He remained in the sky for a while longer while the cold night wind swept past him from every direction.

His expression stayed grim and his brows remained drawn tightly together while his eyes shifted constantly. Anyone looking at him would have immediately realized that his mind was working through countless possibilities.

Perhaps what Veyrun detected was ultimately harmless. Perhaps it was merely a distant cosmic entity glancing toward this world out of curiosity before moving on.

But Erend found it increasingly difficult to believe in such coincidences. Not after everything they had experienced. The timing felt far too precise.

The Void Architect’s invasion had just failed. The strange signal Veyrun had been tracking suddenly vanished. Then almost immediately afterward, a cosmic-level entity directed its attention toward this world.

The more Erend considered those events together, the more convinced he became that they were connected somehow.

Whether he was right or wrong hardly mattered. What mattered was that they could not afford to ignore the possibility.

Without wasting another moment, Erend folded his wings and descended sharply toward the city below.

The air roared around him as he cut through the darkness like a crimson meteor. His body still had not fully recovered from everything he had done across the Five Kingdoms. Closing massive portals repeatedly while fighting countless creatures had pushed even him close to his limits.

Yet recovery would have to wait. If another threat truly was approaching, every second mattered.

While descending, he extended his mind and sent a telepathic message directly toward Eccar, Aesa, and Sylven simultaneously.

"Gather immediately. Something bad may be happening."

Across different parts of Leonora, all three Dragonborn immediately froze.

Eccar stopped helping soldiers clear away debris from one of the damaged districts. Aesa paused while assisting exhausted healers who had been working continuously since the battle ended. Sylven halted his efforts reinforcing defensive barriers around vulnerable sections of the capital.

The people near them noticed the sudden change in their expressions and looked at them with confusion. Yet none of the Dragonborn offered any detailed explanation.

They merely informed those nearby that they had urgent matters requiring their attention before launching themselves into the sky.

Several moments later, Erend landed atop a large building overlooking the recovering city.

The rooftop provided a clear view of the surrounding districts where reconstruction efforts continued despite the late hour. One after another, the other Dragonborn arrived.

Eccar landed first, followed by Aesa, while Sylven descended from another direction moments later. The moment they saw Erend’s expression, they knew whatever information he carried was not good.

"What did you find?" Eccar asked immediately.

Unlike most people, Eccar understood that Erend possessed access to information none of them could obtain. Because of that, he did not ask whether Erend had discovered something. He already assumed he had.

Erend crossed his arms and looked at the three of them. "My power detected something watching this world."

The statement immediately drew their full attention.

Sylven frowned deeply. "Something watching us? What exactly does that mean?"

Erend remained silent for a brief moment before answering. "There is an entity whose power appears comparable to the Void Architect."

The effect of those words was immediate. A cold sensation spread through the group. Even Eccar’s expression darkened noticeably. The possibility alone was enough to make all of them uneasy.

"But this isn’t confirmed," Erend continued. "We don’t know why it’s watching this world. It might not have anything to do with the Void Architect."

"That doesn’t matter," Aesa replied immediately. Her voice remained as cold as ever, yet there was a severity within it that none of them missed. "It is safer to assume the worst. We have been worried from the beginning that this invasion was only the first stage of something larger. If the Void Architect failed with his original attack, then perhaps this is simply the next move."

Nobody argued. Because the truth was that all of them had already reached the same conclusion.

Silence settled over the rooftop while the four Dragonborn exchanged glances. They did not need to say much. Each of them already understood what the others were thinking.

Finally, Sylven broke the silence. "We need to accelerate the rewriting process. Maybe we can help the Archmages somehow."

Eccar folded his arms while considering the situation. "The three major fragments can only be recovered once the five smaller fragments are unified, right? Are we absolutely certain those larger fragments are safe?"

The question immediately caught Erend’s attention.

For several moments he thought about it before saying, "We’ll divide responsibilities. I’ll inspect one of the major fragments personally. Eccar and Aesa can check the other two."

His gaze shifted toward Sylven. "You remain here. Leonora is still the most important location."

Sylven nodded without hesitation. "Understood."

Moments later, three portals appeared across the rooftop. The gateways illuminated the surrounding darkness with flickering red light.

Without wasting time, Erend, Eccar, and Aesa stepped through their assigned portals. The gateways closed behind them seconds later, leaving Sylven alone atop the building.

Almost immediately, Sylven spread his wings and launched himself back into the sky. He needed a higher vantage point. If danger appeared, he wanted to be able to see it as early as possible.

—

Meanwhile, Erend emerged inside a vast underground chamber hidden deep beneath the sea in the southern region. The crimson portal faded behind him as his eyes immediately moved toward the center of the room.

The fragment remained exactly where it had always been.

Unlike the smaller fragments, this one was enormous. It floated silently in the center of the chamber while massive enchanted chains anchored it in place. Ancient runes covered the surrounding walls and emitted a steady glow as protective Magic continuously flowed through them. Everything appeared perfectly normal.

Too normal.

A frown slowly formed on Erend’s face. While outside kingdoms struggled to recover from devastation and entire nations stood on the edge of another potential disaster, this fragment appeared completely unaffected by any of it. It floated there in absolute silence, showing no sign that anything unusual had happened.

The feeling unsettled him.

Slowly, Erend stepped forward until he stood directly before the massive fragment.

Then he extended his consciousness toward it once again. His mind crossed the familiar boundary and entered the strange mental landscape hidden within the Sky Anchor.

"Are you there?" Erend asked.

Silence answered him. No voice appeared. No response came.

But he could immediately sense the consciousness. It was still there.

The fragment’s awareness had not disappeared. It had not been damaged or destroyed. It simply refused to acknowledge him.

Erend’s expression slowly tightened. That did not happen before.

His previous encounter had resulted in some kind of response. This time, however, the consciousness remained stubbornly silent despite clearly being aware of his presence.

A growing sense of unease settled inside his chest.

"What is happening now?" he wondered. Genuine worry began creeping into his mind. Something was wrong. He could feel it.

—