Chapter 575: Chapter 575 - Taming the Fourth Year: Journey - 13

When they looked through the newly opened path in the separated cluster, they could see a line that extended to the horizon. It wasn’t just a temporal horde, it was a complete army of corrupt beasts.

"By all the dragons," murmured one of Selphira’s guards, his voice filled with horror.

The creatures were coming exactly from the direction of the Gold 3 ring, from the place where Sirius was supposed to find the solution to their problems.

Things had just become a lot more complicated.

♢♢♢♢

Ren looked at the letter in his hand once more, its surface crumpled from his unconscious grip. Whatever its contents were, whatever secrets it held about Luna’s pain and his father’s decisions, would have to wait. He crushed it in his fist with deliberate force, feeling the paper compress, before storing it in his pocket where it rested like a weight against his chest.

Survival had become the immediate priority.

"Sirius," Julius addressed the Starweaver leader while rapidly assessing their options, "we should return. We can organize a coordinated defense from the city and..."

"No." Sirius’s response was immediate and final, he had made peace with a difficult decision. His eyes had taken on the distant look of someone who had already committed to a path regardless of cost. "I’ve already left the seal’s range. I’m not going to turn back and let the sacrifice I made be in vain."

He turned toward Julius, and for a moment the shadow warrior’s mask slipped, revealing the desperation beneath.

"I’m going to go around the beast line and eliminate some from the flank. You return with the children."

Selphira’s guards exchanged meaningful glances, their years of service together allowing for wordless communication. The group leader addressed Julius with the crisp efficiency of someone accustomed to making life-and-death decisions under pressure.

"Sir, return with the downed. We’re going to stop the beasts’ advance. They seem to be heading directly toward the city."

Julius nodded, understanding the logic even as he felt the weight of abandoning his allies to be meat shields. He immediately summoned his Wolverine, the massive creature emerging with its jaws already open, prepared to serve as both transport and protection.

"Protect them inside you," he ordered, gesturing toward the unconscious bodies of Min, Taro, Liu, Zhao, Mako, and Shizu scattered across the battlefield like fallen leaves.

The Wolverine obeyed without hesitation, its massive jaws carefully engulfing each unconscious person. The process would have looked terrifying to outside observers, but Julius knew his beast would keep them safe in its dimensional storage.

Although keeping his mouth open to let air enter would limit the creature’s combat effectiveness, it was safer than any alternative available.

But when Julius turned to collect Ren, the boy still remained in guard position, his eyes fixed on the approaching horde with an intensity that spoke of recognition rather than simple fear.

"Ren," Julius kept his voice firm but fraternal, the tone he had perfected during years of dealing with stubborn nobles and difficult negotiations, "this isn’t the time for heroics. We need to reach the city before the beasts do."

"Maybe it’s my fault," Ren murmured, his voice loaded with guilt that Julius recognized as both familiar and dangerous. The self-recrimination was intense again, weighing down his shoulders like a burden he couldn’t set aside.

"Why do you say that?" Julius moved closer, genuinely surprised by the declaration.

Ren remained motionless for a moment, as if listening to something nobody else could perceive. His eyes took on a distant quality, focused on stimuli beyond normal human senses.

"I can feel the beasts a little. More precisely... I can hear them."

The confession sent ice through Julius’s veins. If Ren had some kind of connection to these creatures, it could explain many things about the current situation, and it could make him either their greatest asset or their most dangerous liability.

Julius frowned, processing the implications. A connection to the mutant horde could be evidence of being part of the corruption, as Sirius feared, or it could be different like the mutants that didn’t get crystalized and the key to understanding and stopping them.

"It doesn’t matter," Julius declared finally, making the decision with the firmness that had served him through decades of political crisis. "Whether or not you attracted them, we must return anyway. The city needs to be warned and defended."

"No," Ren turned toward Julius with an urgency he hadn’t shown before, his voice carrying a conviction that cut through even the common politeness to the royal. "If we go to the city, it would be worse. First I need to see if... if they’re really following me."

Julius considered the request during several crucial seconds. If Ren really had some kind of connection to these creatures, the information could be invaluable.

"Alright," he agreed reluctantly. "But we don’t separate, and if this doesn’t work, we return immediately."

He summoned his Qilin, the mythical being appearing in an explosion of golden light. The creature’s presence brought a sense of hope that felt almost foreign in the current crisis. The light his own shroom had transformed no longer affected Ren for now.

He lifted Ren onto the beast and they headed toward the mutant line, maintaining distance to the left. The plan was simple: observe, gather intelligence, and if they indeed changed the course and attacked... escape before the horde could reach them.

Ren watched the tip of the beast formation intently, waiting for some kind of reaction to his presence. His entire theory hinged on the idea that he was somehow connected to these creatures, that his actions or his nature had called them forth.

But he ended up being completely wrong.

The mutant line continued directly forward, ignoring him completely. They showed no recognition, no deviation from their path, no indication that his presence meant anything to them at all. They only reacted when Selphira’s guards interposed themselves in their way, attacking anyone who obstructed their route toward the city.

Whatever connection he thought he had to these creatures, it was either nonexistent or far more complex than he had imagined. The guilt that had been driving him, the sense of responsibility that made him want to face this threat alone, was based on a false assumption.

They weren’t following him. They were simply following their own inexorable purpose, and that purpose led directly toward the heart of human civilization.