An hour had passed since the chaos in Atlas' hall. The steady ticking of the ambience clock punctuated the tense atmosphere, and at precisely six, its long hand struck with a resonant click that echoed through the main hall.
The hall, far smaller than the main hall of Hestia's, was filled with murmurs and discontented voices. Members of the Seraphic Summit, gathered in ragged clusters, arguing in hushed but fervent tones.
"I refuse to believe it. That's a lie. Who even are you?" They protested.
Near the center of the hall, Yún Lóng sat on the rug-covered floor propped up against a fluffy cube rest, his body wrapped in bandages, his left eye hidden beneath a gauze pad. Beside him lay Herman, silent and pale, his face mangled and his right arm severed just below the shoulder. Both students had been dragged from the rubble of the collapsed dormitory by their comrades, barely intact.
Yún Lóng coughed violently. He struggled to sit upright, grimacing as pain flared across his ribs.
"Look at us!" he rasped, his voice strained and bitter. "Herman, Evan and I… we tried to stop him but he didn't care. He blew everything up along with his own damn hopelessness."
"You insult him still!" a member shouted, his voice laced with anger.
"Insult? You just don't like the truth!" Yún Lóng retorted, pausing to cough, his words sharp despite his weakened state. "The ones who should be enraged are Herman and me. We fought to stop Alvis. And you? What were you doing? Laying on your cozy beds. Look where that got us."
The student lunged toward Yún Lóng, their hand outstretched in fury, but another member held them back.
"Stop. He's right," the second member muttered grimly, shaking his head.
A heavy silence descended on the room, the weight of unspoken guilt pressing down on the group.
"So what happens to us now?" one member finally asked, his voice trembling.
Yún Lóng exhaled sharply, his chest heaving. "We act now and fast," he said, his tone firm despite his hoarse voice. "We lay claim to Athena's. Before any faction learns of this disaster. The earlier, the better."
His words caused ripples of murmurs through the hall.
"And why should we do that?" another member demanded, skepticism etched on their face.
"Because no one will expect it and it's in a very strategic location," Yún Lóng answered, his voice low and determined. "It's the fastest way to grow our faction. Once we take Athena's, some of their residents will have no choice but to join us. That will boost our numbers."
He paused to cough again, clutching his ribs. "Then, we split. Half of us here at Atlas', the rest at Athena's. We'll balance resources and fighting strength between the two strongholds. From there, we'd launch regular raids on nearby territories, gathering manpower and supplies until we're strong enough to take on larger factions."
He stopped, wheezing, and reached out. "Water," he croaked.
A bottle was quickly handed to him. Yún Lóng drained it in seconds before letting out a sigh of relief. His voice, steadier now, filled the hushed hall.
"This is the way forward. It's how we should act from now on."
"Did you just come up with this?" one of the members asked, eyeing him skeptically.
"No. I intended to propose it to Alvis… but the chance never came."
"When would you have us move on Athena's?" the same member pressed.
"Tonight. Once it gets a bit darker," Yún Lóng declared, his voice unwavering.
"That's insane!" a dissenting voice snapped. "You're in no shape to fight, and your injuries won't heal in a day, let alone a few hours."
Yún Lóng smirked faintly and reached into his pocket. "I had prepared for this outcome. I used half my allowance to buy this." He held up a sleek black cylinder with glowing blue extruding vertical lines. "The RHF-10 serum. It'll heal my injuries in under thirty minutes. Since it utilizes my stamina, the energy in my undamaged cells will be drained and I'd be forced to sleep for the next hour."
Without hesitation, he pressed the device to his shoulder and injected himself. A soft hiss filled the room as the serum entered his bloodstream. Yún Lóng's expression didn't flicker, his resolve unshaken. The room fell into stunned silence.
"In five minutes, I'll be asleep," he continued. "When I wake, we set out."
"Wait!" a young member, barely over five feet five inches tall, stepped forward, his face twisted in anger. "Are you all seriously going along with this? Alvis didn't make reckless moves, and because of that, we still lie peacefully under the roof of Atlas! Now this guy wants to throw it all away?!"
"Wake up and see that Alvis never cared about you, any of you!" Yún Lóng shot back, his voice rising despite his exhaustion. "He stood still while the factions around us grew stronger. We're lucky Aurora Bluff or the Wolf-bat's faction haven't crushed us yet. But luck won't save us forever."
He scanned the room, his gaze sharp and challenging. "If we don't act now, we're no better than livestock waiting for slaughter. Everyone out there is fighting to keep what they have, while we chill carelessly in our comfort zone. Fine. Stay here. Play your video games. But don't complain when someone kicks down our door and shatters your little world."
His strength waning, Yún Lóng leaned back against the warm and cozy rug, wrapping his arms around his chest. His voice softened, but his words carried a steely finality.
"It's starting to take effect. See you guys in the next one hour." Saying this, he fell asleep, lying next to the bandaged Herman.
The murmurs resumed and gradually grew.
"You heard him! We move in the next hour! Gather your weapons and don't forget your bandana! Anyone not found with one on their heads will be considered an enemy and will be treated as such! Disperse!." The one called Henhill said. He was the one in front of Yún Lóng that asked about his plan.
At this, all the 120 members of Seraphic Summit dispersed into their various dorms, leaving Yún Lóng and Herman in the main hall of Atlas.
…
Thirty minutes had gone by after the event at Atlas' and Horlan Larry wasn't in Hestia's to feel the vibration caused by the deterix explosion in Atlas'.
He had moved with half of his faction members to scavenge the incomplete Hephaestus'. Moving through the foggy and dark greenish hue of the bamboo forest, they finally reached the end of the long shoots of bamboo and came face to face with the desolated sight of the lonely hall.
As they walked on the slightly moist sand, the cold breeze pierced through their thick gray hoodies, softly brushing their skin.
The 45 of them splitted up with Horlan going alone separately. They took whatever useful thing they came across. After about 25 minutes had passed, they met at the skating grounds where they found dry blood smears all over the ground.
"It's just as we deduced, there were little resources here. These blood stains indicate there was a brawl here and they were probably the ones who used or even took the resources here while leaving." Horlan said, his eyes scanning the ground where the blood stains were.
"Let's make our way to Athena's."
Dust devils swirled as the fog grew thicker, moisturising the air and giving it a dew scent. With the sun completely gone, the temperature of the atmosphere continued to drop below 2⁰.
…
Meanwhile, after a 30 minute hike, Luna's party finally stood before their destination, the Hall of Athena.
The thick fog partially obscured the welcoming sign on the gothic style gate of Athena's. The gates slightly ajar, a gust of cold wind blew towards them, piercing through their thick clothings.
Aeron glared in-between the open gates, a skeptical expression on his face.
"Sage is here, right?" Runette asked, anxiety etched on her face.
"Only one way to find out." Aeron exhaled frost.
With this, they made their way into the hall.
Their view, partially obscured by the thick mist and with every step of their feet and roll of the carriage's wheels on the almost smooth ground, anxiety and fear struck their nerves.
"I can't see anything, I'm scared." One of the female kids said, closing his eyes in fear.
"Just stay close to us, alright?" Melanie placed her hand on the girl's shoulder, pulling the young kid towards her.
After about two minutes of traversing the mist, their path started to get clearer. As it got clearer, they noticed something dark on the ground ahead of them.
"Wait, what's that over there?" Corsair squinted his eyes as they approached it.
Stopping before it, Hector squatted and brushed the dark red substance on the ground with his fingers. He rubbed his stained fingers together.
"Blood?" He muttered.
"What? Let me see." Aeron squatted too.
He brushed the ground and rubbed his fingers together.
He shone his eyes, "It's blood, dry blood." His voice, reflecting fear.
"A fight happened here." Corsair's eyes shone at the sight of the blood.
Immediately after this, a metal arrow flew towards, penetrating the ground directly in front of the dry blood stain, prompting them to gasp in shock and move back.
From the shallow fog, Snide walked out, his right arm aiming ahead of him with the small tactical bow on his vambrace.
As he approached them with a significant amount of confidence and readiness, his firm gaze transitioned into a surprised look.
"What's with this bunch?"
Both sides were lost in shock and confusion.