Chapter 512: Terrifying Aura
"No, we are not going to attack him now. The Awakener’s Association placed heavy security in the city, we can’t attack tonight. We move when the moment is right."
Baaron’s eyes lingered on the distant arena.
"And the master?"
"According to ’Him’, the master hasn’t responded to any communication yet. We follow the plan as it was given to us."
Baaron nodded once.
"Tomorrow could be very interesting for the United Terran Alliance’s golden boy."
A faint smile crossed Ian’s lips. It didn’t reach his eyes.
"Yes. It could."
Neither of them said when. Neither of them said how. The specifics didn’t matter yet. What mattered was that they were here. In the city. Watching the arena from a window that no one could detect them through.
The trap was being set.
And somewhere in the distance, in a quiet bedroom in a quieter neighborhood, Moon Outlaw napped peacefully, completely unaware that two Third Order predators had already started moving on him.
♢♢♢♢
Moon had barely slept for an hour when his eyes snapped open.
A terrifyingly massive aura had appeared just meters outside his house. The pressure was suppressed, but Moon could still feel it.
"This aura... It’s him."
Moon swung his legs off the bed, splashed water on his face from the sink, and slipped on his outer garment. The fog of sleep cleared from his mind instantly.
Then, he stepped out of his room quietly. The house was surprisingly silent. He passed Selene’s door, then Yara’s.
Both rooms were dark, with no sounds or movement coming out of them. It was clear to Moon that neither of them had felt the aura outside.
’He targeted me alone. Specifically suppressed his presence so only I could feel it.’
Moon eased the front door open and stepped out into the cold night breeze. He pulled the door closed behind him gently, the latch clicking with barely a sound.
Just a few dozen meters from the house, a figure stood waiting.
Alaric Sky stood there with his hands tucked into the pockets of his coat. Blonde hair drifting slightly in the night breeze. Dark eyes fixed on Moon as he made his way towards him.
"I hope I didn’t disturb you." Alaric said quietly, slowly pulling his right hand from his pocket, and extending it towards Moon.
Moon shook his head, reaching out to take the offered handshake. "Not at all. We agreed to speak later today, anyway."
Alaric nodded.
"I’ll get straight to the point." He released Moon’s hand and reached into his storage ring. "Do you know what this is?"
An object appeared in his palm, materializing from thin air.
Looking at the item in Alaric’s hands, Moon’s eyes widened for a moment. He knew this thing. He knew it very well.
He had one himself, sitting inside his storage ring, untouched since the day he had taken it from the dark organization member he had killed back in the First Sanctuary. He had studied it once, tested it briefly, then put it away when he realized it resisted every attempt to identify or destroy it.
The bone was small, pale, almost ivory in color, but with a strange depth to its surface. To a casual observer, it would look like a fragment of ordinary bone.
Moon nodded slowly before saying, "Yes. That’s the bone that the elite members of the dark organization consistently carry. They’re nearly indestructible. At least back when I was in the First Sanctuary." He paused. "I haven’t tried attacking it since. It resisted everything I threw at it back then."
Alaric nodded his head in agreement, "You’re not wrong. They are indeed nearly indestructible. Even I can’t damage this thing."
He turned the bone slowly between his fingers, studying it as he spoke. "The Awakener’s Association and the strongest factions in the United Terran Alliance have been working together to identify these bones for some time now. Unfortunately, we’ve made no meaningful progress."
He looked up at Moon.
"We don’t know what they are. Some theorists believe they’re fragments of a living creature we haven’t yet encountered. Others believe they’re artifacts, created through a process we can’t replicate. There are even theories that they’re remnants of something from before the Great Collapse."
He held the bone up between them.
"We’ve recovered nearly ten of these so far. From dark organization elites our combined forces have killed across various engagements. Every single elite carries one. They appear during their attacks, sometimes integrated into their bodies, sometimes embedded in their weapons. After the elites die, the bones remain, but they reveal nothing about their purpose."
Alaric’s eyes narrowed staring at the bone at hand, "No matter what we test them with. No matter what we expose them to. They simply exist. Indestructible and untraceable."
He lowered his hand and the bone disappeared back into his storage ring with a brief shimmer.
"Anyway. Since you know about these bones already, that tells me you’ve had contact with this organization more than most people do." He looked at Moon more seriously. "Which brings me to why I’m here tonight."
Moon nodded, his curiosity piqued. He had been wondering why the Light Sword Saint had chosen to appear at his doorstep at this time. Whatever Alaric had come to discuss now, at this hour, was urgent enough that it couldn’t wait.
Alaric looked up at the moon hanging in the sky for a moment. The moonlight covered his blonde hair, turning it almost silver.
When he spoke again, his voice was quieter.
"I believe that tomorrow will be a bad day."
Moon’s eyes narrowed. The words alone wouldn’t have meant much. But the way Alaric said them, created a knot in Moon’s stomach.
He already knew where this was going.
"You mean..."
Alaric nodded once.
"I believe that the dark organization will attack tomorrow. During the second stage of the tournament."
The words settled over the cold night air like frost.
Moon was silent for a long moment.
"Why tomorrow?" He asked finally. "And why are you telling me specifically?"
Alaric turned to face him fully.
