A few hours later.
Reiner Soren had spent the better part of the past two hours scouting the surrounding outer space for the scattered experts of his clan.
He carried severe injuries, many of them internal rather than external. His samurai bun had come undone, his clothes torn in various places, exposing his wounds.
In just one unfortunate night, he had lost both his son and clan. His injuries were the least of his worries.
Reiner was deeply hurt.
Anyone in his shoes might have broken down and cried already. But he neither expressed his grief nor lashed out.
There was still a lot to be done.
For now, however, he needed to find the surviving clan experts. The rest could come later.
Reiner gathered the surviving clan experts on a massive floating piece of debris — a remnant of their destroyed home. He spared no effort trying to stabilise the wounds of the other, expending vast pools of his essence in mere minutes while leaving himself further weakened.
They had numbered a total of six at the start of their devastating battle. They were now reduced to four — at least for those who had been on the Soren planet at the time.
During the battle between his son and that Enforcer, the clan had received several calls for reinforcement, but no help could be afforded.
The Intergalactic Council had certainly gone all out.
Atop the massive planetary debris, Reiner stood before the other three experts. To his left was the only surviving woman, Reiss Soren, his distant cousin.
Reiss was a woman with a fiery temper, her temperament further heightened by her fire-based abilities. Her face looked pale, her eyes sunken from severe exhaustion. But it did nothing to calm the silent rage within.
"Reiner, I think it's time we knew the truth," Reiss demanded, her breath laboured. "What is this about Arthur being a Dimensional Shifter?"
"She's right, Reiner." Damon Jahan, the Grand Elder directly facing him, added coldly.
Damon had lost his right arm during the fight and would have died had it not been for Reiss stepping in. He was hurt, and he was angry.
"What have you been keeping from us? The Intergalactic Council despised the clan, but without a good enough reason, they wouldn't have moved."
Reiner stayed silent as he listened to his colleagues. He turned to the last member, hinting that he was waiting for his input.
"What they said," Stanley Grey shrugged. "We've come this far already. You might as well talk."
Stanley was the carefree type, a free spirit. Had it been up to him, he would have abandoned the 'serious looking elder' image and lived as he pleased.
Rather than being angry like the others, he was inwardly anxious, panicked, hiding his precarious state of mind behind a mask of carefreeness. His son was out there somewhere, most likely on the run. And he dared not consider the worst-case scenario.
Stanley could only imagine what his colleagues were going through.
Reiner closed his eyes, taking a moment to organise his thoughts. He debated telling them the truth. But did it matter? It did to him.
Arthur was alive.
He trusted his colleagues, but the human heart was fickle. And losing so much, so fast, could undermine a person's motivation and allegiance. Perhaps he was ignoring the bigger issue — the nature of a Dimensional Shifter.
'Maybe the world needs the chaos he would unleash.'
"Arthur is a Dimensional Shifter."
Reiner opened his eyes and stated with a neutral expression. All three elders reacted differently.
Reiss clicked her tongue and looked away. Damon glared and lowered his head, his breathing heavy. Stanley showed no reaction, almost like he already knew the answer.
"Are we that untrustworthy to you?" Damon growled and then raised his head, seething. "Did you think we would have betrayed the clan?! Is that it, Reiner?! Is that it?!"
Doman raised his voice, shooting to his feet.
"Calm down, Damon." Stanley tried to calm him, but Damon would have none of it.
"No! This isn't the first time Reiner has kept something this important from the rest of us. We paid the price with everything, goddamn it! I lost my daughter because of this!"
The person with the fiery temper had strangely kept quiet while Damon vented his frustrations. It was understandable. He had lost his last direct blood. They didn't all have Reiner's mental resilience to remain collected despite the weight he bore.
"Where's the boy now?" Stanley cut in when he saw an opening, watching as Damon slowly returned to his seat. "Perhaps there is something we can do for him. We might have lost our position, but our strength is still nothing to scoff at."
Throughout Damon's venting, Reiner had stayed rooted in place, silently receiving Damon's verbal assaults. Stanley truly admired Reiner's resilience. He even envied it to an extent.
"I-I don't know."
"Hah!" Damon snorted, not convinced. "You might as well tell us you have four arms."
"Just knowing the truth is good enough for now." Reiss finally chipped in, cutting off Damon. "What do we do now? I'm sure the Council will search for us once those bastards recover."
"There isn't much we can do at this point," Stanley spoke again, glancing Reiss's way. "With our injuries and numbers, our only bet is to disappear. At least for a while."
"I agree." Reiner seconded, glancing at his colleagues. "Though I know we all have our plans."
Stanley and Reiss would most definitely try to find the whereabouts of their loved ones. One of the other Grand Elders was Reiss's husband. And luckily, her son was in another dimension, relatively safe from harm.
Staring at the despondent Damon, Reiner was at a loss for words. He truly understood what the man was going through. Sadly, there was nothing he could do.
Words would feel empty when he knew it wouldn't change how Damon felt at the moment. More than that, he was worried. Worried that Damon might do something foolish.
"Will you be alright?"
Realising the question was directed at him, Damon spared Reiner a hateful glance before looking away once more, allowing the silence to stretch. No one spoke. They just waited for him to reply on his terms.
"If you're worried I'll do something stupid, then you're wasting your time."
Reiner wasn't convinced, but he kept his doubts to himself. The clan was basically over at this point. They were more or less free to pursue their own paths.
"Very well." He verbally accepted Damon's response, momentarily closing his eyes. "Our first priority should be our recovery. We'll reconvene once things settle."
"I doubt things will be settling anytime soon." Damon snorted.
"He's right." Stanley agreed, staring at Reiner with a certain look. "With your grandson out there, things will be getting a lot more interesting. I just hope you know what you're doing, Reiner."
Reiner did not comment, but silently, he hoped so too. After all, he had, minutes ago, doomed the world to his grandson's existence.
'Little Art,' Reiner prayed, his gaze wandering about the debris-filled region. 'Perhaps you're the seed of our clan's rebirth or the start of its absolute doom. Who knows?'