The Silver Tigers finally reached their temporary base, which was a small town under Raven City, but a far distance away. It was a farming town, mostly filled with true-borns who just wanted a calm life.

When they arrived, the true-borns there hailed and greeted them. The Silver Tiger group had helped them in a lot of ways.

"Seems you guys are quite popular here," Aren said as they rode through the town.

"We helped the town handle certain issues," she replied calmly.

"Oh?" Aren asked, curiosity creeping into his voice. "Like what?"

She glanced back at him briefly before looking ahead again.

"Bandits. Monsters. And other things," she said casually.

They continued deeper into the town, eventually reaching the place that served as their temporary base.

It was a two-story building, larger than most of the surrounding houses. Nearly every home around it was occupied by members of the group as well, making the area feel like a small compound rather than a simple neighborhood.

The building itself was a modest manor, normally the residence of the town chief and the place where town meetings were held. But when the Silver Tigers arrived, the townspeople had offered it to them without hesitation, allowing them to stay there for as long as they needed, at least until they were ready to leave.

When they arrived, they dismounted from their mounts, and immediately the lady grabbed Aren by the shoulder.

"Come with me," she said.

The others moved as if to follow, but the members of the Silver Tigers stepped in, blocking them. The air instantly grew tense.

"He's not going anywhere alone," Aiden said firmly.

"You don't need to worry. We're not planning to hurt him," the woman replied.

"We don't know that," Aiden shot back. "So at least one of us is going with him."

The leader of the Silver Tigers removed her helmet and looked Aiden straight in the eyes. His gaze was calm, steady, no fear, no hesitation.

"Fine. You come too," she said.

At once, one of the Silver Tiger members stepped aside, allowing Aiden through.

He walked forward and then looked back, giving the others a small nod before following Aren and the woman into the main manor. The rest of the group was led away to smaller houses nearby, where they would stay until it was time to leave for War God City.

Aren and Aiden followed her inside and straight up the stairs, entering what was clearly the town chief's office.

She walked in first and placed her helmet on the table. The room smelled faintly of old wood, musky, aged, but not unpleasant. She moved behind the desk, sat down in the wooden chair, then gestured to the two chairs opposite her.

"Have a seat."

Both Aren and Aiden sat down, quietly scanning the room, staying alert for anything out of place.

"You can stop being overly cautious," she said calmly. "If we wanted to harm you, none of you would be able to stop us. Remember that."

She leaned back slightly.

"So," she continued, "let's just have a reasonable conversation."

"It's hard to be calm when you basically kidnapped us from right outside the second trial, and with a powerful team as well. Doesn't that seem like a little over the top, like fifty people, really?" Aren asked.

"I don't think it is, to be honest, Aren. I know for a fact you were already contemplating ways to escape when I walked up to you, and if I didn't have enough force to stop those ideas, you might have tried."

"Even then, none of this makes sense," Aiden said. "What exactly do you want from him, and why are we going to War God City?"

"Well, because your friend here has been selected to be one of the people participating in a certain thing. Details I can't reveal until you get to the city. All I can say is that, from now till when the third trial starts, you'll be under a lot of eyes and pressure. You'll get to see things you've never thought possible and probably meet people you never thought you would meet before," she explained, then leaned forward.

"This is an opportunity for you, but also a very dangerous experience. The War God City isn't like other cities and is heavily intertwined with certain powers.

If you manage to survive this time at the city, you'll gather the attention of the Sacred Palace. Not the Floating, not the Black Dragon Sect, the Sacred Palace. Their attention alone is something that can change the course of your life."

Aren listened to her closely, and all he could hear was chains, caged, watched, stopped.

"Is there any way to say no to this?" he asked, and immediately she was shocked, and it showed on her face. She didn't expect that answer.

"This goes against what I've heard about you. Don't you want strength?" she asked.

"I do, don't get me wrong," Aren said, then leaned in, shoulder on the table and his interlocked fingers at his mouth level. "But what you are telling me is I'll be caged, watched," he said, his eyes turning serious.

She smiled. "Have I introduced myself at all? Forgive my manners," she said. "I am Aoi Blade," she stated. "I told you my name now because in the future, you'll need it a lot. Now back to what you said. There is no freedom in the domain. There is always someone stronger and ahead of you. You can't do whatever you want, whenever you want, sadly.

The best thing for you to do is play your cards right and use the attention to your benefit. You'll come to learn that the trials, after so many years, are now the secondary issue of the domain, and other things are primary, more important than the trials."

Aren frowned. "Something is more important than the trials to save the world?" Aren asked.

"Don't get me wrong, that is extremely important, and a failure will lead to all our deaths. But there are greater things to worry about, like the domain itself and what it is.

Ready your mind, Aren. Stepping into the city will change a lot of perspective for you."

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