Paul Lockerman was grateful for having the gods backing.

He was currently thinking of how much easier the task would be compared to the previous one where he had just gone in blind.

The goal of the challenge was to find the only place with light, where Shadows did not dwell and to address the source of darkness.

It was so easy.

It had been frightening to everyone to see the world fall into chaos and the eclipse devour the sun.

Yet amidst the encroaching darkness, Paul was the only one whose resolve was unbroken.

He was the Pariah after all.

He was their Messiah bound to free them from the impending doom.

It would have been a hassle to figure out how to stop the wraiths and go about the week’s task.

The Shadow demons abhorrence for light had been a game changer early on.

They only had to create a more permanent light source which would last longer than the temporary ones they had set up.

Thanks to his revelation, he realized that they had to create such a haven by themselves.

The rest of the gifted were quickly on board with what he proposed.

Artificial light and heat sources to make it into their haven.

The loss of the Gifteds was a huge blow to the Alliance as it brought up a disturbing fact about the ones that were left.

They were too weak.

His team leaders aside, the new subordinates were mostly Gifteds who couldn’t really fight.

The capable ones were the ones who had been killed off already by Jeremy.

They had lost a few fighters to the relentless onslaught of the first set of the Shadow Demons too.

The survivors, though less suited for combat, clung to their purpose with a tenacity born of desperation and hope.

He had given instructions to those with Mage skills to keep their light shining while they built up a more permanent light base.

The location was paramount to the success of the operation.

Paul led the weary group to an abandoned factory on the outskirts of a nearby desolate city.

He had already selected the place earlier on as it was a viable location.

The crumbling walls and rusting machinery there seemed an unlikely sanctuary but Paul’s keen eyes saw the potential hidden within the derelict structure.

He knew that, with little effort and ingenuity, they could transform the place into a haven of light and warmth.

"Here," Paul announced, his voice steady and commanding. "This will be our sanctuary. With our combined effort, we’ll make this a place where the darkness can’t reach us and finish the task."

He knew that the bulk of the work would be on him solely but he just said it to make them feel included.

As always, they swallowed it all down while admiring him.

After the speech, he quickly gave the team leaders instructions on how to go about the task.

No questions were asked as they set up base with some equipments they had brought along.

As night fell, the group got ready to work.

Despite his new status as leader of the Alliance, he hadn’t lost his zeal for Forging.

He just had fewer opportunities recently to use his skills as they were a whole team of engineers ready to do the hard labour.

He was just the architect of whatever they wanted to construct and played a consultancy role whenever they had a problem.

They were all of the opinion that hard labour was beneath their leader.

At the moment, he waved aside the complaints of the engineers and told them to stand back.

He wanted to do the whole thing by himself as he knew that anyone else would be slower then him.

Besides he had missed the thrill of the job.

He got down and rigged the factory’s dormant generators, coaxing them back to life with sparks of electricity that danced from his fingertips.

Lights flickered on, casting away the shadows that had claimed the interior. The hum of machinery returned, a defiant pulse against the stillness of the apocalypse.

Behind him, there were reports that the defence had been breached and some Shadow demons had slipped in.

Paul armed his subordinates with makeshift weapons—tools and devices that emitted powerful radiation of light.

He himself wielded a high-intensity floodlight, its beam a searing lance against the creeping darkness.

The last thing he needed were distractions from the underlings of the Apocalypse.

"Hold the line firmly!" he commanded, his voice ringing with authority and unyielding resolve. "We will not let the demons take this base from us!"

With that being said, he got back to work and told the team leaders to be in charge of the rest of the teams.

After an hour, the factory stood transformed—a bastion of light and warmth amidst the apocalyptic eclipse.

Even though he was weary, he felt a surge of triumph.

He looked upon his work with pride, his heart swelling with the knowledge that he had defeated the Hoarder in this round.

"We’ve done it," he said quietly, his voice carrying the weight of their collective victory. "We’ve created our sanctuary."

There was applause from the leaders as they took in the sight of what their Leader had created in a short time.

He took the compliments with grace and then turned back to complete the job.

Right as he was about to light the finishing touches, he heard fresh commotion from the leaders behind him. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

"Pariah," Nye called out weakly.

He frowned at the disturbance and turned to see what the issue was.

They were all looking up to the sky and he followed their line of sight.

A bright white light pierced the sky from a far direction amidst the darkness.

"Eh? Impossible," He said sinking to his knees in disbelief.

The implications of the light was disturbing.

It meant that someone had beaten him and his team to it.

There was only one logical conclusion.

He had failed the round, and Jeremy has won.