While the Scarlet Alliance had a hardline stance on certain issues, their current association with the Chaotic Conglomeration showed they were willing to tolerate some things indirectly. Before they left the presence of the Prospect Shapers, however, they offered an alternative that they thought would be easier to convince the Conglomeration as a whole to agree to that would still be beneficial to the Scarlet Alliance.

“Given proper warning,” Ardashir said. “We can provide military support for specific incidents. We are not so free as to send armies into the Exalted Quadrant whenever you wish, but the Prospect Shapers in specific can help coordinate future activities. If you wish to attempt future assaults like on the Citadel of Exalted Light… our services might be helpful. Of course, we would also be enlisting others from the Conglomeration.” He paused for a moment. “I should also note that our sect also currently meets your other standards. And we can easily comply with your limitations on sharing information.”

Velvet pondered. “How much could you actually support a similar assault?”

“That would depend on the circumstances,” Gosia admitted. “However, in a small group such as you used for that attack, you should not underestimate the value of a single valued manipulator of probability. For larger assaults, we could likely coordinate a sufficient number of cultivators to force a particular border faction to react with caution. Given our physical distance, we obviously can’t provide backup within the Scarlet Alliance’s territory.”

“It would also be difficult for us to enforce such favors,” Velvet pointed out.

Nasimiyu spread out her hands. “For that, you would have to trust us. Our sect will submit to any reasonable measures such as watchers placed among us. But we should not keep you longer. Your absences might be noticed, and the people of Yigora might think we plot against them.”

“Do you?” Velvet raised an eyebrow.

“We only want what is best for all of us. The Serene Pill Society is not antithetical to those ends. We are on good terms, and would prefer to stay that way.”

That was something at least. “Very well,” Velvet said. “How should we remain in contact?”

“Your friend Runa should be able to pass along anything. Though we would appreciate having a duplicate of whatever method you use so that we can be contacted directly. Assuming that is something that you can do.”

“Such devices are rare enough that I don't carry many around,” Velvet said. “But I am sure that as we work together we will devote proper resources to improve efficiency.”

She had technically already provided Runa with updated devices- it was amazing what a few hundred years of developments would do. But giving older versions to the Prospect Shapers would be less secure, and she wasn’t quite certain how much to trust them just yet.

-----

The Serene Pill Society, in contrast to the meeting with the Prospect Shapers, was full of show and grandeur. While Velvet was certain that everything was quite expensive- including the lavish feast they provided for their guests- she was less interested in it. So were most of the rest of them. Durff certainly ate a lot of the food, though. Among the rest, Jyotsana was most likely to appreciate luxury… and she seemed underwhelmed.

The sect head of the Serene Pill Society was a relatively young woman named Nikitha. She focused the majority of her attention on Durff, Velvet, and Runa- the three obviously powerful cultivators. It wasn’t unreasonable… but the whole thing felt just like she was entertaining yet another set of powerful individuals, intending to gain something from the interaction- even if it wasn’t necessarily in the immediate future.

Velvet was very careful about what she consumed, though Chidi didn’t seem to be concerned about anything and he was probably the best judge of the rest of them. Just because she doubted anything would directly harm them didn’t mean that there could be no consequences whatsoever. Perhaps a slow-acting poison for which they were offered the antidote at great cost, or more likely some sort of subtly addictive drug that would subconsciously influence her attitude towards them.

Inside of her stomach, Velvet subtly burned everything just in case. She would have warned Durff, but she was fairly certain he had to be resistant to ingested poisons to survive. And he was much more insightful than he looked.

Ultimately, the entire affair stretched out over multiple days. Somewhere in the end, Misi expressed interest in seeing their pill production… and Nikitha complied.

There was a reason Velvet actually incinerated what she ate. She wasn’t inherently distrustful of pill makers- there were countless legitimate uses of their abilities- but she was a bit suspect of those who would use slaves. They didn’t even try to hide it.

Some were better off than common laborers, working to extract materials and the like. However, others had to work with the more dangerous materials, and their safety equipment looked wholly inadequate. No doubt a few properly trained cultivators would be more efficient.

Velvet kept a careful eye on Yuval, just in case. Given his parents, he had learned how to exhibit proper control in social situations- but within the Scarlet Alliance the worst thing he would face would generally amount to taunts. She didn’t want to end up responsible for a rebellion.

She did make notes on potential weaknesses, however. Just in case whoever was here in the future wanted to work on such a project. Velvet honestly didn’t know who that would be, assuming they went through with any of the proposals. It would still be difficult to send anyone all the way around the Exalted Quadrant, and getting a sufficient number of qualified individuals would be even more problematic if they didn’t intend to advertise the connection.

Stolen novel; please report.

Maybe Velvet should have been content with befriending the Spirit Slicing Sect. She wasn’t meant for diplomacy, regardless of how often she found herself needing to engage in it.

-----

Watching Durff in action was in general quite fun. Cultivators rushed at him only to be crushed, quite literally. Sometimes that was individually, or as a group, or in a chain reaction where one person was knocked into the next and into the next, all piling up in a crater somewhere. But that was just how he was in standard combat.

Velvet understood using a hammer to smash someone. She also understood how he was able to extend the area of his swing to target more people. But what she didn’t understand were the more esoteric things.

She didn’t actually get to see him swing, because he was on the other side of the planet. They had been informed about an enemy compound that was being built up, fortified with grand formations. Misi had been eager to dismantle them, but Durff had declared he would deal with it himself. Velvet had come to watch… but she soon realized he wasn’t even heading for the facility.

It was a repeat of something she’d only seen once… and she felt a slight shake as his energy passed through the planet. A huge chunk of earth was torn up as the entire compound was lifted into the air, barrier and all, then tossed into space where it drifted towards the local star. It would probably take several hours to actually reach it, but there wasn’t anything they could do to stop it.

They certainly tried, but Velvet followed after them secretly and watched their efforts. In theory, they should have been able to impart an equal amount of energy to stop their motion. In practice, the flight of their compound was nearly an unstoppable object. Though their velocities matched it, when they moved outside of the barrier to try to slow it down they found themselves flung away with great force.

Velvet was willing to bet that if they were thinking properly and worked all together they could have managed it, but some of them chose to flee on whatever space-compatible ships were available- and others were trying to salvage whatever resources they had. She picked off small groups as they tried to return to the planet.

In the end, she watched it sink into the sun with a satisfying plop. Her energy was barely able to resist annihilation from the star as she felt the last stages of the compound and its extremely durable barrier’s journey.

Durff probably still couldn’t overcome the direct control Zaur had over his anchor, but he would be several times more effective with a similar attack regardless. He could probably at least cause some lasting damage if Zaur was distracted, which was more than Velvet could say. Though her specialty wasn’t overpowering enemies, so she didn’t really mind.

Though technically very few enemies died that day, the morale implications of a few kilometer wide section of the planet flying off into the sun were significant for the Exalted Quadrant. Along with their other efforts, it brought them one step closer to seizing control of the current planet. It would be the fifth that their group was in large part responsible for tilting the balance in as many years.

-----

If they were willing, their group could have stayed on the battlefield constantly. Some of them nearly did that. Chidi, Jyotsana, and Yuval in particular focused on the battlefield. Durff split his time between mining, which he had come to enjoy, and battle. The twins focused on their exchange of information.

The time was coming when they would be returning to the Scarlet Alliance. The few exchanges of messages indicated that the Scarlet Alliance was willing to try some greater offering of cultivation advice, but the details were still being worked on. Perhaps nothing would happen for a few decades, and while sooner would be better so that there was time to grow it was still within the Prospect Shapers projected timeframe.

-----

One day, Runa was acting very suspicious. The most suspicious part was how she tried not to look suspicious. But Velvet did her best not to let on she knew something was happening. It wasn’t the bad sort of suspicious. It wasn’t like she suspected her longtime friend was going to capture her and hold her hostage in exchange for all the knowledge of the Scarlet Alliance- especially since the Spirit Slicing Sect would simply have access to curated parts that would be most helpful for them.

No, Runa was happy about something. And while she doubtless meant to make Velvet wait for whatever it was, she herself became impatient somewhere around mid-day.

“I know you’re leaving soon,” Runa said. “And you’re still disappointed that the void ore production is more than a decade away from our promised fulfillments. But…” Runa pulled from her storage bag a dagger and sheath together. “I managed to convince some people to let you step ahead.”

Velvet had been hoping for something like that, and she couldn’t stop her smile from spreading. “Thank you!” she said with great sincerity. “It was extremely helpful to have my other one. I’ll take good care of this one, I swear.”

“You’d better!” Runa said. “We can’t replace these every couple centuries just because you’re my friend, you know!” Then she grinned widely as she suddenly pulled out another one. “And since you usually fight with two daggers at once, you’ll have to be double careful. Or you can keep it as a backup, but I’ll be mad if you break another one either way.”

Velvet took the dagger’s twin. Expertly balanced, and identical in all but slight engravings on the handle. She placed them next to each other, and saw the lines merge into an image of two women embracing. “I hope you did not use too much political capital on my part,” Velvet said. “But I will remember this forever.”

“Well,” Runa shrugged. “I think you deserved it. You’ve been a friend, even from afar, and you helped me so much. Besides, with the help of your friends everyone is still getting their promised materials sooner than they expected, so cutting in line a little,” she shrugged.

“I’ll make good use of them,” Velvet said. “If I can, I’ll stab your least favorite Domination cultivator for you even.”

“Eh. I haven’t met any, so take your pick,” Runa said. “I would like to be there to see it, but I’m all the way over here, so…” she shrugged.

“Maybe I’ll take a recording,” Velvet said. “Or you could come visit. Though that’s not a good time for Domination cultivator stabbing.”

“I wish I could,” Runa said. “But you know. Obligations to the sect and such. The war isn’t going to just go away on its own.”

Velvet nodded. “No, it won’t.” But maybe she could help. Trying to end the war… was a bit outside of her reach for the next handful of centuries or more. But providing enough relief that Runa could slip away might be possible. She’d like to show her friend the Scarlet Alliance- and hopefully by then there would be fewer secrets necessary.