down the source of the antagonist's resources of the arc's primary antagonist as he makes his move.

Zedd attempts to lead several of the clans to fight back against the antagonist.

Riley chapter (but this one is the least likely to be finished as it is of little importance to the overall plot and I'm mainly doing it for myself for character purposes)

Spoiler :

Riley awakens the sleeping beast inside of her that evolves her Hero class. We know Garnet has one inside of her, but Riley does as well and undergoes her Hero Trial to awaken its power. Her power will be spacial based, allowing for use of instant movement across short distances through teleportation without the need of magic circles.

Anna chapters

Spoiler :

Anna attempts to deal with the Coalition that has finally arrived at Constantinople.

Anna attempts to deal with the Dark Mages that decide to attack Constantinople after they believe the Coalition has weakened it.

Unnamed Hero Chapter

Spoiler :

The Hero attempts to assassinate the antagonist, but fails and accidentally kills members of another clan, sparking a war between several major clans and sects that the antagonist is able to take advantage of.

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"Now then, I have a task for you as well," said Akiza as she turned to Zedd.

"Me?" said Zedd. He was confused. He was the one that Akiza trusted the least, yet there was something that she needed to have him do.

"Yes, you," Akiza confirmed. She took out a vial from her hand. "If you accept this task, I will give each of you, including Garnet, this."

Zedd took a closer look at the vial. In it was a strange red and orange mixture. He did not know what it was. "What is it?" he asked.

"This is the blood and marrow of the Divine Phoenix," Akiza explained. "It will grant you the ability to use any of the arts of the Divine Phoenix Clan, the ability to use Divine Phoenix exclusive items, and the ability to produce the blood of a phoenix within your own body."

"That's crazy," Xiaomei commented. "That would basically mean that you would be the same as a high ranking clan member."

"You also said you would not give it to us until after the Annual Tournament," said Riley. "Why the sudden change?"

Zedd was suspicious. She would not give away something like this for free.

"In the coming fight, I fear that we may see the return of the Demons," said Akiza. "When that time comes, I need as many people that can utilize the power of a Divine Spirit or Spirit God as possible."

"What makes it so special?" Quinton asked. "Why not just any spirit?"

"The Demons possess a unique attribute that makes their defenses strong and difficult to break," Akiza explained. "For some reason, a spirit that possesses Divine Energy can penetrate their defenses and their skin with ease."

"Why do you not just give this to everyone?" Xiaomei asked.

"Because it also provides them the same protection to those who receive it," Akiza replied. "I don't want to entrust this to someone I feel will use it to their advantage. Normally, only blood is given because it can be expended quickly yet can also be replenished in small amounts up to how much they had before."

The special blood in their body would make them incomparably tough. If they turned on the Divine Phoenix Clan, they would be strong against the flames of the phoenix and have incredible strength, endurance, and regeneration as well.

"How do you know I will not turn against?" Zedd asked Akiza.

"Because you submit to your Hero, Garnet," Akiza answered. "As long as she is here, you will not do anything reckless."

Akiza was right. Zedd was ultimately obedient to Garnet. As long as Garnet listened to Akiza, Zedd and the others would as well. "Alright, what is my task?" Zedd asked.

Akiza took out a map of the Eastern Empire. "We are here," she said as she pointed to a spot on the map marked as the Divine Phoenix City. "I need you to go here and look for Demi-Humans along with what they are up to," explained as she pointed to a spot far in the southeast of the country.

"Demi-Humans?" said Zedd. "What kind?"

"The last report was orcs, but since then, I stopped receiving messages from the scout," Akiza explained. "I want you to gather information from there and report back to me what you find."

"Why me though?" Zedd asked. "Shouldn't this be entrusted to a member of your clan?"

"I cannot trust a member of the clan to do this," said Akiza.

"Why not?" Riley asked.

"Because I suspect the person behind this is Han Dou Gu," Akiza answered.

"The prince?!?" shouted Xiaomei.

"Yes, the prince," Akiza confirmed. "He may be working with the Demi-Humans, or in the worst possible situation, leading a large scale Invasion that this world has not seen in fifty years. Because of this, a person from this country may be reluctant to report on their own leaders. That is why, foreigners like yourselves, are more suited for this task."

"I accept this task," said Zedd without hesitation. If it was fighting against the Invasion, it was going to help Garnet. When Garnet was away, he would have to take care of things here.

"Be wary though," Akiza warned. "If he is indeed a powerful person that is indeed involved in the Invasion, you might not be able to beat him or he might even be able to use Parallel Convergence."

"Parallel Convergence?" said Zedd. "What is that?"

"It is the skill that summons the black sphere in the sky to call forth an army," Akiza explained. "If he uses it from this world, he can bring in his forces without delay."

"Then it is dangerous," said Zedd.

"That is why if you confront him, you must make sure to not be recognized," said Akiza.

Zedd changed his appearance to his older self. The one more people were likely to recognize. "I can go like this then," he said.

"But how did they make it into this world?" Riley asked. "Don't they need to use the black sphere?"

"There are other ways to travel between worlds," said Akiza.

Riley remembered the sword that the Guides used. There was also the silver portals that Akiza used. "Yes, there is," said Riley.

"In the Southern Isles is a unique place," said Akiza as she pointed to an island directly south of the Eastern Empire. "Right here is a unique formation where nearly a dozen worlds meet."

"So they can pass through from another world without needing to use any special tools," said Zedd.

"Exactly," Akiza confirmed. "The reason why they set up here in the southeast is because it is easy to reach from there."

"Alright," said Zedd. "My mission is to find out what Han Dou Gu is planning there and to report back."

"Good," said Akiza. "In the meantime, here is your reward," said Akiza as she handed out the vials. "Zedd, make sure not to use the abilities of the phoenix while you are there."

Zedd nodded as he took two vials from Akiza. "Two?" he asked.

"One for Garnet when she returns," said Akiza.

Zedd put one away and drank the other. He could feel the warmth of the flames of the phoenix as it entered his blood. "Flight!" Wings of fire spread from his back. They were unstable and very chaotic.

Zedd focused his mind and slowly, the wings of fire were extinguished and replaced by wings of stone. "This will have to do for now," he said.

"Go quickly," said Akiza. "And make sure you do not tell anyone what you find except me okay?"

"I understand," said Zedd. "Teleportation!"

As Zedd disappeared, Riley, Quinton, and Xiaomei remained with Akiza. "So what now?" Xiaomei asked.

"Training," said Akiza. "We're going to make sure you're ready to fight a Demon."

Zedd arrived in the ruins of the city where they had fought Gorry. Garnet had set a Teleportation Summoning Circle here like at all the major cities they visited. From here he started flying east, avoiding all the major cities he could except to gather information about where other cities were.

Everywhere he went, he saw a similar problem. Clans were hunting spirits to make objects out of them. There were a few times where he spotted actual hunts going on. The Annual Tournament was going to be in a few months and they needed it in order to compete with the others. However, Zedd knew that there was a massive power difference between the schools just from observing. They were few in number and struggled to capture even a weak mountain tiger spirit. They would most likely be wiped out in the first round of the tournament.

After a few days, Zedd arrived in a town in the southeast called Shen City, an enormous port by the ocean. It was here that he started to feel something unusual. There was a constant feeling of disgust.

As Zedd looked around, the city was still heavily populated. The feeling of disgust was only near the entrance of town. The rest of the city was as lively and popular as ever. With that, he went to work to collect information.

Zedd headed to one of the larger buildings that was selling seafood. The top read Ban Chao's Fish Market. Inside he spotted a man who was well dressed. "Are you the owner?" he asked.

"No, I'm the supervisor," said the man. "What can I do for you?"

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Zedd reached out his hand with the black stone is hand, "My name is Zedd and I am looking to purchase four hundred pounds of bluefin tuna, along with some information," he said.

"R..Right this way," said the man as he stuttered, guiding Zedd to an office in the back.

Zedd sat down and looked around the room. There were pictures of a young man who was standing next to an enormous fish that was being hung upside down. Next to the young man, was a much younger Zedd. "The manager will be here in a minute," said the man.

Zedd sat down on the chair and waited. The supervisor was still extremely nervous in his presence. "I'm no longer one of the Warlords," said Zedd. "I don't plan on killing you or anyone today."

The supervisor just stood there silent. There was still an extreme fear of him. After all, he had been one of the enforcers that brought the entire Eastern Empire under the control of the previous Emperor.

An old man quickly ran in, "Sorry I'm late."

"Take a deep breath," said Zedd. "I'm here to purchase both fish and information."

"I'm sorry, but I don't deal in information," said the old man.

"You used to deal in information, did you not Zhongsheng?" asked Zedd.

The old man drew the sword by his side. "Stop!" shouted the supervisor. But, it was too late.

"Who are you?" asked the old man with his sword in hand.

"Do you not recognize me?" Zedd asked.

The old man took a close look at Zedd's face. "Zedd?" said the old man.

"Yes, it's me," said Zedd.

"It's been so many years," said Zhongsheng as he hugged Zedd.

"I was right, this was your place," said Zedd.

"I'm surprised you remembered," said Zhongsheng. "You may leave us," he said to the supervisor.

The supervisor quickly ran out. He was clearly terrified of Zedd. "You wanted to move here and name a place after your uncle, so I figured it might be you," said Zedd.

"So what brings you here?" Zhongsheng asked.

"I'm looking for someone," said Zedd. "If anyone knows around here, I figured it might be you."

"I don't deal in that type of business anymore," said Zhongsheng.

"But you still have connections that you maintain do you not?" Zedd asked as he looked at Zhongsheng with one eye.

"You never let anything get away do you?" asked Zhongsheng.

"Of course not," said Zedd. "If I did, I would not be so feared."

"What information do you need?" Zhongsheng asked. "Dirt on the local government official?"

"Further south or maybe southeast of here, there were reports of Demi-Human sightings," said Zedd. "Do you know that?"

"Of course," said Zhongsheng. "Individuals have been sent to deal with them, but none have ever returned."

They had powerful backers and anyone who approached was probably killed and disposed of. "Do you know what type of Demi-Humans?" Zedd asked.

"Trolls, Goblins, Orcs, Kobolds, and Merfolk," said Zhongsheng.

"That is an unusual combination," said Zedd. "They are usually at war with one another are they not?"

"They were working together this time," Zhongsheng answered.

"That is unsettling," said Zedd.

"It is, but they are not approaching Shen City, so we are safe," said Zhongsheng.

"Oh one more thing, has Prince Han Dou Gu been here recently?" Zedd asked.

"He was here about a month ago and made a big purchase from Kang's forge," said Zhongsheng. "Why?"

"No, just curious what he was up to now," said Zedd.

Zedd took out a small bag of gold coins. "For the information," said Zedd.

"No need," said Zhongsheng. "I'm always here for a good friend."

"Then consider it a favor that you can pay back to me with more information," said Zedd as he got up.

"Alright," said Zhongsheng as he took the money. He knew when it was a good deal. "Stop by again soon, I'd love to hear about what you've been up to."

"When I have less to do, I will," said Zedd.

Zhongsheng looked terribly unsettled by those words. He knew something was going to happen. "If you are in trouble, I will protect you, do not forget," he said.

"I won't," said Zedd. "But I hope I will not have to."

Zedd left with a few pieces of salted bluefin tuna that he ate as he headed south. His destination was the coastline to the south.

There was something definitely strange here. Along the way, Zedd noticed that there was a decreasing amount of animals despite the high amount of foliage still present. When the animals ran away, there was something definitely dangerous. He put on a grey colored cloak he took from one of the fallen Grey Ghosts. "Call: Tracker Wolf!"

Zedd summoned a black wolf. "Warn me if something is walked directly towards me," he said.

The wolf nodded and stayed near Zedd.

It was difficult to move under the trees without making noise. There was no clear path or even an animal path present that he could follow. The only thing present was the birds that flew overhead. Even then, they seemed to all be flying away from a general direction. Naturally, Zedd headed towards the direction the birds avoided.

It was deep in the forest that Zedd began to notice the first change. There was indeed strangely placed trees in some places. The area around it had been cleared, but there were always ten trees left arranged in a circle. At the center of it was soft soil, one that looked like it had been recently dug up.

Zedd walked out and took a closer look. He did not notice anything unusual, like a formation or magic circle. He closed his eyes and focused. Looking for the thinnest traces of magic or chi. However, he could not sense anything.

Zedd thought to himself, "I need to be certain."

Zedd placed his hand on the ground. "Strike Slip!" RUMBLE. The soft soil area rose up a few feet, revealing what was in the soil.

The soil fell apart as it rose, revealing the head of a strange creature. It had ears like a pig, teeth like a goblin, and gills on the side of its face, but was clearly as big as an orc. Its skin was black in color. It was a hybrid creature of some kind that was still unconscious. There was no telling how many of them could be hidden in the ground or when they could be awoken.

"Strike Slip!" Zedd returned the creature to the ground. It was best if they never knew he was here. The Demi-Humans were working on some type of hybrid being, one that incorporated all of the best traits of the Demi-Humans. Zedd needed to know how many there were, so he continued looking around.

In total, there was at least ten of those patches of soft soil and tree formation. The problem was that it was impossible to know how much were in each or their estimated combat strength. He needed to capture one of the Demi-Humans and interrogate them.

"Find me a Demi-Human," Zedd ordered his Tracker Wolf.

The Tracker Wolf quickly ran as Zedd followed it. The Tracker Wolf made its way through the trees and the rustling of the leaves and grass could be heard as it did so. It eventually came to a stop near one of the openings, where several goblins were spotted.

"Hurry," the goblin ordered.

The goblins were digging something out of the ground. The ground was not the same formation as the others. They were digging up big pieces of stone and rolling them into carriages that were pulled by horses.

Zedd needed to get a closer look at the stones they were digging up, so he followed it. The carriage brought the stone over to an empty field. It was here that Zedd spotted a carefully camouflaged entrance to an underground area.

"Teleportation Summoning Circle!" Zedd placed one onto a talisman and threw it at the cart. This way he could get in without being spotted.

The cart went in underground and Zedd tracked it on a special map. He took care to wait for it to stop moving for several minutes before going in. "Teleportation!"

Zedd arrived inside the underground area. It was enormous. They had worked for who knows how long to dig the entire underground complex. "Call: Nightshade!"

Zedd summoned his Spirit of Darkness. "Conceal me," he ordered. Nightshade wrapped around Zedd, completely hiding his presence as long as he remained in dark areas.

As Zedd looked around, the carriage had been left there. He went in search of the stones.

CLANG. It was the sound of metal striking metal. Zedd headed in its direction. There were dozens of goblins forging metal tools. He took care to slip by them just in case.

The area was left completely unguarded with no patrols. Past the forge was a storage area for all the tools that they made. Looking at it carefully, he noticed carving knives of some kind along with chisels and hammers for working with stone. They were clearly going to be making the stone into something. On the other side of the storage area was more tools including anvils. These seemed more like they were working with metal.

The goblins were going to be making equipment for their hybrid army. Or at least that's what he thought until he saw the blueprints. It was to make powerful armored wood and stone golems. Ones capable of regeneration. This was not simply a manufacturing site. It was a site to produce and equip an entire army.

It had also been here for a long time. It was not something that was just established recently. They had a lot of time to prepare and work on the things here. They had probably only been discovered recently when some of the Demi-Humans ventured into the grounds above this location. If they could acquire the supplies to manufacture an army here, they had to have had a powerful backer. However, Zedd was unable to confirm whether Prince Han Dou Gu was actually the one responsible as there were only Demi-Humans here.

Zedd took out extra scrolls. "Trace!" The contents of each one was copied onto his own. Even without Han Dou Gu, it was a success. Whoever built this place was clearly preparing for a long battle. What worried Zedd was that this might not be the only site like this. After all, if Han Dou Gu had bought a large amount of iron, then it was clearly not all being used here. There was no way that making these small tools would use up huge volumes of iron. There could be other ones out there from which they could build more armies.

"Teleportation Summoning Circle!" Zedd placed one here in case he needed to return. "Teleport!" With that, he left and reported his findings to Akiza.

Someone was building an army that was preparing to attack the Eastern Empire from underneath. And under the current circumstances, there was no way there would be ready to face it.