The Box: Fate
Chapter 58 — Divided Paths
The strategy room inside the Liya Hunter's Guild was dead silent as the map of the continent was laid bare on the table. The iron-bound ledger had confirmed it: the missing elite hunter had vanished near the volcanic trenches to the north. At the same time, the threat of the Seven Demon Lords and the awakening of Kresh required political backing from the highest authority on the continent.
"We can't stay grouped together anymore," Kataki said, his silver eyes fixed on the northern mountains on the map. "We are running out of time. If we all go north, the Capital remains blind to the real danger. If we all go to the Capital, we lose the trail of the strongest native asset we have."
Zanaki stepped forward, his knuckles popping as a spark of blue lightning flickered around his wrist. "Leave the northern trenches to us. Me, Axel, and Sharky Bee. The three of us have the highest mobility and raw defense. If that missing hunter is trapped in a corrupted code zone, Azureus can sniff out the glitch before it swallows us."
Axel Hatanaki nodded, his golden-tinted armor humming with solar force. "The kid is right. My absolute defense can protect us from any sudden environmental collapses, and Sharky can move through the shadows if we need to scout without triggering a fight."
Sharky Bee flipped his green-tinted daggers, a sharp grin on his face. "Consider him tracked. We'll find out what made a high-kingdom elite evaporate."
Kataki looked at the three of them, then nodded slowly. "Good. Take Hanzoe's tracking stones. If you find anything, smash the red one. It will alert my silver eyes across the continent."
He then turned to the remaining members of the sixteen players—Mikochi, Akira, Murasaki, Kuro, Kyoshiki, Joel, Monk Fish, Anastasia, Hina, and their new veteran ally, Vahn.
"The rest of us are heading west," Kataki commanded. "To **Aethelgard: The Grand Astral City**. We need an audience with King Sharon. If the local authorities don't prepare the grand armies for the Demon Lords, the outer walls will fall before Kresh even opens his eyes."
***
An hour later, the Nameless Vanguards split at the northern crossroads outside Liya.
Zanaki, Axel, and Sharky Bee turned toward the dark, smoking jagged peaks of the northern horizon, their figures moving at a rapid sprint. They were heading into the wild, unmapped territory where numbers meant nothing and the environment itself was hostile to the system.
Meanwhile, Kataki led the larger faction toward the glittering white spires of Aethelgard, visible even from miles away against the dark purple sky. Vahn walked silently beside him, his grey cloak pulled low, knowing that entering the capital meant facing the very high-ranking officials who had abandoned his old squad to the Zero Zone.
The pieces were moving on the board. One team was hunting a ghost in the ashes, while the other was walking straight into the nest of human royalty. The countdown to the system's unravelling had officially begun.