The reason Lin Mei’s face soured was because Jian’s observation had struck a deep, old wound within her organization. It was a badge of shame for the Gate Keepers, a part of their past they would rather forget. She let out a long, weary sigh, the sound of a burden carried for centuries.

“You are correct, Elder Jian,” she admitted, her voice laced with a bitter honesty that surprised everyone in the room, even Lysander. “The technique those factions use to protect their secrets is indeed a stolen, corrupted version of our own.”

She saw the shock on their faces and continued, her gaze distant as she recounted a dark chapter of her order’s history. “A very long time ago, when those two factions were first created by their mysterious founders, they were somehow able to get high-ranking members from the Gate Keepers to convert to their cause. They were masters of persuasion and manipulation, and they most likely offered promises of power and a new world order that swayed some of our own.”

“At the time,” she explained, her voice low, “the seal technique itself was not protected by our pact. It was a tool, a sacred one, but we never imagined that our own high ranking people would betray it. It simply wasn't considered a necessary precaution. That was clearly a mistake, our mistake. It was this mistake that caused our powers to be used to aid such factions instead of stopping them.”

That was how some of the most vital secrets of the Gate Keepers leaked out into the world. The traitors used their intimate knowledge of the Gate Keepers’ network to help the fledgling factions spread out from their original continents. Not only helping them move around it but also hiding their movements away so they were even less likely to be noticed.

They moved through the arrays in secret, establishing footholds in new lands long before the betrayal was fully discovered. That discovery triggered the darkest period in our history: the Great Purge.”

“It was not a simple matter of hunting down a few traitors,” she said, her voice heavy with the weight of memory. “It was a multi-year-long shadow war, fought not on battlefields, but in the very halls of our order. We had to purge internally, turning our gaze upon ourselves, questioning the loyalty of friends and comrades we had known for centuries. The paranoia was a poison that nearly tore us apart from the inside. We fought skirmishes in hidden realms and across the continents, trying to contain the spread of these new factions while also rooting out the cancer within our own ranks. We did this all in secret, to prevent the world from falling into chaos.”

“We underwent a whole reorganization. The entire structure of the Gate Keepers was torn down and rebuilt. New security protocols, new chains of command, and the expanded, all-encompassing seal that every member must now take. The forces we lost during all of this was extreme back then. We lost nearly a third of our Elders, some to betrayal, others in the fighting that followed. It was a devastating blow, and it is why we are so cautious now, why we preserve our strength. We learned our lesson, but we are still not certain we got them all.”

She then looked at them, her expression turning from historical regret to modern-day concern. “But even with that, it doesn’t explain their current numbers. In recent times, their growth has been explosive. Even if there was still some small, secret use of the arrays for their purpose, it could not account for the sheer scale of their expansion. There has to be another way they are moving between continents, either passing through the seas using some kind of powerful treasure, or by some other means we are not yet aware of.”

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She was being remarkably open, exposing the dirty secrets and past failures of her vaunted organization. Lysander was surprised by this as well, he had not heard of this history before. He had a vague idea that the techniques used by the groups were very similar in their effect but never thought to connect it in such a way. It made sense now that he thought about it some more.

The reason for this unprecedented transparency from Lin Mei soon became clear. She wanted to let them know because she wanted their help. She wanted to bring their group into the small, exclusive list of contacts that could be called upon to help defend the world or at the very least this continent.

“We are telling you this because we believe the Golden Shell Guild has the power to become a pillar of this continent’s defense. We wish to formally invite you to join our network, to share in the burden of the strong.”

All eyes in the room turned to Jian, who, as the highest-ranking member at the table, was the de facto spokesperson. He was silent for a long moment, considering her words. Then, he gave his answer. It was an answer they had discussed as a group before this, expecting this rough outcome.

“Honored Elder Lin,” he said, his voice calm, respectful, but utterly firm. “The Golden Shell Guild is honored by your trust and your offer. But we must decline the offer as it currently is.”

He leaned forward slightly, his gaze as sharp as the edge of his blade. “Let me be clear, so there are no misunderstandings. The Guild is not here to be the savior of the continent, we do not want to fight continuously against all the evils of this world. We are not a righteous sect, and we do not fight for honor or for the greater good. We are here to protect our own interests. We are, at our heart, a merchant guild. We seek profit, peace, and the power to protect both.”

He gestured to Lysander. “Our friends in the Forest of the Radiant Dawn are the grand saviors. They are honorable, noble, and they will throw themselves into the fire to protect the innocent. We admire them for it. But that is not our path. We will fight, and we will kill, but only when our business is threatened, when our people are harmed, or when our peace is disturbed.”

“However,” he added, his tone shifting slightly, “it seems that a threat you would see as a danger to this continent would most likely affect the Guild, so we would work together then. But if the Keepers were going to ask us to take on additional tasks outside of that clear and present danger to our own interests, then we would have to discuss the terms and conditions of our assistance.”

A silence filled the room at Jian’s response. It wasn’t an unreasonable response at all, how many could be as selfless as the Forest group that was with them currently. Lin Mei looked at Jian not with anger, but with a bit of surprise. She had expected some negotiations, perhaps a request for compensation for the help they would offer, but not this blunt rejection first.

They were brutally honest, they were not some organization that put the world’s interests above their own. They were not going to rush into battle for the common good of the people in this world. They would protect their own interests first, then if things aligned they could work together.

It was followed by a transactional counter-offer. They could be moved after all, if the reason and price was right. It left the door open for cooperation with one another but each situation would have to be considered carefully. Both very reasonable things, they could work with such an organization. They were honest to themselves and to her.

She looked at the others from the Guild—at Kui, at Cyra, at the Generals standing silently behind them—and saw not a flicker of dissent. They all shared this creed. This was who they were. It was a selfish, pragmatic, and honest worldview. And in its own way, it was just as unshakeable as the Forest’s code of honor.