The South Sea was as smooth as glass. Here, near the continent’s coast, the water seemed bound by magic. The usual crashing waves and treacherous undertows had been completely neutralized.

At the center of this unnatural calm stood Leonidas’s Palace.

"Didn’t expect you to drag this thing all the way out here," Orion said. He stood on the palace’s highest balcony, staring out over the water. The sea mirrored the night sky, a surreal, shimmering expanse of starlight.

"A gift from the boss," Kraken replied. "Having a mobile stronghold makes running things a hell of a lot easier. I can drift wherever I want and stay off the radar."

The massive octopus, Kraken, slowly breached the surface outside the palace. His titanic, nightmarish bulk radiated an oppressive aura. Orion knew immediately this was Kraken’s true form.

"You actually came." Orion didn’t try to talk him out of it; he respected his friend’s choice.

"It’s fine. If I die in battle, that’s just how the dice roll," Kraken said. "Besides, I’ve left plenty of avatar seeds behind. For Survivors like us, dying permanently is actually pretty tough."

Kraken stared at Orion. He could sense the sheer power radiating from the Death-Soul Fiend avatar—it was sitting squarely at the demigod tier.

"You’re insane, you know that? Pulling off a massive operation like this without letting your main body or your avatars fall behind." Kraken didn’t hide his envy.

But beneath that envy was an understanding of the lethal risks Orion took to gain that power. Kraken was currently taking those same desperate gambles just to reach the demigod tier himself.

"The Titanion Realm is an Ascendant Plane now," Orion said. "The oceans here are unimaginably vast, and they’re only going to keep expanding. This entire sea is just a drop in the bucket. Before the allied aquatic forces arrive, any territory you claim is yours to keep."

It was the best way Orion could back his friend. Seeing Kraken’s true form confirmed it: the octopus was making a push for the demigod tier and desperately needed territory and population resources. Bringing him here early gave him a head start on conquering the oceans.

"If you run into any blind sea monster swarms within the continent’s designated waters, my Abyssal Dreadfin avatar will sense them and back you up." Orion pointed toward the distant Abyssal Dreadfin statue looming over the sea. Bathed in World Essence, it was currently gathering more divine power.

"Once I hit demigod, I’ll carve out a massive stretch of the ocean for you," Kraken promised. Expanding the Stoneheart Horde’s naval territory directly bolstered Orion’s Authority over the world.

Orion just smiled. They were too close to need formalities.

"By the way, across this sea lies The Primordial Continent of the Titanion Realm. While you’re exploring and claiming territory, map the waters," Orion advised. "Our expeditionary forces will need those charts soon. We need to hit The Primordial Continent fast, grab as much land as possible, and strip-mine the top-tier Primordial Ores."

Orion was giving him the inside track. The Primordial Continent was rich in resources and even spawned unique new races—prizes the four major factions would inevitably wage war over.

"Can’t we just set up teleportation arrays on The Primordial Continent? That’d be way easier," Kraken asked. Not yet a demigod, the higher-level restrictions of the world’s rules eluded him.

"The space-time around The Primordial Continent is too stable, heavily locked down by countless laws. You can’t tear rifts across long distances. Teleportation arrays are basically useless there," Orion explained. "Even on the continent itself, spatial skills like Blink are heavily nerfed. Demigods get suppressed there, too."

Orion didn’t know the exact extent of the suppression yet; they needed to send a demigod to scout it out first. The four factions were merely four branches of the World Tree, and no one knew how the main trunk would evolve in the future.

"Got it," Kraken said. "Give me three months. I’ll get you a rough map of a wide enough radius."

That was why they worked so well together. Kraken didn’t need things spelled out twice to grasp the tactical priorities.

"After that, I’ll deploy my elite aquatic units to fill in the fine details."

Orion nodded and waved his hand, opening a spatial rift. From the other side, the deafening roars of sea beasts echoed across the water. Under Kraken’s command, countless aquatic warriors surged through the portal, diving into the waters of the Titanion Realm and vanishing into the depths in the blink of an eye.

With Kraken’s deployment settled, Orion faded away as well.

Stoneheart City. The Manor of the Unmasked.

To the residents of the Stoneheart Horde, the estate’s name sounded bizarre. But to its owner, Nivarus, the name was a straightforward, proud declaration of his people’s identity.

Nivarus belonged to the Clayfolk Race, commonly known as the Faceless. Living up to their moniker, the Clayfolk possessed no true features of their own; the faces they wore were always mimics of other races. Ever since Nivarus accidentally arrived in this world and scrounged the materials needed for his Arch Lord advancement from the Stoneheart Horde’s vaults, he had blown his life savings on this manor in the outer ring of Stoneheart City.

Right now, Nivarus wasn’t alone in the manor. He was joined by the three Progenitors of the Clayfolk. All three boasted the power of a High Arch Lord—in their home world, the Clayfolk were no pushovers.

"Progenitors, what is your verdict?" Nivarus asked, watching the three elders with bated breath. Their eyes were closed as they reached out with their senses, probing the world’s laws and gauging its vastness.

To their senses, the Titanion Realm was unfathomable, immeasurable, and deeply esoteric. They had never encountered a world quite like it.

"The origin energy is incredibly dense, the laws are complete, and the spatial barriers are exceptionally fortified," the first Progenitor said, opening his eyes. The sheer scale of the Titanion Realm left him speechless. "It is a suitable, secure sanctuary."

"And they truly allow foreign races to settle here?" a second Progenitor asked, opening his eyes. The pristine environment was almost too good to be true. "Aside from signing a racial pact, there are no other catches?"

"As far as I know, Progenitors, the only requirements are signing the pact and paying an annual resource tithe," Nivarus explained. "Also, if the Stoneheart Horde goes to war, our race is obligated to deploy our adult warriors to fight for them."

Nivarus relayed everything he knew about the Horde’s regulations. He paused, thinking for a moment, before adding to his explanation.