The ground rumbled, a slight quaking that seemed to have disturbed him as the still as stone body of Inero-ie finally moved. Slowly his hands opened and closed, strength once again filling his body as he had recovered from the effects of the multiple jumps it took to get to the top Layer. It had been much quicker this time, just a few hours, because of the full recovery he had undergone back in Fria-al’s place.

Legs slowly stood up even though he had been sitting cross-legged for hours. As he was mid-way, the ground trembled once again. It was light, and others may have missed it even if they knew what was happening outside but not him. What surprised him was the intensity with which the fighting was ongoing outside, whatever they were doing, it was powerful enough that the effects made their way inside the Grave Tower. It had been like this since he had stepped foot in here.

It had not made him impatient, however. There were many things he was ignorant of, deliberately or not so deliberately but one thing that he had confidence in was fighting. Especially after having survived against the Specters for so long. When hunting, one had to be patient. When hunting, one had to give it their all. He would kill them to stabilize his path, to make the memory seal firm, to be ready for Metamorphasis.

Slow, unhurried steps took him towards the ungated exit, and with each step, the number of Threads swarming around him increased until they were in tens of thousands in number. Each Thread thinner than a hair, many times thinner, informed him of their surroundings, of the emptiness that had been left behind now that there was no one here, a stark contrast to his last visit. They also informed him of the guards, or rather of their absence, unlike the last time when the Grave Tower was surrounded by them despite the absence of any danger.

The Solar Crystal had dimmed. Its bright and warm light was lost, now unable to hold back the ever-present darkness. It was still not absolute pitch-black darkness but it was dark enough that it would not affect his Melding with darkness. It was the night part of the cycle.

The system had been operating without any interruptions. It was as though it cared not for the screams and explosions that had taken place in the calm and serene atmosphere. Maybe the system did not know how to resolve such events, or maybe it was because it cared not for the squabbles of the humans as long as the settlement itself was undamaged. For now, the settlement was undamaged.

Random thoughts kept popping up in his mind, thoughts he had trouble clearing as just their presence meant the seal on his memories was loosening. At the moment he was checking a deep pit he had come across in the forest, a pit that almost reached the floor of this Layer. As he was checking the pit, multiple thoughts about the alloy used to create the settlement popped up in his mind.

Inhale and exhale. He took in breaths one after another and slowly calmed down. Then after a moment, his mind was once again purged of any useless thought and the moment that happened his aura also changed. It was like a sword had been taken out of its sheath.

***

“Sir, their formation just gave out.”

“I know. Inform me when the castle is down.”

“Yes sir.”

A few more moments passed and that same man once again informed Harlev, “Sir, Noyb family castle has been razed to the ground.”

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

“Team 9 will be under your control. Make sure the attack on Layoca castle proceeds as planned,” He could have done it all on his own but that would leave his men untrained and they would become baggage when they would be needed the most.

“Yes sir, you will not be disappointed.”

Once again Harlev responded with a nod, his eyes constantly moving about, moving at a speed that would be impossible for normal humans to follow. Even to his men, they could only see a blur in his eye sockets. The constantly moving eyes kept track of each and everything that appeared on the constantly changing hologram. It allowed him to keep track of whatever was happening all over the Layer. He had to train his men, but he also had to win the war with minimum casualties.

A perfect execution, That was his goal.

"Signal all teams to be ready for the go," Harlev said to another subordinate.

"They are all ready and in the position. Awaiting your orders, air."

Harlev nodded once again. Removing the Noyb family was not an achievement. Since the war had started, they had been besieged by all the families in their proximity due to the absence of their leader. It was inevitable. The real play would start now.

***

Nobility. All powerful, no one to fear. Able to do anything and everything and catching whose interest meant trouble. That was these insurmountable exisences had been to most of the people but he had woken up to a changed world. Now he stood in front a castle in ruines and remaining seemed to be heading towards the same fate.

The castle that had been composed of a main building connected by slimer but just as tall sub structures, once filled with blue lights– now all that remained of it were the rubble indicating something had existed here. The forest that had been surrounding had been replaced with charred ground and crater so deep that he could sense the metallic floor beheath all of it.

Threads examined the surroundings as he moved through the now empty land. There was no indication of life remaining, everything had been thoroughly destroyed. He had not even a single shard of broken bone or a charred piece of flesh. The only thing that existed was fire that burned but on its last leg as it had nothing to fule its existence, on the verge of fading.

Seeing there was nothing in here, he started moving towards his other destination, the Laycore family.

Grand. It reached even higher than the castle of Noyb family, its surface colored gold, its light colored gold. There were three main tower, each inter-connected, surrounded by slimmer towers. Each time an attack struck the castle, a barrier would shimmer into existence, stopping all of the attacks without any ripples. Most of the attacks were blocked by some made their way inside, somehow bypassing the barrier directly. They too would be neutralized before they could strike any of the towers.

Inero-ie retreated back into the darkness, making his existence even more hidden and then Threads spread in every direction, making him aware of everything, including those men in Noyb families uniform who seemed to be preparing for something. He circled the castle, exploring everything.

The bombardment continued but he waited, and waited then he rushed out the moment a lull in attacks occurred, rushing straight towards the barrier but not stopping, rather accelerating, and the moment he was going to collide, he jumped, a small jump, just enough to move him a few centimeters ahead but that was all that he needed as he emerged inside the barrier, in the patch of forest protected by the barrier.

From one patch of darkness to another, he made his way toward the castle until he stood in front of the completely smooth tower. Climbing it without using Qi would be impossible as there was not a single crevice on the tower, just smooth wall that seemed to be carved from a single piece of whatever was used to construct it.

Once again he circled around the tower, exploring the inside as much as he could, while considering the best place to jump in.