Dimensional Descent

Raffyr took a breath and calmed himself. He was used to a hierarchy in the Brazinger family, among the four they were most definitely the strictest in this regard. Since their bloodlines practically made them thirst for battle, it was an inevitable outcome. The likes of Simeon was exceptionally rare, if not for his background, he would have never been favored so much regardless of what his Ability Index could do.

Long story short, Raffyr was very much used to swallowing his pride and biding his time. He lacked top tier talent within their family, so he could only do things this way.

”What should we do, then?” Raffyr asked. ”Just from our short stint on Earth, it was too easy to tell that their entire system has been overhauled. And now that we’ve left Earth, returning to our families will be difficult with this being this way.”

Earth was their only gateway back to their families, so now that they had been lured away in order to find out information about what had truly happened, there was no going back, at least not with any sort of ease.

No matter how they looked at it, whoever had set them up like this had done so on purpose and also had an understanding of how their system worked. Now, unless they disregarded the risks and tried to rush back to Earth, they would definitely be delayed at least a few more months, extending matters even further.

Obviously, this was the goal of Earth and it only benefited them.

”... I think the first thing we should do is gather the others. We need to leave here quickly as I’m sure you’ve all already sensed that we’ve been tagged. Since we’ve sent people, the Laevis and Crudus definitely have as well. After we gather up, we can decide what the next step will be.” Adrin replied.

”It’ll be difficult. I doubt the tag only applied to those coming here, so they’ve been tagged as well. If they chose to flee from their location as quickly as possible, finding them might prove difficult. By then, they can pick us off one by one,” Raffyr said solemnly. ”Also, there’s no guarantee that they sent Seventh Dimension existences like you did, so they might very well be sitting ducks.”

The four families couldn’t exactly be said to be entirely cozy and buddy with one another, they were more like reluctant allies as they had no other choice. But this was enough for them to not want the unwarranted death of one another.

It felt that given how things were stacked up against them, before they even found the others, they’d already long be dead.

”Your words make sense,” Adrin nodded. ”In that case we should pivot. If we can meet up with them, that would be for the best, but since we cannot, I think the best course of action is to leave Earth’s territory.”

After thinking for a while, Adrin came down with this conclusion.

Everyone fell into silence. Although it was an uncomfortable truth, it was one nonetheless. Right now, they all felt trapped, like mice in a trap. If they squirmed about in Earth’s territory for too long, they could suffer greatly for it in the end.

”Not necessarily,” Raffyr suddenly said with a smile. ”Since things have reached this point, I think it’s best we move some things forward.”

Adrin frowned. It wasn’t that he hadn’t thought of this, but they didn’t have the weight to make such a decision. In addition, with how suffocating Earth’s tactics had been, there was no telling how those chess pieces were fairing to begin with.

”We had a good opportunity when Terrain attacked, but everything was ruined by that Leonel Morales so we shut them down before they could act. I think it’s only right that this Leonel Morales now becomes the trigger for the opposite,” Raffyr said lightly, shivering slightly under Nana’s warning glance.

”I’m not certain that...”

”There’s no better time than now, we can’t delay any longer,” Raffyr cut off Adrin. ”Think about it clearly. Our families have been wiped out and all the time we’ve spent building up our foundation has been wasted. Although we don’t have the jurisdiction to know why our families are doing this, its apparent that they have their reasons, correct? If not, why even bother? Why not just wait until Earth enters the Eighth Dimension and send in the geniuses of your younger sister’s caliber? What chance would Earth stand then?”

Adrin fell into silence. Raffyr’s words made sense, there was definitely a reason they needed to establish a presence first, and he felt that it was likely due to the necessity of not allowing the Fawkes to grow freely...

”If we let things get too out of hand, reversing the situation would be impossible. It’s time we activate some trump cards and counters.”

Silence fell over them all once again before Adrin took a breath.

He was a fool, he could see the ambition in Raffyr’s eyes. His words were logical, but they were underpinned by an insatiable desire to prove himself. It was clear that Raffyr saw this as an opportunity to increase both his and his sister’s station in life.

Adrin no longer needed to press so hard, his little sister had already led their branch family far further than he could ever imagine. But he could understand Raffyr’s fire because he had once had it as well... before his little sister matured.

He didn’t know when that fire vanished, but he had just become okay with letting Little Nana take the reins, he just felt that there were other things worth fighting for.

But now...

”Alright. Let’s contact Elorin, then.” Adrin said firmly.

**

Deep within Earth’s territory, on a planet that was filled with lush greenery and wild beasts, but without a hint of civilization, a young man reclined within a tall tree’s shadow. He seemed to be at complete peace, a rusted machete by his side, until his eyes suddenly snapped open, revealing a piercing blue depth.

This young man had features carved from a painting. Eyes as blue as the skies, hair as white and pure as winter’s first snow fall, and delicate brown skin that reminded one of gently roasted nuts. Every one of his actions exuded an air of vitality and suffocating pressure.

This young man was Elorin.

The young man who cleared the Zones of Earth the second fastest.

Hacker Hutch’s grandson.