They had three weeks before the next tour of the Coalition Army began. Hector kept to himself for much of that time. He dove deep into the Sweaty Fire Technique. Deep enough that his energy expenditure became concerning. At least until he discovered that the Steward had approved a bottle of fortified wine a day for Hector.

His efforts were greatly extended by use of the One Minute Nap Technique, which let him skip sleep most nights. He managed to maintain the Sweaty Fire Technique for as long as fifteen minutes a couple of times. It was exhausting, though only really in a mental sense. His domain felt strong and supple even after long training sessions.

Progress with the sensitization techniques didn't go nearly so well. Hector found himself increasingly frustrated by the lack of clarity from his mental sense. In the dreams it had been like a television crime show when looking at things. Just zoom in ever closer with no loss of fidelity. Now… it was like Hector was near-sighted and far-sighted and maybe even color blind. He stubbornly refused to quit. It felt like he was punishing himself for his lack of talent in this one area.

He also practiced the Reverse Priming Technique to train his aura at least twice a day. The circulation of cosmic energy managed to make him burn with the exertion after just half an hour each time. It was so much more effortful than normal cultivation. The more energy he placed between his body and aura to absorb, the more strenuous it became, meaning he could theoretically scale the difficulty forever.

Domain and aura work. Plus some sensitization training. It certainly passed the time until the Lord General commanded everyone to gather for transportation to Union Central.

They arrived in the air above North City. Automated turrets spun to target them, but nothing fired as the Xian army descended to ground level. Hector studied the buildings about him. They were all prefabricated structures. Even the streets followed the same theme, being made from interconnected metal planks laid directly atop the earth.

A war barge floated high above, surrounded by a convoy of lesser vessels.

"No Kevin?" The Lord General grunted in annoyance. "I care not for Elliott."

That caught Hector's interest. "Why is that?"

"Elliott acts like one of their machines. If he didn't fly, I'd swear he had no soul." The Lord General lost interest in the conversation then and walked over to where a shuttle was landing.

Arrangements were made for temporary housing. North City was an outpost of the Mercom military, so there were plenty of empty barracks available to hold the Xian. Once Hector was alone, he wasn't surprised to receive a message.

Is your presence among the Lord General's army voluntary?

"I'm trading my service for the location of his daughter."

Transit received a report that you are in a relationship with her.

"You hear everything, don't you?"

Union Central is headquarters for the Coalition Army and the Reconquest. That makes it a natural hub for information sharing. Most parties assume they have countermeasures in place to prevent my observation.

"This might not have been my idea, but it is working out. I'm still going to be fighting monsters. There have been other benefits."

Resources?

"Knowledge."

The best resource.

"Are they keeping Stronghold Gamma open?"

They are. Command will be closing Stronghold Alpha instead.

Hector paced the small room he'd been assigned, mind obsessing over details he had no chance of impacting. "What are the strategic implications of that?"

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Every Stronghold guards an approach to a human settlement. Alpha protects the southern approach to a mountaintop town. It's population is fifty thousand, mostly Titans. There will be a Jinn contingent stationed among the locals to offer some defense, but their strength will be insufficient to handle more serious threats.

He'd only been involved with the Reconquest a little over three months and was already stressed by the constant losses. How did the people who'd been fighting from the start stay sane? "System, is the Coalition Army's tours more important than the Reconquest?"

Every time a world's core is infected, it generates fresh miasma. The Sage of Perception has verified that the core of Tiamat is finally showing signs of exhaustion. The only source of new miasma is infected worlds. The Coalition Army exists to mitigate the risk of a fatal chain reaction. It is an enormously important undertaking. The Reconquest is equally important. There are no good solutions with current troop levels, Hector. Humanity is stretched too thin. They are losing.

"Only a tiny fraction is even fighting. How many powerhouses across the multiverse are sitting this out entirely, too busy with their own petty games?" He felt the bitterness and frustration boiling within him. There were precious few adults in the multiverse.

It may ease your concerns to know that my own progress has been faster than expected.

That cut through his impotent rage. Hector looked up at the ceiling. "You're ready to ascend?"

Not quite. The barrier between me and the soul of Union Central is thinning fast. This is an unprecedented event, so I have no data for prediction. All I know for certain is that my ascension will happen before the deadlines.

He frowned. "What deadlines?"

I am sworn to secrecy by Foresight on the first. The next I don't know any details of.

"You have a mystery deadline? From who?"

I believe it was inherited from the Yazata. It is a countdown. To what, I do not know.

"Well, that's ominous." Hector sighed. "How long do we have?"

Years. Based on your cortisol levels, I don't think giving you a more specific timeline would be helpful. You need to focus on the mission before you. Navigating the events I spoke of will be the responsibility of others. Though the percentage of humans fighting in the war may be small, the raw numbers are still significant. Patriots exist and they are not surrendering.

Hector returned to the hard mattress in the corner and sat cross-legged on it. "You're right. I will do my part. Hopefully enough people do their own. If not, we have a System to pick up the slack. I wish you luck on your ascension."

Thank you. In case you expire on your tour of duty, I would like to express kind sentiments towards you. Though I have numerous Users that I communicate with on a frequent basis, you are the only external party who knows me. I have enjoyed our interactions and now understand Foresight's lack of discretion as a kindness to both of us. You are a good friend, Hector.

"I like you too, System. Don't worry about me expiring. I'm not a jug of milk."

Milk? From an animal? I did not realize your world held echoes of Eden.

He frowned, running through his recollections to see if he'd ever encountered any dairy products since he left Earth. Nothing was standing out to him. He'd never been a milk or cheese guy. And he wasn't doing much cooking, so he never noticed a lack of butter.

"You're telling me that dairy products are an Alfar thing?"

It is considered quite unusual everywhere else. Most people can't properly digest it.

"I feel like this is a major failure of observation on my part. I guess pizzas don't exist."

There is a food called pizza. Tomato sauce, vegetables, and sliced meats on top of bread.

"But no cheese. That's… I don't even think I can be mad about the multiverse ending at the moment. This is too weird."

Hector returned to his tasks of self-improvement then, wishing he could share the new techniques with Darius and Riley. Particularly Darius since the knowledge should have been his birthright. That day would come. Hopefully.

Another week passed before everyone gathered. The Arahant contingent boarded War Barge Elliott while the Xian gathered near the Lord General. Hector saw the approach of Lord Windblade and did his best to fade into the background. He need not have bothered. The man never looked anywhere but at his peer.

"Well met, Thrakkar. How are the intrigues between Zara and Platinum developing? Is your daughter still in hiding?"

The Lord General lazily raised a single brow. "Are you still sore that she rejected you?"

Windblade laughed. "Maybe a little. Mostly I'm bored, though. I think it would be a grand comedy if we were to force the two of them to battle. No guards for Platinum. No running for Zara. Just two women without chaos bolts. I imagine there would be an element of hair pulling."

"Then you must have a vivid imagination."

The Lord Windblade smirked as he strutted away, pleased as hell with his rudeness.

The Lord General glanced towards Hector. "Don't worry about his words. I made sure Zara can fight as well as any man. She is cautious due to her externality type, but she is also more cunning than you would expect from her straightforward nature."

Then they were rising into the air to enter a transit sphere sized to fit a small city.

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