Chapter 92: There’s Always Another Problem

( Alash’s POV )

Meeting the other vessels in person should have been dramatic.

It wasn’t.

Mostly because I was asleep on a horse when it happened.

Not beside one.

Not near one.

On it.

Dream Haven was comfortably between my face and the horse’s neck while I leaned forward over the saddle, one arm loosely wrapped around the pillow.

The horse had apparently accepted its fate.

So had I.

Class Five had been traveling for hours.

Thirty-seven students.

One hundred and twenty-two wounded people.

Makeshift stretchers.

Several horses.

Far too much medicine.

And one healer whose mana had been abused beyond reasonable limits.

Me.

I had spent most of the journey healing anyone whose condition worsened, maintaining barriers whenever monsters appeared, and being repeatedly informed by Penelope that sleeping on a moving horse was dangerous.

She was wrong.

I had been asleep for almost twenty minutes.

No injuries.

Excellent evidence.

[Your definition of evidence remains concerning.]

’Quiet.’

[You are unconscious on an animal while traveling through hostile territory.]

’Delegation.’

[That is not delegation.]

’The horse is handling transportation.’

[...]

’Exactly.’

The horse stopped.

I did not.

At least mentally.

Voices reached me.

Many voices.

Far too many.

Students moving around.

Metal clinking.

Horses.

Wagons.

People calling instructions.

Someone arguing over supplies.

All excellent reasons to continue sleeping.

Then a familiar female voice came from somewhere ahead.

"Is that him?"

Elizabeth.

Unfortunately.

Another voice answered.

"He’s sleeping."

Sophie.

James sounded less impressed.

"On a horse?"

Penelope answered before anyone else could.

"He’s been doing that for twenty minutes."

Betrayal.

Daphne spoke next.

"How?"

Good question.

I had no intention of answering.

I adjusted Dream Haven slightly and remained exactly where I was.

[Host.]

’No.’

[All four fragments are within immediate proximity.]

’I know.’

[Akashic resonance increasing.]

I opened one eye slightly.

’We’re inside an illusion.’

[Correct.]

’Then how are they in proximity?’

A brief pause followed.

[The fragments are not responding to physical distance.]

That got slightly more of my attention.

Slightly.

[The Mirage Hermit’s illusion has connected the consciousnesses of every participant within a single constructed mental space.]

[The Akashic fragments are fused deeply enough to their vessels that they can recognize one another through that connection.]

[Your current proximity inside the illusion has therefore increased resonance between all five fragments.]

I closed my eye again.

’So the Hermit accidentally created an Akashic meeting room.’

[...]

’Efficient.’

[That is not the conclusion you should be drawing.]

’Still resting.’

[Host, this is the first time all five fragments have interacted at such close conscious range.]

’Historic.’

[You are asleep on a horse.]

’Also historic.’

[Hopeless.]

Someone laughed.

Sophie.

"He’s actually staying asleep."

James answered.

"We’ve been waiting almost an hour."

"We were transporting more than a hundred wounded people without wagons," Penelope said.

A short silence followed.

Then James:

"Fair."

Good man.

Elizabeth spoke next.

"How many are still critical?"

"Twenty-one," Penelope answered. "Another thirty-seven need assistance walking, and several others shouldn’t be moving this much at all."

Her voice sharpened.

"We need those wagons."

That got my attention.

Not enough to open my eyes.

But close.

Wagons.

Class One had wagons.

Many wagons.

Wonderful invention.

Perhaps civilization had value after all.

Elizabeth answered almost immediately.

"We can reorganize them."

Daphne followed.

"Class Four can reduce the load with Gravity once they’re filled."

Sophie spoke next.

"I’ll adjust the route for the wagons. Some of the paths we mapped are too narrow."

James:

"Class Two will take the outer escort."

Silence.

Then Penelope said:

"See?"

I opened one eye.

She stood beside the horse.

"See what?"

"You heard all of that."

"No."

Her expression became dangerous.

I closed my eye again.

"Wake up."

"No."

"Alash."

"I’ve delegated."

"You haven’t even met them yet."

"I heard them."

"That isn’t meeting."

"Close enough."

[All fragments within five meters.]

I sighed.

Fine.

Apparently destiny had no respect for naps.

I lifted my head from Dream Haven and slowly sat upright.

The horse gave a quiet snort beneath me.

Possibly relief.

Traitor.

Then I finally saw them.

Elizabeth Aurelius.

James Vellaroux.

Sophie Trohan.

Daphne Spinster.

Not translucent projections.

Not names floating inside a communication window.

Not distant black uniforms inside Zenith’s orientation hall.

Actually standing there.

All four.

Elizabeth stood beside several wagons, her clothes dusted from travel but otherwise somehow still looking arranged.

James had a sword at his side and the expression of someone who considered standing still a waste of valuable life.

Sophie looked far too cheerful for someone who had spent hours inside a forest designed by the Mirage Hermit.

Daphne....

She was staring at Dream Haven.

Again.

Behind them stood their classes.

Class One’s wagons filled much of the road.

Class Two carried weapons, shields, and armor from their fortress.

Class Three had already placed scouts across the nearby slopes, with several maps spread over a flat piece of stone.

Class Four’s mana crystals glowed faintly from the carts behind them.

Then there was Class Five.

Stretchers.

Medicine.

Wounded civilians.

Exhausted students.

Everything the Hermit had separated was finally in one place.

Transportation.

Weapons.

Information.

Mana.

Medicine.

Five classes.

Five resources.

Five Guardian Seals.

And five pieces of the Akashic Key.

[Akashic resonance increasing.]

This time, I understood why.

Physically, none of us had actually moved closer together.

Our real bodies were still sitting somewhere inside Zenith’s orientation hall.

But inside the Mirage Hermit’s illusion, our consciousnesses were standing only a few meters apart.

And apparently that was enough.

Five consciousnesses.

Five fragments.

One shared mental world.

[All five vessels assembled.]

Something moved through me.

My fingers tightened slightly around the reins.

It wasn’t mana.

It wasn’t pain.

It wasn’t even something I could properly describe as physical.

Recognition.

That was the closest word.

For one brief moment, I felt four separate pulls at once.

Elizabeth.

James.

Sophie.

Daphne.

Each distinct.

Each strangely familiar.

Not because I knew them.

Because something inside me did.

Then it vanished.

I remained still.

Elizabeth noticed.

Of course she did.

Her eyes sharpened almost immediately.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes."

Daphne narrowed her eyes.

"You froze."

"I was waking up."

"You were staring at us."

"I have eyes."

Sophie laughed.

James glanced toward the road ahead.

"We can discuss his staring problem later. We need to move."

I looked at him.

Good man.

Then Daphne’s gaze dropped again.

Straight toward Dream Haven.

I followed her eyes.

Then looked back at her.

"What?"

"The pillow."

"Yes."

"You were sleeping on a horse with a pillow."

"Correct."

"Why?"

I stared at her.

"Would you prefer I sleep on a horse without one?"

She paused.

Sophie immediately turned her face away.

Her shoulders shook.

Elizabeth covered something suspiciously close to a smile.

James closed his eyes.

Daphne stared at me for several seconds.

"That was not my question."

"It answered the important part."

I slid down from the horse.

My legs protested slightly.

Unfortunate.

Dream Haven went beneath one arm.

Penelope immediately took the reins.

"Now that everyone has finally met," Elizabeth said, "we should redistribute resources before moving."

I looked toward the wagons.

Then toward our stretchers.

"Agreed."

Everyone looked at me.

I frowned.

"What?"

Sophie smiled.

"You agreed very quickly."

"You have wagons."

Elizabeth’s expression shifted slightly.

"Ah."

"Yes."

James looked toward Penelope.

"We’ve discovered his motivation."

"Transportation?" Sophie asked.

"Rest," Penelope answered.

I looked at her.

Betrayal.

Again.

Elizabeth ignored us.

Probably wisely.

"Class Five’s critical patients take priority. We can clear four wagons immediately and redistribute supplies between the others."

"Five," Penelope said.

Elizabeth looked toward her.

"Four."

"Twenty-one critical. Thirty-seven more needing assistance."

"I know."

"Then five."

Elizabeth’s eyes changed.

Interesting.

The princess had encountered another negotiator.

"Four wagons and part of a fifth," Elizabeth said. "If we empty five completely, we reduce food and supply capacity too much."

Penelope considered that.

"Four and a half."

"Agreed."

I looked between them.

That happened quickly.

Perhaps I had been replaced.

Excellent.

Daphne crossed her arms.

"Class Four can reduce the weight on the critical wagons when terrain becomes difficult."

James nodded toward his class.

"Weapons get distributed first to students without proper equipment. Class Two stays on the outer perimeter."

Sophie walked toward the maps.

"I’ll mark a wagon-safe route. The shortest path won’t work anymore."

Everyone began moving.

Just like that.

Students rearranged supplies.

Stretchers approached the wagons.

Weapons changed hands.

Mana crystals were divided into smaller loads.

Scouts moved ahead.

Healers reorganized patients.

I stood there.

Watching.

The System spoke.

[You appear surprised.]

’I expected more arguing.’

[Disappointed?]

’Relieved.’

Within minutes, the separate classes began turning into one convoy.

Strange sight.

Navy uniforms everywhere.

Five black-uniform leaders scattered among them.

Class One’s wagons.

Class Two’s weapons.

Class Three’s maps.

Class Four’s crystals.

Class Five’s medicine.

The Mirage Hermit had separated everything we needed.

Now we had put it all back together.

Which meant something worse was probably coming.

[Accurate.]

’Don’t encourage reality.’

Penelope passed beside me.

"You’re standing around."

"I’m supervising."

"You’re holding a pillow."

"Leadership takes many forms."

"No."

"Subjective."

She pointed toward one of the wagons.

"Help with the critical patients."

I looked toward it.

Then toward her.

Then back toward the wagon.

"Fine."

Terrible woman.

***

We moved again thirty minutes later.

This time, the difference was immediate.

No more carrying critical patients for kilometers.

No more rotating six students through one stretcher.

No more stopping every few minutes because someone couldn’t keep pace.

The wagons handled that.

Class Four’s Gravity users reduced weight whenever the road became steep.

Class Three’s scouts redirected us twice before we encountered blocked paths.

Class Two dealt with two small monster groups before they reached the wagons.

Class Five treated injuries without having to carry the patients at the same time.

Teamwork.

Apparently.

I disliked how useful it was.

Mostly because useful things tended to create expectations.

The System remained suspiciously quiet.

’Don’t.’

[I said nothing.]

’You were about to.’

[Perhaps I was simply enjoying the moment.]

’Unlikely.’

The road climbed gradually.

The sky had darkened.

Not dawn yet.

Still several hours.

Sophie moved near the front with her maps.

James stayed between the forward scouts and the main convoy.

Elizabeth shifted constantly between wagons, class groups, and supply lines.

Daphne remained near the mana carts and watched everyone as though she expected betrayal from the terrain itself.

Interesting group.

Very inconvenient group.

They were also the four people the Main Quest expected me to establish bonds with.

I had currently accomplished:

One thank-you.

Several shared tactical decisions.

A conversation about wagons.

And Daphne staring suspiciously at my pillow.

Excellent progress.

[Your standards remain dangerously low.]

’Progress is progress.’

Then the Citadel appeared.

Everyone saw it at nearly the same time.

The road rose over a final hill.

Beyond it, massive stone walls.

Far larger than I expected.

Four towers rose above the surrounding valley, each connected by thick defensive walls.

A central keep stood behind them.

And directly ahead, a sealed gate.

Relief spread through the convoy.

Students cheered.

Some civilians started crying.

One wounded soldier actually laughed.

Too early.

Always dangerous.

James was already studying the walls.

Sophie looked toward the surrounding terrain.

Daphne watched the gate.

Elizabeth slowed.

I sighed.

"Don’t celebrate yet."

Penelope looked at me.

"Can you allow people one positive moment?"

"No."

"Why?"

"Experience."

That was when the five Guardian Seals appeared.

Golden light emerged above each class leader.

Mine hovered directly in front of me.

The other four appeared near Elizabeth, James, Sophie, and Daphne.

Lines of golden light connected them.

One.

Two.

Three.

Four.

Five.

The ground shook.

Runes appeared across the Citadel gate.

Ancient mechanisms groaned inside the stone.

The massive doors slowly began opening.

The cheering grew louder.

I didn’t join.

The System remained silent.

That worried me more.

Then another message appeared.

---

FINAL PHASE

CITADEL CAPACITY: 100

---

The cheering stopped.

Completely.

Silence spread through hundreds of people.

I stared at the message.

Another line appeared beneath it.

---

ONLY 100 LIVING BEINGS MAY ENTER BEFORE THE DEFENSIVE WARD ACTIVATES.

---

Nobody spoke.

I looked around.

Students.

Approximately one hundred and seventy still remained across the five classes.

Then civilians.

Class One’s civilians.

Our wounded.

Children.

Soldiers.

Old people.

More than enough to push the total far beyond one hundred.

Far beyond.

James swore quietly.

Sophie had gone pale.

Daphne stared at the message without blinking.

Elizabeth became completely still.

Not shocked.

Calculating.

That was probably worse.

I looked through the opening gate.

One hundred.

Safe.

Everyone else...

Not safe.

Behind us, a distant roar rolled through the valley.

The ground trembled.

Then another.

Farther away.

Many.

Sophie turned toward the ridge.

Her scouts were already moving.

James drew his sword.

Daphne looked toward the mana carts.

Elizabeth’s attention shifted from the Citadel to the civilians.

The final monster wave had started.

Dawn wasn’t here yet.

Of course.

The Hermit had given us transportation.

Weapons.

Information.

Mana.

Medicine.

He had forced us to bring everything together.

Then placed a wall in front of us and told us there wasn’t enough room for everyone.

I stared at the glowing message.

One hundred.

A very clean number.

Suspiciously clean.

The System spoke quietly.

[Host.]

’Yes.’

[You are thinking.]

’Unfortunately.’

[About the capacity?]

I looked at the five seals still floating above us.

Then at the Citadel walls.

Then at the ward formations visible beneath the stone.

Something bothered me.

I couldn’t identify it yet.

But something was wrong.

Behind us, another roar echoed across the valley.

Closer.

James looked toward the rest of us.

"We need to decide."

Elizabeth nodded slowly.

"We do."

Daphne’s expression hardened.

Sophie looked toward the civilians.

Penelope stood beside me.

Waiting.

Everyone was waiting.

Wonderful.

I sighed.