Time continued to pass.
The Black Mass kept receding, and eventually even that impossible sight became part of the background of everyday life.
People still watched the reports. Tidewatch still updated the exposed portions of the corrupted supercontinent. Factions remained alert, and every newly revealed region was studied carefully.
But fear could not remain sharp forever.
Markets filled again. Training grounds stayed busy. Trade resumed wherever routes remained safe. Children who had once stared at every communication device whenever an alert sounded gradually stopped doing so.
The Thousand Races learned to live with the darkness withdrawing in the distance.
That's when Aurelia's warning finally became real.
•••
Tidewatch detected the first movements before anyone else.
They did not come from a single direction.
