Five warriors stood before me, all exuding tremendous power. Over the past year, I'd honed my ability to sense others like me in order to more accurately gauge their threat. I didn't recognize any of them. A man stood at the head of the group, staring past my energy arrow to my eyes.

No one spoke for the first few seconds. They were likely as busy sizing me up as I was them. The people of the valley who had been outside quickly retreated indoors to watch from the window. I heard Nash running around the building before I saw him and I raised my hand up to stop him without looking in his direction. I didn't want to take my eyes off these guests of ours for a moment.

Remnants of green energy still sizzled in the air like heat lightning.

"Where did you come from?" I asked.

"I doubt you've heard of our land, though we managed to hear of you all the way across the world." The man standing at the head of the group, who I assumed must have been the leader, spoke coolly and subtly lifted the corner of his lip in a hard-to-detect smirk. "My name is Gael the Vanisher. I've looked forward to meeting you in person."

"I'm busy these days. So why don't we skip this part and get to the answers you know I want." I aimed directly at this left eye now. "Now."

Neither the weapon nor the threat seemed to intimidate him in the least. The slight smirk remained in place. "I come from the Hezala Kingdom, far south of this frigid land. My king would like a conference with you."

"How did you get here?"

"I traveled like you do. It's a power passed down in my village, though it differs from your own. See, I create a portal using my energy. I've never seen anyone travel the way you do."

"You've seen me travel?"

"I've watched you often this past year," Gael said. "I simply wasn't ready to introduce myself."

I ground my teeth down, incredibly annoyed with the slow drip of information. Patience had never been my strong point. Now that I was so overwhelmed with defending the valley and had so many battles to fight, I struggled to control my temper when someone wasted my time. Growling, I lowered my arms and let my energy bow vanish. Best to save every bit of strength I could. It was my most precious commodity these days. "Will you really make me keep asking questions? Tell me already."

"We've heard many tales. I travel the world gathering information for my king and he's taken a keen interest in you."

I noticed Piercey moving closer at this. He likely wanted to ask more about this man and the other travelers. Piercey had discussed using my power to travel around the world and gather information about kingdoms and Prophets that we knew little about. He dreamed of a world map that could help us understand the geopolitical condition of our world, something I knew could help us defend our valley, and something he believed could lead to us improving our society. We'd hoped the White Room would have helped us to find more information about our world, but it didn't give us access to information the supervisors had. Knowledge about the peoples of our world came from word of mouth or from those who had been gathered from different lands to train at the Sacred School.

I'd been too busy defending the valley, using all of my energy to keep out invaders and stop bad actors from rising up, that I couldn't afford to travel around the globe with Piercey making maps or writing records. These people made me really wish I'd found the time to attempt it, though. I knew nothing about them, their land, their people, or their king. I knew nothing about what they truly wanted. I only knew their power. And it was substantial.

"I would like to formally invite you to come speak with my king about how we could each other to prosper. Your valley has been at war for the past year and we believe a partnership could be mutually beneficial."

Why were these potential allies suddenly appearing? First Elias and now this group. "You seem powerful enough on your own. Take care of your own people."

"Your vicinity to the Sacred School is appealing. We come from a powerful lineage and have cultivated one of the best forces of Prophets and disciples in the world. Even so, the Sacred School is unmatched with its incredible security. There are powerful forces in our world, Eclipse. We need a safe place to train with villages close enough to travel to."

So they wanted to take over the Sacred School. It sounded like that to me anyway. "We're overcrowded as it is."

Gael glanced behind himself at a woman standing slightly to his right. She nodded. "A meeting with our king does not have to take long. Please hear us out. We carefully guard our knowledge of traveling, but with the right partnership, we could share what we've learned. My kingdom is in danger, just like your valley. Don't turn us away until you see what our part of the world is like and hear what we have to offer." He nodded at me. "Please. You need help. It's very clear to see. We do as well."

Piercey and Nash approached my side now, both studying the group.

"If you want to have a conversation with me then earn my time." I eyed Gael. "Show me what your people can do. What you have to offer."

"Is this a challenge?"

"Yes. Follow me around the Valley and fight me. Can you track me?" I'd instinctively learned to do this with Flare. If he couldn't after training, then he wasn't worth talking to.

"I can."

"Good." I rolled my shoulders. "Do you accept?"

The woman he'd spoken to early caught his wrist but he shook her off. "I do."

Though I worried Piercey would question me, I knew Nash would not question my decision. He'd trust me to handle the threat. To my surprise, Piercey said nothing. I realized in that moment I'd earned more confidence from him in the past year than I'd ever had before.

"Gael," the woman said quietly. I saw clear concern in her eyes. "Shouldn't you set ground rules?"

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"Eclipse has honor. There's no need for rules. We should fight and learn about one another through battle."

That tempted me to like this guy. Words could only say so much about a person. "Ready?" I asked.

"Yes."

No sooner had the words left his lips than I teleported to the sandy beach where I'd left the demon bleeding out the other day. I wasn't sure why I chose the place. Maybe it had become a habit now since I always brought those I banished from the Valley. Or maybe I just wanted to show this man where he'd end up if he crossed me.

I grinned when the explosion of energy rocked the ground beneath my feet. The green bolts of lightning lit the air and spread out in a circle. This time I noticed a small oval hole open at the center of the energy. Gael stepped through and landed on the ground.

Without wasting time, I teleported behind him and drove my fist for his kidney. His traveling seemed to take more time and energy than mine, so I wasn't surprised when he didn't try to utilize his portals. Instead, he jolted forward at an impressive speed, dodging my hit. His heel whipped around as he spun into a kick.

I pushed back against his leg with my power and teleported once again. He proved he could follow me but I wanted to see if he could keep up. How often could he portal? How quickly?

I had to wait around twenty seconds before the portal opened again. With the amount of energy he released, I was certain he had to have only a certain amount of traveling in him each day.

"How far can you travel before having to rest?" I asked.

"Usually, I can craft around twelve portals a day. Sometimes more if I'm well-rested."

"Does the distance you travel matter?"

"No. Any portal takes the same amount of energy."

Nice. The distance mattered greatly to me. While I could travel more often than that, it would take far more energy for me to travel across the world than it did for him. If he could teach this method of teleportation to students at the Sacred School, we could have an army of travelers ready to defend the valley.

I was getting ahead of myself, though. These people were strangers from an unknown land. I also wanted to see more of his power.

Breathing in deeply, I created my energy and fired three arrows at once almost instantly. My speed impressed even me. I'd gotten much faster in the last few months.

Gael still managed to erect a shield that swallowed my arrows entirely so they disappeared. A blast shot back at me, one the same color of my arrows, like he'd repurposed the energy into an orb to use against me.

I blasted it away with my own power in a forceful, unseen wave.

"You're well-trained," I said. "Disciplined."

"You're a rare talent. Not many people could harness your abilities after having their power sealed away."

I really despised this sudden trend of having strangers know so much about me. "Why did you speak up now?"

At first he didn't speak, like he was considering whether to tell me the truth. "I sensed the most powerful portal I'd ever felt one day. It was something others couldn't feel, not unless they also knew how to travel. There was no visible trace of the portal. Only the sensation. I felt it several times before I managed to actually watch the teleportation take place. A man who looks just like your friend Piercey walked out from it."

My breath caught. He knew about Elias.

"I know his power works similarly to mine but it's far more sophisticated."

"He works very deeply within the nature of our world." I didn't know how to explain code, especially not without telling Gael more than I ought to. "I'm sure you know that I've met him."

"Yes. I sensed the portal open at the Sacred School and then your energy disappeared."

"You can feel me?"

"I can if I'm close enough. That's how I track you."

"Even when I'm not using my power?"

He nodded. Damn. These people had knowledge that I lacked. "So why did Elias speaking with me make you decide to finally come forward?"

"You changed our world once already. I don't know everything you did, but I know you killed the Prophet of the Valley, and that mysterious demon Flare. Whatever this strange man wants with you, I believe it will change the world again." He thumped his fist against his chest, voice passionate. "I have to fight for my kingdom. It's not simply the Sacred School or your power that I'm interested in. It's the future you're creating as well. I want my people to have your favor."

I saw the same love for his kingdom in him that I felt for this valley and I could not for a moment question its authenticity. But I was taken aback by this insinuation that I would do something to change the world again. I only had plans for my little slice of the world. I'd already defeated our god. What else was there for me to do other than fight for stability for my people? "How can you be so certain my favor will be worth anything to you?"

"Your people beg for you to lead them because they know what you're capable of. I see it as well. I want this partnership for my kingdom. I will give anything for it."

The pressure of so many people crying my name, a name I didn't even want–Eclipse–overcame me as I stared into this stranger's eyes. My voice came out quiet and sounding as exhausted as every single day of the past year had made me feel. "I'm just a warrior. I can't give you what you want."

"We both know that's not true. Not anymore. Whatever happened in this valley didn't happen between a ruler and a warrior. You fought gods. The ripples of that battle spread over our world to this day. They've drawn this powerful man who can portal in a way I've never seen. So I am drawn as well. I know you don't want to stand at the center of so many people, but you're here."

The truth of it infuriated me. I did stand at the center and so many people ripped at me in so many directions I thought my body might explode. "I'm tired."

Why did I say it to him? I didn't know him. He had no reason to care. It wasn't even smart to admit to someone who might have been my enemy. The words escaped like a deep groan, though, like I had no control of them.

"It's like I said." He walked closer, voice quiet. "You need help. And we do too."

"There's still more of your abilities I need to see." I grinned now, enjoying the thought of seeing what else he could do when he'd already proven to be worthy of consideration. I sensed the love of battle in him.

Before Gael could respond, Elias appeared directly between us. It took my breath away.

His eyes looked serious. "We have a major problem. Say goodbye and come with me. Please."

I scowled, not liking that he expected my compliance. "Do we have a major problem or do you?"

Elias twisted his brows and raised his voice. "We, Max. We do. There's no time." He turned and lifted his hand to Gael. "I read about your people. I'm assuming you want some kind of treaty with Max's people. I promise that I'll return her in due time."

Whatever happened, it had him shaken up. There was too much happening at once. "I'll find you soon," I said to my new acquaintance. "You've earned my attention."

"I expect to finish our sparring match then."

I couldn't help smiling at that. "We definitely will." Looking back to Elias, I made my voice stern. "Piercey and Nash are coming this time."

"I've never let myself see him. I don't know how our human psyche would react to seeing another version of ourselves. I–"

I recognized a Piercey freak out when I saw one. These two at least had that in common. This would go nowhere. "Nash then."

"Fine."

"If you lie to me this time–"

"I know, Max. We need to hurry."

I grabbed his arm and teleported back to Nash.