Everyone was making their way toward the grand hall that connected the twin balconies. Nearly every young noble and prodigy among them spoke in excited tones or wore expressions of pure elation, since for most, this was likely the greatest opportunity of their lives. Alex and Zahra waited for the crowd to thin. The soft clamor of laughter and conversation washed over them when a low, deliberate voice cut through the noise. "You are a hard man to find." The tone carried weight, sounding calm and measured. Alex's attention shifted immediately. It wasn't loud, but it was unmistakably meant for him. A man approached with an amicable smile. He appeared to be in his early thirties, standing tall at nearly six feet and a half, his posture relaxed yet commanding. His features were sharp, sculpted with almost aristocratic precision; his pale skin and short, radiant brown hair, streaked faintly with red, caught the starlight. A neat beard framed his jaw, lending him a mature and rugged look, but his friendly appearance did little to hide the sharpness of his eyes. 'Magnus.' Alex recognized him instantly. How could he not, when he was the only person he knew of who belonged to the hidden echelon of power, those who ruled from the shadows, wielding influence that dwarfed nations. He was also the man who held control over Slavik Makarov, Venedikt, and Andrei's father, and the one Alex had struck a deal with nearly a year ago. 'A month in reality' and the price, Magnus wanted was the Heart of a Sin General, and the deadline was two real-world years. His demand revealed a great deal about his ambition and nature, and in both scenarios, he was a dangerous individual. Alex had also learned enough from their last encounter to understand that Magnus's means extended far beyond what he could comprehend, so for him to approach, personally, it wasn't to exchange pleasantries. Alex turned his head slightly; his voice came out even and measured. "If it were something urgent, you could have used a Ruler's wish to contact me." He paused and added expreionlesly "But knowing your means, finding me shouldn't require such methods for someone of your means." Magnus chuckled softly, his eyes glinting with quiet amusement. "You are right about that," he said, "But it does get complicated when the person I am trying to meet has a perfect clone of himself roaming the world." He paused, tilting his head slightly, eyes narrowing with playful curiosity. "Possibly two." Alex didn't flinch. He had never gone to great lengths to hide his trump card of a skill, at least, not from those perceptive enough to find it. "Why did you want to meet me?" Alex asked at last. His tone carried no impatience, only certainty. He knew Magnus was not the type to seek favors, nor one to make idle conversation. If he had come here, it was because he had something to offer in exchange for what he wanted, something significant enough to make even Alex hesitate before refusing. Magnus's smile widened, almost pleasantly. "To give you a gift." "There are a lot of developments," Magnus began, his tone unusually measured, "Terrible developments." He exhaled slowly, eyes narrowing as though weighing his following words. "So I will apologize in advance if this kills your appetite… or gives you a headache." A faint, humorless smile touched his lips, the kind that never reached the eyes. "But perhaps, considering the current state of this realm, it won't come as too much of a shock." Content orıginally comes from 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡⚫𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢⚫𝘯𝘦𝘵 Those words alone told Alex what the so-called gift was about. He was going to say to him about war, and now the only question was where. Reality or the Ancient World. And in that drawn-out silence, heavy enough to feel physical, he felt like he already knew the answer, and Alex didn't like it one bit. Magnus finally spoke again, his expression softening slightly, as if in reluctant admission. "First, I have to tell you," Magnus said, shaking his head with a breath that was half a laugh, half disbelief. "I don't know what you did, but you have managed to infuriate the Demon King, and have done so badly enough that he is throwing the script out entirely and now wishes just to make the world suffer." Magnus paused, studying Alex for a long moment before exhaling softly. "Maybe it's fear," he said at last. "You have proven to be a tougher variable than he accounted for." "First, you stopped the first demon invasion, then sided not only to save the Human Emperor but also destroyed their plans and uprooted his puppets, and after that," he gave a mirthless laugh, "You shattered his biggest play yet by halting the Demon invasion altogether." He looked away briefly, eyes narrowing as if tracing distant calculations. "He always intended to burn the realm eventually, but now, it seems he has decided to do it early." The words struck like a hammer, and for a fleeting moment, Alex felt as though a cold hand had clenched around his heart. "I can't divulge every detail I know," Magnus continued, watching Alex carefully, "But before you ruined the invasion of the Human Continent, things were proceeding differently." "Now... however, they have changed, and are progressing at a much faster pace." He drew in a slow breath, not from strain, but to weigh Alex's reaction. "The Ancient World is going to get heated," Magnus said quietly. "Very soon." "The Six Kings of Terbis Continent have united, and they have declared war on the Human Continent, seeking to annex the White Flames Empire, which, as you can imagine, is still reeling from its very recent losses." "The Empire's holding for now," he went on, "Thanks to the Domain powers lending their support, so far, it's been little more than skirmishes, but that will change soon." He didn't bother to explain why. The inevitability was clear in his tone. "Devourer Beasts have been unleashed on the Elven Continent," Magnus added, almost as an afterthought. "Merely an excuse, to keep the elves busy, to give them a reason not to intervene in what's coming." "Civil war is brewing in the Beast Warland, while the giants have sealed their borders, with there being no contact possible with them for nearly a month." His expression darkened. "A coincidence, I don't think so". "Soon, all seven continents will be bleeding. Each conflict is a distraction, a diversion to scatter focus. The orders come from the Demon King, but the hand pulling the strings belongs to the Eldravian Empire." He paused briefly, letting the weight of it settle before continuing. "Soon every one of the seven continents will suffer the same fate," Magnus said, voice low and steady. "These outbreaks are just distractions, meant to pull attention away from the true play." "The orders come from the Demon King, true, but it's the Eldravian Empire that is pulling the strings from the shadows." He let the name hang, a dangerous and deliberate choice. "And while the world is distracted, the Devourer Beasts, armies that lie dormant on each continent, will swell in number, and soon the Demons will also descend, and the realm will know a war in its truest sense." He fixed Alex with a hard look, leaned slightly forward, and spoke in a low, precise voice. "If you truly wish to delay or derail this plan, you will have to eliminate Empress Siles Eldravia." He let that hang in the air for a moment, then gave a dry, humorless smile. "Oh, and did I mention," he said softly, "That you have angered the Demon King so much, he is going out of his way to make the world suffer?" His following words felt like they were laced with venom. "And to make you suffer." Magnus straightened, composure returning as he warned with a stern look. "I can't confirm it personally, but a reliable source has told me that soon, bounties will be placed on every member of Shadow Oblivion in the real world." He turned to leave, then half-turned back, a ghost of a smile tugging at one corner of his mouth. "Take this seriously, and if you ever need help in the real world, you know where to find me." With that, he walked away, his footsteps swallowed by the distant hum of celebration. Alex had always known this day would come, but now that it was here, he felt the world begin to close in around him, compressing, collapsing, as the faces of everyone he knew flickered through his mind. Friends, allies, and the countless others who had placed their trust in his leadership. He understood the truth of it, that every individual in his organization had joined for their own reasons, chasing power, security, or the promise of opportunity. But None of them had signed up to die. And though he had secured their protection through Zero, and though every member was hidden well, it was not impossible to track them, especially when some of the most important organization members were awakened individuals. Then there was the war, the one he had foreseen, the one he had known would eventually reach them all. The Ancient World was on the brink, and the future he had long dreaded was no longer distant.