The mental block extended to other people.

That was the confirmation Winston had been looking for and dreading.

The word "primordial" or the context it was used in was inaccessible to them and their minds had simply skipped over it the moment he said it, the same way the end of the Blood Emperor’s sentence had skipped over his own comprehension during the fight.

Whatever mechanism was responsible for this, it operated consistently and without the holder’s awareness.

Winston filed it away without sharing the conclusion out loud. Zelda and Freya didn’t need to know their minds had just demonstrated the block in real time.

That was information he’d carry alone for now.

❖❖❖❖

Outside the gate, the scene that greeted the survivors as they stepped through was not what anyone stationed at the perimeter had prepared themselves to see.

People kept coming through.

One after another, students and agents filed out of the golden gate in a steady stream that didn’t match any reasonable survival projection for what had been a false gate two tiers above classification.

Nobody had said it out loud, but the unofficial expectation among the Association personnel and class holders stationed outside had been single digits.

Maybe a handful of agents if things had gone exceptionally well on the inside.

"Shouldn’t most of them be dead?" one of the Association agents said, loud enough to be heard and yet nobody disagreed with him.

A head count was conducted quickly. The numbers came back close to the full intake — only roughly five percent of the candidates and agents hadn’t returned.

Five percent in a false gate that should have been unsurvivable for initiates and yet the atmosphere stayed cold anyway. Five percent still meant real people who hadn’t come home.

Mark stood in front of the three demigods and tried to maintain his composure.

The pressure coming from their combined presence was significant on its own.

But the pressure coming specifically from the man in the center — Richard Valeria — was operating on a different frequency entirely.

"So." Richard’s voice was level and unhurried. "You’re telling me my daughter chose to stay behind. Because of a boy."

Mark swallowed. He felt the sound of it in his own throat.

’I’m so sorry, boss.’

Mark stood his ground and kept his expression as neutral as he could manage.

He had been the one pushed forward by the agents to deliver the report, despite being a freshly awakened Epic class holder who had been inside that gate for three days.

The fact that the agents had chosen him over themselves said something, though Mark wasn’t entirely sure what.

Standing in front of three demigods while still technically in his first week as a class holder wasn’t an experience he had prepared for.

He had told them everything. Winston, Zelda, Freya, the secret realm, the energy stone runs, the survival operation Zelda had organized, and finally Winston walking into the beacon alone and coming out the other side as the gate turned gold.

Every detail, relayed as accurately as he could manage.

Each demigod had locked onto a different piece of it.

Richard hadn’t moved since Mark mentioned Freya staying behind. Whatever he was processing, he was doing it without any expression that made it readable.

Markus had gone quiet at a different point entirely, the moment Mark had confirmed the class grades.

Three Sacred class awakenings in a single First Entry. That number had visibly landed on him in a way that hadn’t finished settling.

Celeste was focused on something else completely.

"Taking down a Tier Three beacon alone," she said, almost to herself.

"What class would an initiate need to awaken to accomplish something like that?"

The other two demigods turned toward her.

"There has to be something else at play," Markus said. His tone made it clear he wasn’t fully believing the report.

"You can’t genuinely believe one person cleared a Tier Three beacon solo as a fresh initiate."

Celeste gave him a look that said she could believe it and did.

Richard said nothing, but his eyes had sharpened.

Even he, despite being focused on Freya, carried the expression of someone who hadn’t fully accepted the straightforward version of events.

Mark caught the doubt spreading between them and felt his own certainty waver slightly.

He had seen Winston’s strength firsthand. He had no reason to question it. But standing here, watching three demigods resist the conclusion, a small thought crept in uninvited.

’Is there more to this than what I actually saw?’

He pushed it aside quickly. It wasn’t his place to speculate in front of people like this.

He looked back up at the three demigods and met Richard Valeria’s gaze directly.

The sternness there was complete and unambiguous.

Mark swallowed. He really hoped he hadn’t accidentally made things difficult for Winston.

❖❖❖❖

The hour hadn’t elapsed yet so Winston still had time.

He looked at Zelda and Freya and ran through the situation quietly.

His own mental block had at least given him a tell that the Blood Emperor’s sentence had simply cut off mid-word, a gap obvious enough that he had noticed something was wrong in the moment.

Zelda and Freya hadn’t even gotten that much. Their minds had skipped entirely without producing any sensation of absence.

They didn’t know anything had been removed. That was a significantly worse version of the same problem.

He needed to test something before they left. And he needed to be stationary to do it.

"Would you two mind looking after me for a bit?"

Zelda’s brow came together.

"Looking after you for what?"

"Is there something here that needs stopping?" Freya added, already scanning the throne room with a practical eye. "Because I’m not sure the two of us would be sufficient if you can’t handle it...."

"After all," Zelda cut in, "you made it pretty clear we’re not in your league."

"...."

Winston looked between them. He genuinely couldn’t tell if they were complimenting him or making fun of him. He decided not to find out.

"Nothing like that. I just need to meditate. I need someone to watch over me while I do."

Zelda opened her mouth, the question forming visibly on her face, something about why he needed to meditate here specifically rather than outside the gate where it was considerably safer.

Freya sat down on the floor before Zelda finished the thought.

"No issue." She settled her hands on her knees. "We’ll watch over you."

Zelda looked at Freya. Then at the floor. Then at Winston.

She sighed and sat down beside her.

Winston smiled.

"Thank you."

He crossed his legs, closed his eyes, and let his awareness turn inward. The throne room, the two girls, the weight of the Yari at his side, all of it faded as he pulled his focus deeper, past the surface of his own consciousness, following the pull of something he had visited before but never examined this carefully.

When he opened his eyes again, he was standing in the Soul Garden.