Denisia did not rush into speaking the moment the attention shifted to her and Natalis. She leaned slightly forward, resting her elbows on the table with her fingers interlocked beneath her chin.
"We're in the Central Station. And before anyone simplifies that into just a transit hub, it isn't. It behaves more like a living system than a location. Routes change, spatial pathways fold into themselves, and if you don't anchor your position properly, you can lose your sense of direction entirely or end up somewhere you were not intending to go."
Natalis gave a small nod beside her, sitting with one leg crossed over the other. She took over the details.
"We established a zone early. We're not wandering aimlessly through it. We secured a section and are operating from there as a base. That decision alone is why we are not already in trouble."
Denisia continued without breaking the flow,
"EPOCH was… merciful, for lack of a better word. She allowed us to retain a portion of our angelic forces. Approximately five hundred angels were sent with us. In Spheraphase, Angels serve as guides for souls, arbiters of judgment, and guardians. We managed to send them back though. The reason we're able to maintain that state is because Shimmer and Runner are with us."
"They are," Natalis joined in, "far stronger than expected, even by Divine standards. Oh, and we encountered Dafes too. For anyone who does not fully grasp the implication, Dafes are God Ranked Creatures. Shimmer and Runner treat them as obstacles. They've also been instrumental in escape scenarios. When we are pressured or cornered, they create openings. Without them, we would still be holding our position, but it would be significantly more difficult. The issue is the giant in the clouds."
This time, no one reacted casually. Natalis did not smile and Denisia did not pause for effect.
"We initially assumed it was environmental, something to avoid rather than engage. That assumption was incorrect. It's targeting us. Its primary method of attack is through beams. We've avoided them so far. If we react after the attack begins, we are already dead. Its comparable to a Primordial Deity in terms of raw output."
There was no exaggeration in her voice. The room stayed silent for a moment before Veneri finally spoke.
"Don't get hit by those beams. We encountered something similar before and we nearly died from a single strike."
Denisia nodded without hesitation.
"Understood."
That closed their report. Xander leaned back in his seat, rolling his shoulders slightly before speaking in his grounded, straightforward tone.
"Compared to that, our situation is simpler."
Farrynelle scoffed lightly beside him, leaning forward with her chin resting on her palm.
"Simpler doesn't mean easy, but yeah, we're not dealing with a sky giant trying to vaporize us. We've been encountering Krepsunas consistently and not in small numbers either. They're spreading and they're aggressive. But, we've been killing them just as consistently."
Xander nodded in agreement. "That's thanks to your Water Pentarch."
He glanced at Veneri as he said it.
"He's been controlling the battlefield, managing terrain or stabilizing situations when they escalate. Because of that, we've been able to take control of the Therianthropes in the area."
Farrynelle continued, "The ones that were affected have been relocated to a temporary base. Fedres and Skyrover forces are guarding them. We're not losing ground and we're not losing people. So yeah, no major complaints."
Adelasta spoke next.
"For us, the entire floating island of Richinaria was teleported. We are currently conducting an expedition and Protection Veneri is leading it."
Protection Veneri raised his hand slightly, completely unfazed.
"It's going well."
Adelasta added, "We're approaching some sort of destination but he refuses to tell us what it is."
Protection Veneri replied immediately, "Because I'm not going to."
Love Veneri, still seated, smiled faintly. "It's a secret."
Adelasta narrowed her eyes slightly but said nothing further. Asenane spoke next.
"In Cassandra, everything is stable."
She didn't elaborate. Then she looked at Veneri and smiled.
"She misses you, you know?"
"I'll send the Time Pentarch in a few days."
Asenane nodded. They wanted to know who that 'she' was but they knew they wouldn't speak about it.
Eldrigan frowned slightly when he realized something.
"We haven't seen any Pentarch on our side."
Time Veneri finally spoke, relaxed as ever. "I was stationed there initially."
He paused.
"Now I have another task."
Xander didn't like the answer, but let it go.
Love Veneri leaned forward slightly, drawing the conversation together.
"I'm in Ledatic Siliportem," he said. "With Ely and the original Phaenora."
He continued, "We met the Reniatsus of this realm. We spoke with them."
Now everyone was focused again.
"And after that discussion, I've reached a conclusion."
He rested his elbows on the table.
"I have a solution but it requires all of you. If we execute this properly, we stabilize every front, prepare for the Second Krepsuna War and increase our chances of survival significantly so listen carefully. Virathus is not stupid and more importantly, he's not arrogant."
He took a deep breath before he continued speaking.
"So I sent my Time Pentarch to the Gardens of Asphodelia to investigate. Based on what he found, we're not dealing with a slow buildup like the First Epoch Cycle. We're already late to the opening move."
Veneri leaned forward slightly now, resting his elbows on the table.
"Let's compare this properly so you all understand the difference. The Frozen God from the First Epoch Cycle was powerful but he had a critical flaw. He was overconfident. He thought he had time and that we were beneath him. That mistake is the only reason we're sitting here right now."
He raised a finger slightly as he began to break it down.
"First, in the Fallen Bridge, he managed to control every Sentient Krepsuna inside it. He turned them into his personal army. If that force had been deployed properly, the islands would have been wiped out before we even had a chance to react."
Farrynelle clicked her tongue softly.
"But he didn't deploy them because instead, I spent years preparing a contingency. Drawing Destruction Runes and setting up Mystic Circles in case things went wrong. When the worst came to pass, I detonated everything. If I hadn't done that, those Krepsunas would have poured out and overwhelmed us. We would have died. Simple as that."
The room went quiet for a second.
"Second," Veneri continued, raising another finger, "the Submerged Islands."
He glanced at Narisva briefly.
"We didn't wait for him to come to us. We went to him first. We forced the confrontation before he was fully prepared to act. If we had waited for him to move, we would have lost. He would have wiped us out."
He leaned back slightly again, letting that sink in before continuing.
"So those two factors—his overconfidence and our proactive interference—are the reason we won. Virathus doesn't have those weaknesses. He's a Krepsuna. Their entire existence revolves around war, adaptation, and survival. They've been fighting for millennia with us. You really think he's going to underestimate a group of Dynasties that have been killing his kind consistently?"
No one answered because the answer was obvious.
"He already knows we exist and unlike the Frozen God, he's not waiting."
He tapped the table lightly.
"Now, back to what my Time Pentarch found."
Time Veneri stepped forward slightly, but Love Veneri continued speaking.
"He functions similarly to Narisva in terms of sensory perception. Because of his Primordial Divinity, he can feel disturbances in time and space. Not see them directly, but sense them."
Narisva agreed, "Yeah. It's like a pressure. You don't see it but you know something's wrong."
"Exactly. And what he sensed in the Gardens of Asphodelia wasn't minor. Hidden Passageways are opening up approximately forty per minute. Each one of them is releasing thousands of Krepsunas."
The room went silent.
"The Gardens of Asphodelia is massive spring and perfect for concealment. Most of those Passageways are underground."
Eldrigan frowned. "So they're already infiltrating the realm."
"Virathus isn't waiting for the seals to break. He's preparing before that happens. He's setting up an ambush on every realm of the Hidden Citadel at once. So, our response is simple."
That word—simple—felt almost sarcastic given everything he had just said.
"We eliminate the problem before it escalates. All of you are in different realms. That's our biggest advantage right now."
Xander's eyes narrowed slightly.
"You're saying we split the workload."
"Exactly. Each of you handles the realm you're in. Hunt down the Krepsunas, destroy the Passageways and most importantly, eliminate the Forgotten Rank generals leading them. Remove them, and the entire structure collapses into chaos. And if any of you run into something you can't handle alone, you notify me through the helmet."
Phaenora summoned a hologram of the helmet that slowly rotated around the table.
"That's why we made this. Reinforcements can be deployed immediately."
Denisia nodded slightly,."So we act independently, but remain connected."
"Yes. And while we're doing this, we build trust with the Reniatsus. HIf we're actively eliminating Krepsunas in their realms, protecting their people and stabilizing their territories, they won't see us as invaders. When the Second Krepsuna War fully begins, we won't be fighting alone. We'll have their support."
That was the long game. Peroncerea leaned back slightly, crossing her legs as she tilted her head, clearly unconvinced.
"Or we could just kill the Reniatsus first."
That immediately got them to look at her but she continued without hesitation,
"We can take their realms, establish control and deal with the Krepsunas afterward. The Hidden Citadel becomes ours."
Strategically, it wasn't stupid. It was ruthless. However...
"That would be a mistake."
"Why?"
"Because it creates more problems than it solves. The Reniatsus are not weak. Every single one of them is powerful. Their civilizations are established. Their systems are functioning. Their people trust them. For instance, Ledatic Siliportem alone has technology comparable to Rise Borough. That's not something you casually overthrow without consequences. If we attack them, they won't just roll over. They'll resist and even if we win, we'll be dealing with internal instability while Virathus is launching an external assault."
Peroncerea clicked her tongue softly.
"So we'd be fighting two wars at once."
"Yes, and that's how we lose. If they cooperate, we work with them. If they hesitate, we negotiate. If they resist aggressively and become a liability, we eliminate them because at that point, they're obstacles."
No one argued with that because it was logical.
"So the plan is clear," Veneri said finally, looking around the table. "Suppress the Krepsunas, eliminate their leadership, stabilize the realms and gain the Reniatsus' trust. Then we prepare for Virathus."