I studied the map, the documents, the faces of two women "What do you need from us?"

"Compete," Victoria said simply. "Win matches. Gain recognition and make yourself too public, too valuable, too politically connected to eliminate quietly. Force the League to either back off or reveal themselves openly.

"I'll be truthful. The Resistance did not have this kind of opportunity before..."

I smiled as she stopped talking. They want to use me as a tool but that's not too bad. Even I want to use them. It's a two way thing. "And if they reveal themselves?"

"Then we have proof. Evidence. Something we can use to expose them to the broader world." She leaned forward. "The League operates in shadows. Drag them into light, and they lose their greatest advantage.

"This will also cripple the Council as the people would become even more awear of them."

"That's the long-term plan," Kaeel added. "Short-term is Stay alive. Watch your back. And for gods' sake, don't go anywhere alone."

A knock on the concealed door made everyone tense. The room seemed to held its breath as hands went to weapons and subtle nagic pressure filled the space.

"It's me," a voice called. "Cipher. Victoria said to meet here."

Kaeel opened the door.

A young man entered, he looks to be nineteen, thin, scholarly-looking, with ink-stained fingers and nervous eyes. He carried a satchel stuffed with papers.

He immediately zero on me.

"Hadeon Ravana," he said immediately, extending a hand. "I've been wanting to meet you....."

"Cipher," Victoria interrupted.

"Right. Sorry." He pulled out his papers, spreading them across the table. "Since everyone here is not strangers to things then I will get straight to the point.

"I....the organization behind me, have been researching the energy patterns across some documented cycles. Found something disturbing. The energy harvested isn't just being stored. It's being used. Fed into something."

"What?" Ravenna leaned forward, studying his notes.

"Don't know. But whatever it is, it's getting stronger. Each cycle produces more energy than the last. The escalation is exponential." He pointed to a graph. "Since each generation believes more and more in three stories and roles of each person in the world.

"At current rates, in approximately five more cycles, the energy output will exceed theoretical safe limits. We don't know what would happen...."

"What happens then?" Marcus asked.

"Best case, nothing, maybe the world reaches an equilibrium and we become mindless flesh that only have a fixed role." Cipher's expression darkened. "Worst case is that teality destabilization. The structure that's been imposed on this world for thousands of years collapses catastrophically. The energy will twist everything and anything."

"You're saying the Council might accidentally destroy the world they're trying to control?" I said.

"Or they know and don't care. Or they know and it's intentional. I don't have enough data to determine which." He looked at me. "We do have to ask, why go all this just to gather energy? There are stories that there was a time without the demon king and hero fighting. Meaning, that they suddenly come here....could it be that they left worlds in ruins?"

Everyone slowly digested that. It was the first time that I would be hearing something like that and it does make sense. I look at Cipher. "You know a lot."

"This is why he's medium priority," Victoria said. "His research is groundbreaking, but he's not operationally dangerous yet. The League is watching him, but they haven't moved to eliminate him."

"Yet," Cipher added cheerfully. "I'm sure they will eventually. But until then, I'm documenting everything. I know they want to know those backing me and that's why they've not done anything yet."

Another knock suddenly came again and this time everyone's weapons came out.

"Easy," a woman's voice called. "I am Lyra Tempest. Stormwatch Academy. Kaeel invited me."

The door opened again.

A tall woman entered in her mid-twenties with athletic build, storm-gray eyes that crackled with barely contained lightning. She moved like a fighter, but carried herself like nobility.

And just like before....

"Hadeon Ravana," she said, looking me up and down. "Smaller than I expected."

"I get that a lot."

"Good. Means enemies underestimate you." She moved to the table, studying the documents. She nodded to herself and waited for everyone to introduce themselves then she got to the point.

"First I'm not affiliated to anyone. This is more like a passion project...and a family thing. A personal thing.

"My great-grandmother kept journals and documents of.....the patterns. She became awear."

"What happened to her?" Seraphina asked.

"Executed for heresy. The Church doesn't like people questioning divine destiny." Lyra's expression hardened. "My family has been quietly researching for generations after that. When I heard about you, about what you're doing, I knew I had to make contact the Resistance hook me up."

"You're risking a lot," I said.

She shrugged.

"So are you." She gestured around the room. "Besides...."

The door suddenly opened.

The door opened one more time without any knock, it just opened.

And...

.....Adrian Celestius stood in the entrance.

There was a stunned silence and immediately all my faction members instantly pointed their weapons his way.

"Peace," he said, raising his hands. "Victoria invited me."

The room instantly became stiff and filled with tension.

"I did," Victoria confirmed. "Lower your weapons. He's here for information, not conflict."

"Why?" I asked, not lowering my sword. My voice was like sharpened steel.

Adrian met my eyes. "I heared three students just died. Students who were researching the same things I've been researching lately." He stepped inside, closing the door. "Kaeel told me things. About cycles, about manipulation, about the Council. I didn't believe her. But after the Baron filed charges using information he shouldn't have had access to, after students started dying, after..." He trailed off. "Someone tried to kill me with poison. I had to start asking questions....."

He suddenly changed his tone. "I'm not here as your friend. I'm here because we might be fighting the same enemy."

"Might be?" Lucille's daggers were still out.

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