Night settled over the forest like a heavy cloak, muting distant roars and swallowing the last traces of smoke from the earlier battle. A rough camp had been formed beneath towering trees, their branches woven together to hide the firelight from prowling eyes. The ground was still stained dark in places where demonic blood had soaked in, but no one complained. Compared to the front lines, this was peace.
The fifteen knights sat together in a loose circle, backs straight despite exhaustion, armor dented and scarred beyond repair. They ate quietly at first, still processing the fact that they were alive.
And that their lives now belonged to someone else.
Daniel stood apart for a moment, gazing into the darkness. Inside his void space, the domain pulsed steadily. The newly placed eagle egg rested within a cradle of condensed wind-aspected mana, its shell faintly glowing as currents of air spiraled around it. Lilith monitored it closely, her awareness calm but alert.
More concerning was Thraxa.
The ant queen egg no longer slept peacefully.
A deep, thunderous heartbeat echoed through the domain at steady intervals—slow, powerful, commanding. Each pulse sent ripples through the mana sea, forcing nearby energy to bend and flow toward it. Lilith had warned him already: whatever Thraxa became, it would not be ordinary.
Daniel withdrew his consciousness and returned to the camp.
That was when Eseren decided the silence had gone on long enough.
She flopped down beside the fire with exaggerated exhaustion, stretching her arms high above her head, armor shifting smoothly over her toned frame. "Wow," she said loudly, "fifteen knights, one dead demon horde, zero thanks for the beautiful archer who saved you all. I'm wounded. Truly."
Several of the younger knights nearly choked on their food.
Maria covered her mouth to hide a smile.
Mayoka, the eldest, cleared his throat and bowed his head respectfully. "We are grateful. Truly. If not for you—"
Eseren waved a hand dismissively. "Relax, relax. You can thank me later by not dying uselessly. I hate saving people twice. It's inefficient."
That earned a few nervous laughs.
Daniel allowed himself a small breath of amusement. Eseren's stubborn humor had a way of cutting through tension, grounding people when fear threatened to take over. She did it instinctively, without realizing the effect she had.
One of the youngest knights—barely sixteen—stared at her with wide eyes before whispering to his brother, "She talks like that after killing monsters?"
Eseren's head snapped toward him instantly. "I can hear you."
The boy froze.
She leaned in slightly, grin sharp. "And I talk like this before killing them too."
The entire camp burst into laughter, even Mayoka shaking his head helplessly.
Daniel stepped forward then, and the mood shifted naturally. Not into fear—but into attention. Every knight straightened, instincts honed by battle recognizing command presence without needing words.
He addressed them calmly.
He explained his intent clearly: they would not wander aimlessly anymore. They would train. They would cultivate. They would grow strong enough to never be cornered like they had been today.
The training would not be gentle.
The domain he possessed was rich in mana—far denser and purer than anything found naturally in Astrid's territories. Inside it, time would be structured. Meditation would not be passive; it would be guided, pressured, shaped. Their bodies would be forced to adapt or break through bottlenecks that would normally take years.
Those who endured would emerge fundamentally changed.
Eseren crossed her arms and added, "In simpler terms: you'll suffer a lot. But you'll look much cooler afterward."
Another ripple of laughter followed, tension easing once more.
Daniel continued, making his conditions explicit. Loyalty was non-negotiable. Not blind obedience—but unity. Betrayal would not be tolerated, not because of anger, but because weakness in structure killed armies faster than demons ever could.
Mayoka accepted immediately, placing his hand over his heart. The others followed suit without hesitation. They had already lost everything that tied them to the old order. What Daniel offered was harsh—but honest.
Maria watched the exchange closely.
She saw how Daniel did not promise glory, titles, or riches. Only strength and survival. It resonated deeply with her. This was not the language of nobles. This was the language of war.
As the fire crackled, the group ate together more freely now. Stories began to surface—small ones at first. Childhood training mishaps. Embarrassing moments during early campaigns. The bonds between the Mayoka brothers became clear quickly. They teased one another mercilessly, yet instinctively shielded the youngest when conversation turned too dark.
Eseren listened with interest, occasionally interjecting with blunt commentary.
"So you're saying you charged a demon twice your size with a dull spear," she said to one knight, eyebrow raised, "and you thought that was a good idea?"
He scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "At the time… yes?"
She nodded solemnly. "Brave. Stupid. But brave."
Maria laughed openly this time.
Daniel observed quietly, committing everything to memory. Strength could be forged through cultivation—but cohesion like this was rare. It was worth preserving.
Later that night, when most of the camp had settled into rest rotations, Daniel gathered the core group—Eseren, Maria, and Mayoka—briefly.
They would move at first light.
Their direction would not be random. Daniel intended to skirt the outer routes leading toward the capital, avoiding main roads while intercepting remnants of broken units, abandoned talents, and survivors like the Mayoka brothers.
This was how armies were truly born—not in academies, but in ruin.
Inside the domain, Lilith's presence stirred faintly.
The eagle egg had shifted.
A thin crack had formed along its surface, releasing a sharp burst of wind-aspected mana that rattled the internal structures. At the same time, Thraxa's heartbeat intensified, slower now, but heavier—each pulse carrying an undeniable authority.
Daniel felt it clearly.
The domain was evolving alongside him.
Outside, Eseren sat atop a fallen log, swinging her legs lazily. She glanced toward Daniel, eyes sharp despite her casual posture. "You're smiling. That's dangerous."
"I am not," Daniel replied evenly.
She smirked. "You are. That means something big is growing. Or hatching. Or exploding."
Maria tilted her head. "Is that bad?"
Eseren shrugged. "With him? It's fifty-fifty."
Daniel chose not to correct her.
As dawn approached, the forest stirred once more. But this time, it was not fear that lingered in the air.
It was momentum.
Daniel looked over the camp—knights resting, Maria meditating quietly, Eseren humming to herself as she checked Blaze Bang's string.
This was no longer a chance encounter.
This was the beginning of something that would carve its name into history—whether the world was ready or not.