Viv let out a plaintive meow as she emerged from the shadows, rushing toward Alistair's outstretched arms and leaping into them. He held her tight, kissing the top of her head.

"Hey, baby, it's okay. I'm sorry I was gone," Alistair said softly, holding back tears of relief as he stroked her fur.

Viv purred and meowed incessantly, louder than he had ever heard before. The small black cat had changed little, aside from her yellow eyes now having a more golden hue. She was still the same small, loyal companion attached at his hip. Alistair sat down on the dusty bed, petting her as she pressed herself into his body as hard as she could. They remained like this for a while until the ground shook around them, dislodging dust and causing Viv to sneeze. A deep, imperious voice then called out from above.

"We should move to the next location. Make the contract with your 'baby,' and let's get out of here," King said with mild amusement.

Viv looked wide-eyed at the door exiting the bedroom, her small heart pounding in her chest.

"Shh, it's alright. He's with me," Alistair said in a calming voice as he stood up and tried to place her on the bed. Viv refused, unfurling her claws and managing to bypass his armor to cling to him. This gave him pause, realizing that Viv was approaching the end of Grade 9, making her far more powerful than he had expected. As she refused to let go, he sighed and initiated the magic contract with her still in his arms. Using his Identify skill on her [Void Cat - lvl 79], he knew the correct way to address her.

"I offer you, Void Cat Viv, a summoners contract. Do you accept?" Alistair asked, looking down at the black ball of fur in his arms.

She blinked at him as he felt the contract establish itself, and he searched the plains for a suitable shard for her, finding a warm, slightly forested plains and hills shard that suited his needs. As he completed the contract, Viv was teleported out of his arms into the shard. He immediately sensed her shock and worry, and he had her appear back in his arms again.

"It's alright; that's just a place I can store you when I need you to be safe," Alistair reassured her, his voice falling back into his babying voice, something that had earned him a lot of laughs from friends who don't have a pet.

To his surprise he could sense Viv wanted to go back so he sent her back just for her to want to get back out as she reappeared again. As she wanted to go back in again he frowned.

"Oh god, damned," he said with a chuckle as he carried her out of the room.

This had been one of her most annoying traits, as she wanted to enter and leave the house. It had been particularly bad in one of the apartments that had no suitable windows or cat door, which forced him to manually open and close the door for her. As they left the building, he saw that King was lounging on top of his old apartment building turning his head towards them as they exited.

"Come on, let's go," King said eagerly as Viv's hair stood on end, and she looked wide-eyed at the massive wyvern looking down on them.

She tried to struggle out of Alistair's arms, but he robbed her momentum, which made the cat pause before she turned ethereal, falling out of his hands before rushing behind him.

"She seems to have some tricks. Too bad she's a coward," Kings commented smugly.

Alistair let out a sigh as he stored Viv again and flew up to join King. They headed back to look for Remo. Viv, for her part, wanted to get out again, but he sent her a message that he was traveling on King and unless she calmed down, he couldn't let her out. He wasn't sure how much she understood and debated whether he should give her the pill of enlightenment or not. Fortunately, Viv seemed to calm down and explore her shard, which relieved Alistair as he looked at the many groups traveling about.

King was incredibly fast now, and part of Alistair worried someone might mistake him for a wild wyvern and attack. However, there shouldn't be too many individuals of Grade 8 or high Grade 9 who wouldn't notice him riding on the wyvern. Despite this, he saw many groups freak out and try to hide in forests or shrubbery. None of that would have stopped King if he actually were a wild wyvern, which concerned Alistair. While most individuals were clearly mid-Grade 9, the groups he saw did not feel particularly powerful.

Alistair considered watching some more recordings on the network but, in a good mood after finding Viv, decided against indulging in any fresh horrors the world had to offer. As he looked into the horizon, he received a call over the Akashic link from his brother.

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"Hey, Alistair. I have to move through Sol's territory to reach what used to be Italy. In case we vanish, you know where to look," James said, half-jokingly.

"It should be fine. They promised us free transportation and to be on their best behavior. By the way, who’s 'we'?" Alistair asked with a chuckle.

"I'm with Jessica in the Zephyr, so we don't really need transportation. But I'll check in at one of their fortresses. I really don't want to get shot down by those turrets scattered around," James explained.

"Alright, let me know how things turn out," Alistair replied.

"Will do. Talk to you later," James said.

With that, Alistair ended the call and continued his search for Remo, feeling a mix of relief and concern as he flew on. After roughly an hour of flight, they spotted a skirmish below. A small group of people was desperately fighting against a band of Minotaurs. Both parties had already sustained losses, and Alistair watched as a Minotaur dragged a woman away by her leg while the rest of the monsters overwhelmed the outnumbered survivors. He couldn't let that stand, especially since he had the means to intervene.

Honing in on their location, Alistair teleported next to the Minotaur, dragging the woman and severing its arm with his Razor Aegis. He directed the other disks to cut down the remaining monsters, then blasted the stunned Minotaur in front of him with a Kinetic blast that caved in its chest, causing it to crumple and die. The other Minotaurs roared and flailed as they were swiftly cut down. Amidst the cacophony of screams and surprised yells, the fight settled quickly, leaving a shocked silence in its wake.

The Minotaurs had easily been overwhelmed by him, and he did not feel much joy in fighting such weak opponents. He knew his karma would take a hit if he punched down more than one grade or without good reason, but this had been neither. So he checked on the survivors.

"Are you all alright? I'm not much of a healer, but I can at least close some wounds if necessary," Alistair offered.

"Oh, thank god. Thank you for helping us," one of the nearby men said, his voice shaky.

Alistair watched as a red-haired woman and a blonde woman rushed over to help the woman who had been dragged away by the Minotaur. The black-haired, Mediterranean-looking woman still trembled like a leaf in the wind, staring at him with wide eyes. Nearby, he could hear the wail of a woman crying over the body of a man whose head had been caved in. King landed nearby, startling people who moved away from the wyvern.

"It's fine, that's my summon," Alistair called out as he walked toward King.

"I won't be carrying all of those," King said resolutely as he looked down on the survivors.

Alistair waved King off, sending him a message to let him handle the situation, as he only made it worse. He could sense multiple attempts at Identifying him, all failing as they failed to penetrate his Aura Suppression skill. The same man who had thanked him spoke up again, and Alistair identified him as [Joseph - lvl 64] a middle aged man with a lean muscular body and slightly graying brown hair. The man was by far the strongest combatant of the group, and Alistair was sure he would have been able to escape if he didn't try to save the others.

"Thank you again. I'm Joseph. May I ask who you are? And do you know of a place nearby where we would be safe?"

"My name is Alistair Ryser. The only safe location I know is Sol's Sanctuaries, which are to the south, toward the mountains. Did you not receive the information package?" Alistair replied.

He watched as Joseph's shoulders slumped and the other people behind him gathered, still bruised and shaking. Some had managed to patch themselves up thanks to a few healers among them, but one woman continued to cry over a body, a sight that churned Alistair's stomach.

"We don't have a device to connect to any network, and we aren't followers. Most of us don't wish to be," Joseph explained.

His statement elicited a mixed reaction from the crowd. Alistair suspected that some would opt for the safety of the walls, even if it meant joining Sol. While recruiting them crossed his mind, he realized that beyond manpower, there was little immediate value. The space on the Artemis was limited, and the Kaiakos wouldn’t arrive at Earth until long after he had left. Still, it wasn't the worst idea.

"I'm sorry if this sounds harsh, but most of you are too weak to defend yourselves out here. Even if you don't plan on joining Sol, I recommend going there for safety. I'm quite certain Sol will come out on top and conquer the planet," Alistair began, pausing to let his words sink in.

He continued, "However, I am the leader of a large clan planning to leave the planet. If that's something you would consider, let Sol's followers know, and they will arrange for you to meet up with the rest of us."

Having ended his spiel, he browsed his storage and picked out a spare pad that could connect to the network. It did not possess any sensitive data since he did not use it himself. He wordlessly tossed it to Joseph.

"There is a request rescue option, and since you are already close to one of the most major Sanctuaries, they should show up in short order," Alistair added as he watched Joseph catch the pad.

He then turned to leave, jumping onto King's back as the people realized he was about to leave. Some of them panicked and requested he guide them.

"There are others I can save during my travels. As long as you head south, you shouldn't encounter more or stronger beasts. I have my own matters to attend to," Alistair said, while trying to keep his expression neutral to avoid getting more involved than necessary. To his surprise, Joseph called out to him.

"Thank you, Alistair. What do I owe you for the pad?" Joseph asked.

Alistair couldn't help but snort. "Nothing. It's of little value to me, and I have more of them. You helped protect these people, and I don't mind rewarding such an effort."

Before they could exchange any more words, King took to the air as his patience ran out and didn't mind forcing the conversation to end. Alistair was considering chiding the Wyvern for his impatience. Still, he decided to take the excuse to leave and talk to King about when it was and wasn't okay to abandon a conversation like this. He wasn't overly surprised at the Wyvern's disposition, though he felt it could spell trouble in the future if not handled correctly.