CHAPTER 831: A NEW ENEMY FROM BEYOND THE STARS

As if granted a royal pardon, the generals smiled with relief the moment they heard Augustus’ order. Without hesitation, they turned and exited the command center, careful not to linger even a second longer than necessary. Each of them understood all too well that if they delayed, the scion of the Zanis Family might lose what little composure he had left—and when Augusts was consumed by rage, lives were often sacrificed to pacify it.

Among those who departed was Orfry, his expression layered with emotion—frustration, anxiety, and deep introspection. The young strategist’s mind spun in circles, replaying every scrap of information they had gathered, searching for some overlooked detail, some mistake, some clue as to how the invaders had been so ruthlessly effective.

Every move had been calculated. Every assault, every withdrawal, every battlefield deployment—it was all seamless, executed as though by a mind that exceeded even the most gifted human comprehension. Orfry had spent sleepless nights trying to formulate a strategy to turn the tide, to regain momentum, but nothing seemed viable. The crushing weight of defeat was mounting with every passing hour.

"If I don’t fix this soon," he thought grimly, "even if reinforcements from the Homeworld arrive and reclaim control, they’ll still see us as failures. Best case? I’ll be assigned to some meaningless bureaucratic post, wasting my talents until I die in obscurity."

To someone like Orfry, that fate was worse than death.

A meaningless life. Forgotten. Irrelevant.

Unfortunately, he saw no path forward. Despite the numerical superiority of their forces, the invaders had chosen their base wisely. The Asaris Continent was remote, difficult to access, and natural terrain obstacles weakened the advantage of a larger army. Even though they outnumbered the Xaos forces ten to one in every clash, their training, weaponry, and coordination allowed the enemy to dominate every battlefield.

The only conceivable plan Orfry could come up with involved gathering all the elite troops into a single, massive strike force—millions strong. They would surround the enemy and strike wave after wave, exhausting even the superior soldiers of Xaos through sheer relentless pressure.

But even that plan was nothing more than a fantasy. Logistically, moving hundreds of thousands of troops was already nightmarish. Mobilizing millions across several war-torn continents was next to impossible—especially now that the enemy had expanded their territory so drastically.

"Ahhh..." Orfry sighed deeply, the weight of futility crashing over him like a wave. Exhaustion gripped him so tightly that even keeping his eyes open became a challenge.

With no other choice, he returned to his chambers. He collapsed onto his bed, the cold metal walls of his quarters pressing in as if reflecting the pressure in his heart.

As the Xaos Kingdom celebrated success and the Zanis Family licked their wounds in bitter defeat, the world of Exilon continued to descend into a war unlike any seen before.

And high above, something else stirred.

In the orbit of Exilon, a presence—formless, without color or shape—slipped silently into the atmosphere. It did not travel by ship, nor break the laws of physics. It was as though a concept had entered the world—an invisible force unbound by gravity, form, or space. It moved at incredible speed, gliding across the skies with an eerie silence.

Within moments, it reached Dragon Spine, the underground stronghold of the Xaos Kingdom. No alarms sounded. No security systems reacted. It was as if the force did not exist within the world’s physical parameters. It infiltrated the stronghold undetected and moved with certainty toward the most powerful presences.

Its awareness first landed on the True Depravita of Wrath. For a moment, the invisible force seemed to pause, an unspoken desire emanating from it—yet it did not act. A few seconds later, it moved on.

Next, it hovered near a young woman radiating overwhelming psychic power. Again, desire flickered within the entity. But once more, it pulled away.

Finally, it arrived before the towering form of a Divine Avatar—a being with white hair and godlike aura. This time, there was no desire. Only confusion. The force lingered long, its stillness charged with something unreadable, as if it was witnessing something beyond its understanding.

Eventually, it withdrew from Dragon Spine, soaring through the skies once more.

It visited the newly conquered continents—Blizzard, Yeti, and Grizzly. Its presence passed over the small yellow cat, the white werewolf, and the fire dragon. There was desire again—but something held the force back. Some unseen limit.

Finally, it reached its last destination: the headquarters of the Zanis Family.

There, it descended like a shadow cast by fate itself.

Its focus locked on Augustus, and for the first time since arriving, the force showed no hesitation. Desire pulsed from within it, stronger than ever, and nothing seemed to stand in its way. It passed through walls, slipping into the command center, placing itself directly behind the Zanis scion.

It was ready to act.

But just as it was about to enter Augustus’ body, it hesitated.

Its attention was pulled elsewhere—to another room in the stronghold. Something... or someone had drawn it away.

After a moment of stillness, it left the control room, silently floating down the corridor until it reached a private residence.

Orfry’s chambers.

The invisible force hovered over the sleeping strategist. Its power began to penetrate the barrier between waking and dreaming, peering into Orfry’s subconscious, witnessing every vision, every thought, every suppressed desire. What it found stirred something within it—a unique alignment, a resonance.

The more it saw, the more its desire intensified.

Then, silently and without resistance, the entity merged into Orfry’s mind.

Almost instantly, Orfry began to toss and turn. A frown appeared on his face. In his dream, he had been standing atop the world—commanding armies, forging alliances, shaping the world in his image.

But that dream suddenly fractured.

Light gave way to darkness.

His surroundings vanished.

Horrified, Orfry looked around to find himself surrounded by writhing demonic mouths, eyes glowing with madness. The world around him had become a chasm of terror—as if he were trapped inside a universe where nothing existed but despair and chaos.

His heart pounded. His thoughts shattered.

And then—a voice emerged.

Calm. Cold. Omnipresent.

"Welcome, young man... to the future."