Soon, everyone became occupied with their own responsibilities.

Beowulf and Oeno moved quickly, coordinating the city’s warriors and reorganizing defensive patrols. Throughout the city, the atmosphere had already begun to shift into one of uneasy readiness.

Nearby, Fjolnir was busy preparing the Voidwolf crew for deployment.

Unlike the others, Klea made no move to leave immediately. Instead, she stayed beside Emery until the others had dispersed, and spoke.

"I have something to prepare for you," she said softly. "Don’t leave before seeing me."

Emery looked at her for a moment before nodding.

"All right."

Emery still had roughly twenty hours before departing for the dangerous mission to Baeldum, and he had no intention of wasting a single moment of it.

Not knowing how long the operation would last or what kind of situation awaited them there, he needed to make ample preparations

The first matter he addressed was establishing a proper return point within Neo Terra.

Ideally, Emery wanted to create another artificial waypoint, similar to the one hidden within Avalon. Unfortunately, the current instability across the sector had already disrupted the flow of resources, and acquiring the rare materials necessary to construct another stable Khaos anchor would not be easy, especially within such a short period of time. For now, he had no choice but to rely on the existing Khaos seed system.

Since Morgana remained in seclusion, Emery turned toward the next best candidate.

Soltz.

The old man from Tartarus had once wielded the power of a Khaos guardian and already possessed some understanding of Emery’s mysterious abilities. However, Soltz’s knowledge remained limited, as Khaos domain remained dormant since decades ago.

Hence,

Unlike Yuria, who accepted the process with without question, Soltz reacted very differently the moment Emery explained the idea of the Khaos seed connection.

"I’ve always wondered what kind of ridiculous power this is," the old man muttered while narrowing his eyes suspiciously.

"You’re not planning to fuse your avatar with me again, are you?"

Emery immediately frowned at the memory.

Back in Tartarus, during one of their most desperate battles, his dark avatar had temporarily fused with Soltz through the power of Khaos. The process had saved their lives, but the aftermath was unpleasant for both of them, leaving lingering mental effects neither wished to experience again

"I don’t like it either," Emery admitted. "But it was better than dying."

Soltz stared at him for a moment before reluctantly nodding.

"...Fair point."

This time, Emery chose to explain a little more.

"It’s related to the Primordial Wisp."

The moment those words were spoken, Soltz’s expression became noticeably more serious.

Primordial wisps were not unknown among higher realms. Just like the primordial flame once wielded by the Ember Sage and now inherited by Morgana, these ancient powers were legendary existences capable of granting abilities beyond conventional understanding.

Emery, however, deliberately stopped there.

He did not mention Khaos the mysterious Lord of Shadow and Space itself. Too much remained unclear even to him, and revealing incomplete truths recklessly was something he refused to do. Instead, he simply described it as a domain-type power derived from a primordial entity, further strengthened through the influence of multiple godly beasts.

It was enough.

Soltz trusted him.

And more importantly, the old man had already experienced firsthand what this power was capable of.

Eventually, he accepted.

The bestowment process unfolded smoothly. A thread of Khaos energy embedded within Soltz’s body, stabilizing almost instantly. At the same time, another rune along the stone table within the Khaos domain shifted faintly as a new waypoint was formed.

When Soltz stepped into the Khaos domain, the old man completely froze.

His eyes widened.

The floating landmass, the endless sky filled with shimmering waypoints, the overwhelming spatial fluctuations.

His expression changed repeatedly, disbelief giving way to shock, then confusion.

Emery watched the old man quietly while suppressing a faint smile.

Soltz clearly had dozens of questions, but after several moments of silence, the old man merely shook his head.

"...No, I don’t think I even want to know anymore."

It seemed he had decided that asking fewer questions was healthier for his sanity.

As for Emery, his attention shifted toward something else entirely.

Testing the limitations.

Just like before, he discovered that he could attach one of the active Khaos gates to Soltz through the seed connection, creating a direct anchor between them.

With that link established, Emery would be able to summon the old man through the Khaos domain regardless of distance, allowing Soltz to reinforce him almost instantly if needed.

And now, with three active gates restored—

He could potentially pull three separate individuals into battle at once.

The realization alone greatly expanded the tactical value of the Khaos domain.

After finishing the experiment, Emery and Soltz returned to Neo Terra Palace together, their sudden reappearance immediately drawing the attention of Typhon, who had been waiting nearby.

The Qilin hybrid narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

He had clearly sensed spatial fluctuations, yet the movement itself was unlike any conventional teleportation method he recognized.

Unfortunately for him, the Khaos seed system was not something just anyone could use. Compatibility depended heavily on darkness-aligned foundations. Typhon, despite his overwhelming strength, simply lacked the necessary affinity.

Before the hybrid could begin questioning them, Emery suddenly felt a signal echo through the Khaos connection.

Yuria.

One of his seeds was calling for him.

Emery immediately recognized the signature and turned toward Typhon with a casual wave of his hand.

"I need to leave for a while," he said. "You can wait here."

Typhon opened his mouth to stop him, but before he could even speak—

Emery vanished.

Not through a common spatial gate.

Typhon’s expression instantly changed.

Even with his Three Cosmos cultivation, he could not trace Emery’s aura or detect the slightest residue of spatial movement. It was as though Emery had been erased from existence entirely.

"...Where did he go?" Typhon finally asked while turning toward Soltz.

The old man only chuckled softly as he began walking away.