"T.P… the values in that place, I believe, were directly correlated with the values shown on our Origin Cards," Aether said thoughtfully. He held up the boy's and the Elven man's Origin Cards, both marked with a '1' instead of the usual '0' in the upper right corner.
"This explains why every Empire received a value of 1 on that… scoreboard, or whatever we're calling it for now."
Aether turned to look at Kaelen, Sandra, and Sera, who sat quietly at the table, their expressions tense and uncertain. He continued,
"From what I've pieced together, those metallic figures only appear and disappear for about five minutes at a time. And during that window, they're up to something… something directed at the person they manage to capture. So far, they only appear at the barrier's edge, nowhere else. And every time, they hunt down just a single target, focusing only on one person. Which means… I suspect they're—"
"Doing it on purpose?" Sandra cut in, eyes fixed on Aether.
