The Titan continent. The Platinum Citadel.

According to the Champions Alliance’s original plan, once they secured the Verdant Cloud Realm, it was supposed to become the Platinum Authority’s headquarters—the envisioned Platinum Realm.

Unfortunately, they barely had time to warm the seats. Commander Thresh had gifted the fledgling Platinum Realm to Orion, crashing it directly into the Titanion Realm.

Now, the Platinum Authority’s territory sat on the eastern side of the Titan continent, not far from The Great Bastion of the East. The Platinum Citadel was built atop a massive hill that had been leveled off in the middle of a vast plain. From its foundations, one could see for miles.

Pallas leaned against the Citadel’s unfinished foundation walls, chewing on a wild berry. He held his little fawn, Sylvie, close to his chest as he stared out across the endless eastern plains.

"I’m sorry, Sylvie. I can’t take you to meet my parents yet," Pallas said, kissing her forehead.

Riding the Platinum Realm as it crashed into the Titanion Realm should have been a good thing, but Pallas was stuck. His orders were clear: finish the Citadel’s construction before he could leave. City-building wasn’t hard; he had done similar work back in the Stoneheart Horde.

However, before he even finished his current job, he received his next assignment. As soon as the Citadel was done, he had to head straight to The Great Bastion of the East. Someone was waiting for him.

No one else knew who it was, but Pallas knew his father had found him a teacher. Whether it was an instructor, a master, or a mentor, he wasn’t entirely sure. The guilt of not being able to go home and fulfill his promise weighed heavily on him.

"Don’t apologize, big guy. I’ll go wherever you go."

Sylvie looked up at him, her quiet gaze cutting through the rhythmic chants of the laborers and the creaking of cart wheels.

Pallas couldn’t meet her clear, innocent eyes. He looked away, staring at the ink-stained horizon as dusk settled. A sudden breeze tossed her hair against his cheek, tugging at his heartstrings.

"This isn’t the Titan continent I used to know. The outside world is dangerous," Pallas murmured. "I’m heading to The Bastion Wall, and rumor has it that place is swarming with monsters."

A man’s greatest failure was being unable to protect his family and the woman he loved. Pallas was beginning to learn that lesson the hard way.

"Sylvie, your people are still here. Just wait for me, okay?"

"No..."

Before they could get any more sentimental, an unwelcome voice interrupted from the foundation behind them.

"Hey, giant boy! If you don’t get back to supervising, your laborers are going to run off!"

A young mage stood atop a pile of black stone, smirking down at him. His name was Madison, a recent acquaintance.

"Madison, once I’m done here, I’m heading east to The Bastion Wall," Pallas called back. "You want to tag along? I can promise you an endless horde of bugs to kill out there. With the firepower of your Meteor Shower, you’d make a killing. You could trade your kills for more cultivation resources than you’d know what to do with. Plus, your robes are trash. You need a high-tier upgrade..."

Pallas dusted off his pants and pulled Sylvie to her feet. In that brief moment, he had made up his mind. He wasn’t just bringing Sylvie. He was going to rope in Madison and every other hot-blooded, adventure-seeking youth he could find to man The Bastion Wall with him.

The Valkorath Realm. Blade’s Edge Peak.

When Orion’s Death-Soul Fiend avatar arrived, he found an unexpected guest waiting at the peak. It was a woman, and she carried a familiar aura. An old, lingering scent.

The scent of the Mycelial.

"You?" Orion asked. "The mastermind behind the Mycelial? Tolenna?"

His rhetorical questions amused her. Tolenna studied him, her eyes alight with surprise.

"I remember you too," she said. "My Mother of the Mycelium nearly died by your hand."

Orion said nothing, shifting his gaze to Commander Thresh. The Commander chuckled and shrugged. He spat out a blade of grass he’d been chewing and spoke with casual indifference.

"Let me formally introduce you. Tolenna, ruler of the Mycelial race. A demigod third-stage. She’s very interested in setting up shop in the Titanion Realm."

A demigod third-stage Mother of the Mycelium? Then who had Deputy Commander Edward been fighting so desperately back then? Was this some kind of joke?

"So, she was just a sparring partner you found for us?" Orion stared at Commander Thresh, his tone growing increasingly respectful.

"What else?" The slight smirk tugging at the Commander’s lips was all the answer Orion needed. "It was just one of her demigod phantoms out there. You should be thanking Tolenna. Without her, you and Leonidas wouldn’t have grown nearly as fast."

Orion nodded, offering a respectful salute to both the Commander and Tolenna.

"My terms are simple," Tolenna said. "Once I meet your requirements, you will help me condense a Divine Mantle."

She met his eyes. Her partnership with Orion was fundamentally different from the treaty between the Saint Gran Council and the Stoneheart Horde. Tolenna was after her own personal ascension. The Saint Gran Council, on the other hand, sought enduring faith and a political foothold on the Titan continent.

"Your Excellency, that is far from a simple request," Orion replied. "The Titanion Realm successfully promoted to an Ascendant Plane and has absorbed several minor worlds since. Yet, to this day, I haven’t seen a single trace of a Divine Mantle."

Orion held his ground, unyielding despite her friendship with the Commander. After a beat of silence, he softened his tone, speaking with absolute sincerity.

"If the conditions allow it, I will help you condense a Divine Mantle. But I have a condition of my own. You need to scout a new world for me. I’m going to drag it into the Titanion Realm to increase my world Authority."

At his current level, low-tier demigods had no right to negotiate with him. Tolenna, an anomalous Mycelial demigod, was the sole exception.

"A new world?" Tolenna asked. "Any specific requirements?"

She remained perfectly calm. It didn’t surprise her that Orion had a counter-offer; she would have been suspicious if he hadn’t asked for anything in return.

Orion shook his head. When he crashed a minor world into the Titanion Realm, all he extracted was its World Essence. He couldn’t care less about its biome, civilization, or local factions.

"Very well," Tolenna agreed. "We have a deal."