Cutting apart a thread of energy was easy. In truth, having a void blade made very little difference in that process. But that wasn’t the actual results Velvet would want from her efforts. A cut thread of energy was easily reconnected. The void blade accomplished the necessary component of negating the connection for long enough that it would have to be established anew- meaning that all energy involved would have to be spent anew.

They were also practical against attacked made purely of energy, as they could sever them in two and negate their effects- though it wasn’t perfect. It was quite easy for some of the energy to flow around the blade, leaving her vulnerable if she was careless in how she performed her counter. Thus, simply avoiding attacks was more reliable.

As for mixed attacks, unfortunately once a weapon was moving at superhuman speeds, blocking with a void blade was pointless. Even with the special alloy to counteract its fragile nature, it was still easily broken. And even without the augmented cutting edges that energy gave to weapons, a cultivator who had surpassed Body Tempering was strong enough to break a void blade. Parrying was a delicate task as well, and Velvet had broken hundreds of similar-strength weapons during her training. They were formulated to nearly match the durability of a void blade, and Velvet resolved to clash directly only as a last resort. Which was kind of the whole point of the training.

Plus detecting the lowest levels of energy, tiny connections that she could sever. And of course she brushed up on her ability to read the flow of energy of both cultivators and formations to find optimal places to attack.

There was no sparring against Runa or her father, not with the void blades. The Spirit Slicing Sect didn’t fight in a way that it would be advantageous to use their own tactics against them, so it would be better for Velvet to use one of her normal daggers… for most practical aspects of combat. However, a void blade in her off hand was a great boon. Along with her advancement to Augmentation, she felt nearly unstoppable.

She knew that wasn’t true, of course, and did her best to quash such risky thoughts. She could die to a more experienced Augmentation cultivator or a handful of lucky or highly coordinated Integration cultivators. It wasn’t terribly likely, but Velvet wasn’t the sort that should end up in a fair fight with either.

Velvet didn’t just train, of course. She was quite involved with clearing out Exalted Quadrant attackers on Taon. Until the point they were more or less eliminated.

After that, Velvet had to discuss the next steps with Runa and Emrik. They were her direct connections to the rest of the Chaotic Conglomeration, after all. “What are your plans now? Will you move your headquarters?”

“It was only a temporary base anyway,” Emrik said- though Velvet was reminded that they’d been here at least fifty years, perhaps over a century. “But we also need to finish mining out as much of the void ore as we can, practically. This planet will still be useful as a staging ground for future conflict as well. It is a decent place to rest and train, so no doubt we will continue to fortify it.”

“Exactly,” Runa nodded. “The question should really be what do you intend to do?”

Velvet frowned. “Well, I…” she knew she had to get back to the Scarlet Alliance. Just because Runa was her friend didn’t suddenly invalidate all the rest of her friendships and allegiances. So what was she going to do? “First, I’d like to thank you for your trust. I suppose I should provide some in return.” Velvet pulled something out of one of her storage bags. It was a lockbox designed to fry the object inside, should it be opened incorrectly- something that was very easy to do. Of course, she knew the proper way. She did so, and presented the hand-sized device to Runa. “Here is a communicator. It will allow you to contact the Scarlet Alliance.”

“... How?” Runa looked at it, tilting her head.

“First press this button,” Velvet said, turning the device on.

Runa nearly jumped back. “How did it do that?”

“Do… what?” Velvet tilted her head.

“It lit up without the flow of upper energy changing.”

“Oh. That’s… a special technique.” Mundane technology, technically, but Velvet wasn’t up for explaining that. “Anyway, it only communicates directly with our comms center. It won’t do you much good until I manage to contact them in person to inform them that the device isn’t compromised. Before then, your messages will probably be set aside as suspect. Since you won’t have my energy signature.”

“I see. How long will it take the messages to arrive?”

“Hmm,” Velvet furrowed her brow. “Maybe… a year?”

“A year?” Runa said.

“The Scarlet Alliance is quite far.”

“I know!” Runa waved her arms, then stopped and cradled the communicator, as if worried it would fall apart. “And it’s only going to take a year?”

“Each way, approximately,” Velvet confirmed.

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“That is…” Emrik frowned. “Quite exceptional. Could you possibly… tell us how that works?”

“I can’t, for several reasons,” Velvet said. “I don’t really know how it works in detail. Just to be clear, if you managed to perfectly replicate the components of this device it would probably still not work. And even if it did, it would only connect to our central comms. Even so, I would ask you to take special care that it does not get captured by the Exalted Quadrant… the more of our devices they get, the riskier it is that they’ll figure out something we don’t want to happen.”

“I’ll protect it with my life,” Runa said.

“It’s fine to break it, you know,” Velvet said. “In fact, that’s much preferable to the alternative. Because I don’t want you dead, and I would like it even less if you were dead and then that device got captured.”

“Isn’t it precious, though?” Runa asked.

“It’s secret,” Velvet said. “Not precious. We can always make more of them if we need to. And while it would be inconvenient to lose communication with you, it’s preferable it be destroyed rather than you getting hurt for it.”

“Alright, so, how do I use it?” Runa asked.

Velvet quickly explained the options. Voice recordings and text, mainly. This was a long distance communicator, so it didn’t do video or have the capacity for things like technique insight transmission. The latter required proper infrastructure on both ends, and was only practical for between realms. Otherwise, people could just… bring a scroll to each other. Though the Chaotic Conglomeration was a bit… difficult to reach from the Scarlet Alliance.

“It recharges naturally,” Velvet said. “So as long as it doesn’t get damaged it should continue to work for… a century at least.” They didn’t have much more testing than that to determine the longevity of the devices. And it was possible that this generation had introduced some sort of flaw. But either way, it would last as long as it lasted. “I don’t know how much it will actually help, but if we can send each other information about the movements of the Exalted Quadrant, it should be beneficial to both of our groups. It should already clear, but I don’t intend to remain here any longer. Nor to move onto aiding you upon other planets.”

“It’s a bit unfortunate,” Emrik said. “But perfectly understandable. Your first loyalties are not to us. I can only say that we appreciate what you have done for us. Saving my daughter’s life, helping secure the void ore and then the planet. A simple trinket and some techniques aren’t enough to pay you back for that. And then your insights into Augmentation…” Emrik stroked his chin. “They’ve already made a significant difference for me.”

“Well, if you still feel indebted… I wouldn’t mind getting copies of any data you have on the Exalted Quadrant. Whatever you’re authorized to share. I’m certain some of your group would be a bit hesitant to share with me still.”

“I don’t think we care about their opinions,” Emrik grinned. “My daughter knows you well enough. I have no reason to believe you’re some sort of spy a dozen layers deep, ultimately working for the Exalted Quadrant while pretending to be part of the Scarlet Alliance. And this device,” he gestured. “Proves some of that. You treat it with care simply because it’s not easy to get here. But otherwise you’re far too casual about its capabilities.”

Velvet shrugged. “If you could see some of the things we have, I think you’d understand.”

Emrik stroked his chin. “It’s strange, you know. The Scarlet Alliance has something the Exalted Quadrant does not. But you’re effectively a new faction, aren’t you?”

Velvet wanted to protest, but to be fair the Scarlet Alliance had only existed for somewhere around two-thirds of her life. Which kind of made it brand new by some measures. Even by the standards of factions in the lower realms that got reset every cycle, it wasn’t particularly old. “Something like that. If you somehow find the time and can do so safely, I would gladly show you around. But I don’t know how easily you will be able to slip through Exalted Quadrant territory.”

“Speaking of which,” Runa said. “Will you be alright on your return trip?”

“Will I be alright?” Velvet asked. “I’m a single individual among billions. Perhaps trillions. I just… have to avoid the Limitless Edge. Though I heard that there was an incident…”

“Everheart,” Emrik said the name like it was the most foul swear he knew. Which it might be. “And some swordmaster.”

“Rahayu,” Velvet said. “One of the few individuals who has joined up with Everheart’s new faction.” Normally, she would expect many more- but Everheart was known to use projections for all of his labor. So there was no point in having people below a certain threshold. Combined with the requirement that they be able to tolerate Everheart… Velvet was almost surprised there were two of them.

“So what are your plans to return?” Emrik asked. “Crossing the border territories will be the most difficult.”

“You have some captured ships, do we not?” Velvet asked.

“Sure, but it will be instantly obvious to anyone inspecting you.”

“Only once they approach. At which point, the ship should be empty.”

“And then what, you steal another ship from a contested world?”

Velvet shook her head. “I plan to push a ship to reach a few systems inward. I doubt it will survive the trip, but even in the worst case scenario I can finish the journey on my own. If all goes well, a random empty ship will be on a crash course with some sun. And then I’ll take standard passage further along. I know how to blend in among them. I made it this far, didn’t I? Returning… well, I won’t say it will be just as easy, but I’m also more capable now.”

“Wouldn’t it be safer to go around?” Runa asked.

“Safer? Probably. It would take significantly longer, hopping between border planets on my own. And I’m not particularly enthusiastic about the capability of these ships to refuel in random systems. Besides, my work isn’t done. I plan to engage in a bit more espionage along the way. A different route than before, of course.” She wanted to stay well away from the stomping grounds of the Limitless Edge. Even if she disguised her face and subdued her own aura, she was concerned about being spotted. Though she could likely pick out the Limitless Edge first and avoid the danger, as long as she wasn’t in a system packed with disciples.

“We wish you good luck, then,” Emrik said. “Take any of the ships you please. You helped secure half of them anyway.”

“Thank you,” Velvet said. “I won’t be leaving immediately… but it will be soon.” Hopefully, she would be able to make a return trip at some point… but it was more difficult than the distances involved. And weakening the Exalted Quadrant to make them less of a threat was hardly something she thought they could accomplish in the near future. Maybe Runa would find a chance to visit the Scarlet Alliance- if she could do so safely, Velvet would be pleased.