(Meanwhile, Chaosbringer)
Ever since the enemy had first breached the Time Stilled World to deliver the tapes, Chaosbringer found his nights stripped of peace, as sleep no longer came easily to a man who no longer felt safe within his own dominion.
It was not his immediate safety within the Time Stilled World that troubled him, but rather the unsettling thought that the enemy might one day blockade its exit and trap them within their own sanctuary that did.
If the Righteous Faction had found a way in, it meant they could just as easily find a way to set up an ambush just outside the gate, however, to his surprise, they made no such moves.
’What’s their play here? Just why would they not set up an ambush outside the Time Stilled World?
Do they want to draw us out?
Do they want us to leave our safe haven inside?
But why?
Wouldn’t they be better off containing us inside?’
He wondered, as the questions gnawed at him with every passing night, festering like an open wound.
For the first time in his life, Chaosbringer found himself unable to grasp the enemy’s strategy.
The unknown man behind their movements, the true shot caller of the Righteous Faction, was unlike anyone he had ever faced before.
He was not logical, not predictable, not driven by the ordinary ambitions of conquest or pride. There was a madness to his method, a kind of cruelty that thrived on confusion and fear.
’He’s insane,’ Chaosbringer thought bitterly. ’Likely a monster wearing a scholar’s skin. He doesn’t want to win through power... he wants to win by breaking our will.’
The thought sent a chill crawling down his spine, and for a long while, he simply stood by the wooden table, his fingers tracing the edges of the map, his eyes fixed on the glowing outline of the wider universe.
’And now, the Lord wants to leave this place...’ he muttered under his breath, his jaw tightening.
To the Cult commoners, Leo’s decision to rescue Veyr would seem noble, courageous even, but to Chaosbringer, it was a catastrophic risk.
’Marching into the jaws of an enemy we don’t understand... that’s not courage, that’s suicide,’ he thought, his expression darkening. ’If they truly are waiting for us out there, if this entire quiet is part of their plan, then the Lord might not come back alive.’
He closed his eyes, exhaling deeply, the weight of helplessness pressing on his chest.
He could not stop Leo. He had no authority to challenge his command, nor would he ever betray his trust.
But that didn’t mean he had to sit still and wait for disaster.
’If I can’t stop him, then I’ll make sure he survives it,’ he decided, his eyes opening again with steely resolve.
’Even if it means going behind his back. Even if it means defying his direct orders. The army must be strengthened, the fleets must be prepared, and every contingency must be set in place before he departs.’
For Chaosbringer, loyalty was not about blind obedience. It was about ensuring that when the Lord walked into hell, he had a way back.
And if the Righteous Faction thought they could outsmart the Cult through fear and silence, then they had yet to see what desperation could make a man like Chaosbringer do.
"We will turn everything toward survival. From this hour on, we pivot to a war economy. Everything else can take a back seat."
He murmured, as he began to make a mental list of everything he needed to reroute at once.
’I need to start with allocating more funds to advanced research in warfare.
Perhaps commission new destroyer ships and speed up hull production.
I also need to increase investment in simulated war drills, realistic scenarios, and night exercises.
While also expanding the army, conscripting reserves, and turning volunteers into hardened units.
After that, I need to start stockpiling mana stones and securing communication lines.
Before finally shifting the entire economy towards a war footing, for everything else can take a back seat for now.
If the Lord walks into a trap, we will not be found wanting’
He counted, as each item became a stone added to a foundation he would build without asking permission.
’We will harden the fleet, we will harden the gates, and we will harden the men. If the enemy expects fear, we will give them preparedness. If they expect chaos, we will answer with order.’
He thought as he felt the taste of cold iron determination in his mouth.
Chaosbringer knew the line he would cross, the oath he would bend, but he also knew the cost of inaction. Quietly, he turned away from the table, already composing the first orders he would slip into the logistics channels, already imagining the looks on supply officers’ faces when shipments were rerouted from creating new construction zones to creating weapons.
But the countdown to war began now.
—------------
Although none could rival Chaosbringer in foresight or strategic obsession, the same uneasy premonition rippled through the hearts of the Cult’s other Monarchs as well.
Across the many training fields scattered throughout the Time Stilled World, Su Pei, Dupravel, and the remaining Cult Commanders each felt it.... the silent pull of approaching war.
They did not know the exact hour or place, but the fact that they would gear up for a confrontation after the Righteous Faction’s last stunt felt undeniable.
And hence, even without direct orders, the Monarchs began their own preparations.
Su Pei drilled his army with renewed ferocity, forging discipline into instinct, as he created a corps of men who were experts in defensive formations and holding the line unlike any other.
Dupravel turned on the heat, and converted his unit into the modern version of the Black Serpents Guild, with many ferocious assassins with unconventional killing methods within his mix.
They were an army of rogues, but on any battlefield, their impact could not be denied.
For though time within the Stilled World flowed slowly, they all knew that outside, the sands of fate were already shifting.
That the war that awaited them was inevitable, and that its arrival was no longer a matter of if, but rather only when.