A silence fell over the room as the weight of Principal Farne's words settled over them like a suffocating shroud.
Not only were they fighting a war of attrition they couldn't win, but the enemy also had a much higher number of S tier forces in reserve.
"The situation is… grim."
Principal Farnes said finally, not sugarcoating anything.
***
Tall trees rustled softly under the weight of their own green canopies.
The lush forest swayed gently in the breeze, creating quite a relaxing and quiet atmosphere, even the dappled sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting shadows on the mossy ground below.
If one were to suddenly awaken in this place, they wouldn't even have a lick of speculation regarding the horrors of war that plagued the rest of the galaxy.
It was a serene, almost idyllic corner of the universe.
And then, without warning, the tranquillity was shattered.
Two portals burst open in the middle of the forest, sending natural forces in all directions, creating a breeze much, much stronger than the normal wind that gently rocked the forest.
The portal's gravitational pull distorted the air around them.
In the next instant, two figures were expelled from the portals that opened up side by side, landing unceremoniously on the soft, mossy forest floor.
And then, returning the forest back to tranquillity, the portals disappeared like they were never there.
Alex staggered to his feet first, shaking off the disorientation that ca with travelling between the Primordial Expanse and the outside universe.
He glanced around, a sense of familiarity settling over him as he took in the forest's features.
"I'm back…"
He murmured under his breath.
It was the first ti he felt solid ground beneath his feet outside of the Primordial Expanse in what felt like an eternity.
But it had only been a few months…
Beside him, Mira pushed herself up, casting a wide and cautious gaze across their surroundings.
The scent of fresh earth and the distant chirping of birds were foreign to her, and she felt a strange mix of awe and anxiety wash over her.
"Is this… really the outside universe?"
A strange sense of Deja vu ca over her as she swore she recognised this place.
But she didn't rember recognising it from the outside universe.
If she rembered correctly, this place looked exactly like the forest that she had first landed in after crashing down through Eldaris's atmosphere in her drop pod.
She started to feel a little worried that for so reason, the System hadn't brought them back like it said it would…
But compared to her, Alex was much more knowledgeable about their surroundings.
"This is Eldaris!"
He shouted excitedly, even kneeling down to kiss the forest floor…
It was clear that he was happy to be back, despite his reluctance and sadness in having to leave Rothwind in the Primordial Expanse.
Alex recognised where they were imdiately.
It was the very sa forest he had spent hours searching for Mira when he first heard she had gone missing and her drop pod had completely just disappeared from the face of the planet.
In contrast to Mira, he had actually spent more ti on Eldaris, even though it was Mira's assigned battlefield…
Mira didn't even spend a minute on Eldaris, with most of her ti on the planet being in the atmosphere, crashing down from above.
And before she even had the chance to step foot in the forest, she found herself crashing in the Primordial Expanse…
Which was also why she felt that strange sense of Deja vu.
This forest mimicked the forests they rember so vividly from the other side, on the floating island she landed on.
Mira's brow furrowed as she scanned their peaceful surroundings.
The stillness of the forest, the gentle rustle of leaves, and the occasional bird song seed in contrast with the idea that this place should be part of a raging battlefield.
"Alex… why is it so quiet here?"
She asked slowly, making sure to keep her voice down.
In a place as quiet and serene as this, a human voice would practically be like a loud speaker blasting throughout their area.
"If this is supposed to be one of the main battlefields in the Telorn system, shouldn't there be… sothing? Noise, movent, anything?"
She rembered that the place was practically perfect for the hunter type awakened to thrive in, with countless assassinations taking place all across Eldaris.
But she didn't get this feeling now that she had actually stepped foot on it for the first ti.
Her unease grew as she looked over at Alex, who appeared equally perplexed.
"Maybe we won this planet back in the ti we were gone?"
He suggested optimistically, as it seed like the only logical answer.
With how violent and brutal the Red Demons were, there was no way they could leave such a beautiful place unscathed, right…?
"You should check our surroundings with your spatial perception!"
Mira urged, suddenly realising sothing that could be a huge help to them.
"You have a far wider range than I do, so you should be the one to do it."
A grin spread across Alex's face as Mira reminded him of this ability.
He'd almost forgotten about how useful his spatial perception was after spending so much ti with it being hindered in the Primordial Expanse.
With a deep breath, he extended his perception outward, letting it flood through their surroundings like an invisible wave.
Interestingly enough, Mira could actually feel Alex's perception pass through her, and as if there was so sort of invisible barrier where his perception ended, that she could actually sense clearly.
It seed the Primordial Expanse didn't just limit their ability to sense life forms, but it limited the effectiveness of the spatial elent as a whole, as this was a whole new sensation she was feeling!
After just a mont had passed, Alex's perception reached its maximum of 200 kilotres. Experience more on empire
For a mont, he basked in the sheer freedom of it, feeling every subtle shift in the wind, and the heartbeats of the small creatures hidden in the underbrush.
But then…
His eyes snapped open, his expression dropping into one of utter disdain and hatred.
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