William remained standing in the middle of the valley.
The sensation had disappeared almost as quickly as it had arrived.
But he knew what he had felt.
Someone had touched the network.
And for a brief moment, the connection between them had gone both ways.
He had sensed them.
They had sensed him.
Mira watched his face.
"Was it the same presence?"
William shook his head.
"No."
Adrian frowned.
"Different from what you felt beyond the boundary?"
"Yes."
"Then who was it?"
"I don't know."
William looked toward the mountains.
"But this one was inside the world."
That answer changed the atmosphere immediately.
Leon stepped closer.
"Inside?"
William nodded.
"Whatever is beyond the boundary isn't the only thing we need to worry about."
They returned to the hall.
The old man was already waiting.
William explained what had happened.
When he finished, the old man remained silent.
The old woman crossed her arms.
"So someone is using the network."
"That's what I believe."
"And you felt them?"
"Yes."
"Could you identify their location?"
"No."
The old woman frowned.
"Then how do you know they were inside the world?"
"Because the connection felt different."
She looked at the old man.
"Can you explain that?"
The old man shook his head.
"No."
William interrupted.
"But I can."
Everyone looked at him.
William approached the map.
"When I connected to the boundary, the sensation was distant."
He pointed toward the outer regions.
"It felt like something was separated from us by an enormous distance."
Then he pointed toward the network.
"But this was different."
He placed his finger on one of the observation points.
"The connection was much closer."
Adrian asked:
"How much closer?"
William thought.
"Like someone standing on the other side of a wall."
Silence.
Mira understood immediately.
"So whoever it was..."
"Was using the network from inside our world."
The old man stared at the map.
"Then we have a new problem."
William looked at him.
"What?"
"The people who have been taking the observation points may not be trying to open the boundary."
"Then what are they trying to do?"
"We don't know."
William smiled faintly.
"That answer again."
The old man laughed quietly.
"Unfortunately."
William looked at the map.
"Then we find out."
They began investigating the missing observation point.
The ancient powers sent people toward the western boundary.
William went with them.
He didn't trust the situation enough to remain behind.
The journey took several days.
During that time, the group encountered no enemies.
No attacks.
No strange creatures.
Nothing.
Yet William remained alert.
The silence itself bothered him.
Whoever had taken the observation point had done so without leaving obvious traces.
That required either enormous strength...
Or exceptional preparation.
When they finally reached the location, William understood why.
There was no destruction.
No crater.
No broken formation.
The ground was perfectly intact.
Only the structure was missing.
Mira looked around.
"How can someone take something this large without damaging anything?"
William crouched.
He placed his hand on the ground.
His perception spread.
He felt the remaining connections.
Then his eyes narrowed.
"It wasn't taken."
Adrian looked at him.
"What?"
"It moved."
Mira frowned.
"That's not the same thing?"
"It is."
William stood.
"The formation wasn't destroyed or dismantled."
He looked toward the empty space.
"It was disconnected."
The old man approached.
"Disconnected from the network?"
"Yes."
"And then?"
William closed his eyes.
"Then it was connected somewhere else."
Everyone became silent.
The old woman asked:
"Can you follow it?"
William concentrated.
The connection was faint.
Very faint.
But it was there.
"Yes."
William began walking.
The others followed.
The connection led away from the original location.
It passed through several mountains.
Then through a deserted region.
Then deeper into an area that had not been inhabited for thousands of years.
After several hours, William stopped.
"There."
Nothing appeared before them.
Only an empty plain.
Adrian looked around.
"Where?"
William pointed toward the ground.
"Below."
Mira immediately understood.
"A hidden structure."
William nodded.
They searched the area.
Eventually, they found an entrance beneath a layer of stone.
The structure had been buried intentionally.
When they entered, they found the missing observation point.
It was intact.
Its symbols were glowing.
Someone had moved it here.
Not destroyed it.
Not hidden it randomly.
Relocated it.
William examined the formation.
"Why would they do this?"
The old man looked around.
"To change the network."
William nodded.
"Exactly."
The old woman frowned.
"Can they control where the connections go?"
William examined the formation.
"Not completely."
"But enough."
He looked at the symbols.
"They're redirecting the network."
Suddenly, a voice came from the darkness.
"You understood that quickly."
Everyone turned.
A man stepped out from behind one of the pillars.
He looked young.
Perhaps only a few decades old.
His clothing was simple.
He carried no weapon.
But William immediately sensed his strength.
It was high.
Very high.
The man looked directly at William.
"So you're the one."
William didn't move.
"The one who touched the network."
The man smiled.
"Yes."
Mira stepped forward.
"Who are you?"
The man ignored her.
His eyes remained on William.
"You shouldn't have been able to see us."
William replied:
"And you shouldn't have been able to move the observation point."
The man smiled.
"Fair."
The old woman raised her hand.
"Why are you doing this?"
The man looked at her.
"Because someone has to."
"To accomplish what?"
"To prepare."
"For the outsiders?"
He paused.
"Partly."
William narrowed his eyes.
"Partly?"
The man looked at him.
"You already know that they're coming."
William didn't answer.
The man continued.
"Most people think the problem is what lies beyond the boundary."
He shook his head.
"The problem is what happens inside our world when people realize that the boundary is weakening."
The old man frowned.
"What are you talking about?"
The man smiled.
"Fear."
He walked toward the center of the formation.
"Imagine every major power learning that something beyond the world may enter."
He looked around.
"What do you think they'll do?"
Nobody answered.
"They'll gather armies."
"They'll take resources."
"They'll attack weaker territories."
"They'll seal borders."
"They'll accuse each other."
His eyes became colder.
"And eventually, they'll start fighting among themselves."
William listened carefully.
The man's reasoning made sense.
But that didn't make him trustworthy.
"So you're trying to control the network to prevent that."
The man nodded.
"Yes."
"By secretly manipulating it."
"Yes."
"By taking ancient structures."
"Yes."
"By hiding information."
"Yes."
William stared at him.
"Then you're doing exactly what you're accusing everyone else of doing."
The man's expression changed.
Only slightly.
But William noticed.
"You manipulate people because you believe you know what's best."
The man remained silent.
William continued.
"That's dangerous."
The man looked at him for several seconds.
"Perhaps."
"Then stop."
"I can't."
"Why?"
"Because I've seen what happens when people are given information they aren't ready for."
William frowned.
"You've seen it?"
The man nodded.
"Yes."
"When?"
"A long time ago."
"What happened?"
The man's expression became distant.
"People destroyed each other."
He looked toward the formation.
"Not because they were evil."
"Because they were afraid."
William understood.
This wasn't someone who wanted power for its own sake.
At least not obviously.
He believed he was protecting people.
That made him more dangerous.
Mira spoke.
"Then why not tell everyone the truth?"
The man laughed.
"Because truth doesn't always produce wisdom."
"That's an excuse."
"Perhaps."
Mira stepped forward.
"But you're still deciding for everyone."
The man looked at her.
"Someone has to."
William interrupted.
"No."
The man turned toward him.
"That's where you're wrong."
William's voice remained calm.
"Nobody has to decide for everyone."
"Then what happens when they make the wrong choice?"
"They learn."
"And if their mistake kills millions?"
William remained silent for a moment.
Then answered:
"Then we build a world where fewer people can make that mistake."
The man stared at him.
William continued.
"Not by hiding everything."
"But by giving people the ability to understand."
The man smiled.
"You're idealistic."
"Maybe."
"And naïve."
"Possibly."
William's eyes hardened.
"But I'm not going to become someone who controls everyone simply because I'm afraid of what they might do."
The man's expression became serious.
"Then you're going to have a difficult future."
William smiled faintly.
"I already knew that."
The man turned toward the formation.
"Then perhaps you should see something."
He activated it.
The entire chamber began shaking.
Lines of light spread across the walls.
The observation point connected to something.
William felt it immediately.
The network expanded.
One point.
Then another.
Then another.
Dozens.
Hundreds.
The connections stretched across the world.
And beyond them...
Seven enormous connections.
William's eyes widened.
The same seven structures from his earlier vision.
The man looked at him.
"You've seen them before."
William didn't answer.
He didn't need to.
The man knew.
"Then you understand."
William stared at the network.
"What are the seven?"
The man shook his head.
"I don't know."
"Then why connect them?"
"Because the people who built them did."
"Why?"
"That's what I'm trying to discover."
A sudden tremor passed through the network.
The man immediately stopped.
William felt it.
Something had changed.
One of the seven connections had weakened.
Then another.
The man looked worried.
"What happened?"
"I don't know."
William focused.
He could feel something moving through the network.
Not from the outside.
From within.
Someone else had entered.
The man looked at William.
"Can you find it?"
William closed his eyes.
"Yes."
The connection moved.
Fast.
Very fast.
It passed through the network like something searching for a path.
William followed it.
Then stopped.
His eyes opened.
"It's heading toward the central region."
The man's expression changed.
"Why?"
William looked at him.
"I don't know."
The network suddenly went silent.
Every connection disappeared.
The chamber became dark.
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Then a faint sound came from the formation.
A single pulse.
The man whispered:
"Someone else is using it."
William nodded.
"Yes."
"Who?"
William stared at the darkness.
"I don't know."
They left the chamber soon afterward.
The man didn't attack them.
William didn't attack him.
Neither trusted the other.
But both understood that they had a larger problem.
Before they separated, the man stopped William.
"You should know something."
William turned.
"What?"
"The people who have been targeting you..."
William's expression hardened.
"Yes?"
"They aren't all acting independently."
"Who controls them?"
The man shook his head.
"No one."
William frowned.
"Then what connects them?"
The man looked at him.
"Information."
William's eyes narrowed.
"Someone has been deliberately distributing information about you."
"Who?"
"I don't know."
"Then what do you know?"
The man's expression became serious.
"They aren't simply telling people about your strength."
William waited.
"They're telling them how you're building your power."
Silence.
William's expression changed.
"How?"
The man looked directly at him.
"Someone knows about your plan."
William's eyes became cold.
"How?"
"I don't know."
"But whoever it is..."
He paused.
"...has been watching you for a long time."
William returned to the valley with the others.
He didn't speak much during the journey.
The discovery had changed the situation.
Until now, he had assumed that his enemies were reacting to what he was doing.
Now he knew something else.
Someone had understood his plan.
Not just his abilities.
Not just his movements.
His method.
The way he intended to build his own power.
That meant someone had been watching closely.
Very closely.
And perhaps the most disturbing part was that William still had no idea who.
When he finally returned, he stood alone beneath the night sky.
Mira approached.
"You've been thinking about what he said."
"Yes."
"Do you believe him?"
William looked at the stars.
"About the outsiders?"
"Yes."
"Probably."
"And about the person watching you?"
William remained silent.
Then:
"Yes."
Mira frowned.
"You're sure?"
William nodded.
"Someone has known too much for too long."
She looked at him.
"Do you have any idea who?"
"No."
"Then what will you do?"
William looked toward the distant darkness.
"Change the plan."
Mira stared at him.
"You're abandoning it?"
"No."
William's eyes hardened.
"I'm going to make sure that whoever is watching me doesn't understand the next step."
Far beyond the valley, one of the ancient observation points activated.
A faint connection appeared.
Then disappeared.
And somewhere in the darkness, an unknown figure looked at the network.
For the first time, that person spoke.
"He knows."
A second figure asked:
"Should we stop him?"
The answer came after a long silence.
"No."
"Why?"
The first figure smiled.
"Because now he'll make a mistake."
And the game continued.