Elyonari didn't let the conversation drift any further into Veneri's disassociation with Time Divinity, because at this point it was obvious that if they kept going down that route, they would either end up arguing for the next hour or force Veneri into saying something he clearly wasn't ready to say. She wiped her fingers neatly, set the empty pizza box aside, and looked directly at Greshina.
"We're going off topic again. What about the Second Krepsuna War?"
Greshina, who had just reached for the last slice of pizza without asking anyone, paused for a fraction of a second before casually taking it anyway and then took a bite.
"This is the main event of the Second Epoch Cycle. The same way the First Epoch Cycle revolved around the Frozen God and his forces, this one revolves around the Krepsunas. The First Krepsuna War happened millennia ago long before the Destras Cataclysm eight thousand years ago. Back then, the Omniscient of Master Vasreveilder and Spheraphase—along with several other Supreme Entities—attempted to establish contact with the Krepsunas."
"Why would they even try that?"
"Curiosity, power, arrogance. Pick whichever you prefer, Miss Phae. They succeeded but not in the way they expected. The contact attempt happened in Convergence. Instead of communication, they opened a Passageway directly to the Krepsunas' home. That was their first mistake."
Veneri scoffed, "Let me guess. Everything went to hell immediately."
"Pretty much. The Krepsunas didn't negotiate. They poured through that Passageway and destroyed Convergence completely. And then they spread. They broke out into other realms within the Hidden Citadel. That's when the First Krepsuna War officially began. And that's when Vasreveilder stepped in. He 'sacrificed' himself."
The way she said it made it clear she knew about his fake death but she didn't elaborate.
"He sealed the Passageways the Krepsunas came through and protected Ledatic Siliportem. That's why this realm and others still exist in its peaceful current state. And now it's happening again."
Veneri spoke next. "The Second Krepsuna War."
Greshina finished her slice of pizza and set the box aside.
"Vasreveilder's seals are going to be undone by a Phantasm. There are... well, were two of them. And once the seals are undone, he will send his forces. This time, he'll deploy one of his subordinates, Virathus."
"That sounds like someone we should be very worried about."
"You should, Miss Ely. He's at the Overlord Rank."
"And how many Krepsunas are we dealing with?"
Greshina didn't hesitate.
"Billions."
"You're joking."
"I'm not. Their numbers alone are overwhelming, but that's not the worst part. Their Phantasms can access the wider universe. They're not confined to a single world like most civilizations. They already control multiple planets."
"You said there are currently two Phantasms in Spheraphase."
"Yes."
"Who are they?"
"One is unknown and you already know the other one. Erna, was it? Oh she goes by a different name now. Asenane."
Phaenora exhaled slowly.
"We knew she was involved somehow, but this confirms it."
Greshina nodded.
"Something happened between her and the other Phantasm. They're no longer aligned, but that doesn't make her harmless."
Veneri leaned back, rubbing his temple slightly.
"Yeah… Asenane having a 'dark past' is officially the understatement of the century."
Greshina didn't comment on that, even though there was clearly more she wasn't saying. For a brief moment, she considered telling them that Spheraphase was the origin of the Krepsunas but then she let it go. There were truths that, if spoken, would trigger consequences they weren't ready to deal with yet.
So she moved on.
"The remaining Phantasm will send Virathus and another unknown Overlord. He's one of the Overlord Rank Krepsunas under their command. His goal is simple; take the Hidden Citadel and infect more beings to convert them into Krepsunas. The Second Krepsuna War is about stopping that. We have to destroy their forces and prevent the Hidden Citadel from falling."
Veneri opened the hologram showing the information of the Second Epoch Cycle.
"And the Epoch Cycle gives us two options."
Phaenora leaned forward slightly as she saw the options.
"Let me guess. Neither of them are good."
Greshina held up two fingers.
"Option one, you help the eight Reniatsus of the Hidden Citadel and fight the Krepsunas together."
She lowered one finger.
"Option two, you attack the Reniatsus, claim control of the Hidden Citadel for yourselves and still fight the Krepsunas."
Phaenora leaned back slowly.
"That second option sounds insane."
"It is. But it's still an option."
Elyonari didn't speak immediately but her expression made it clear she was already analyzing both paths. Greshina looked at all three of them and suggested a option.
"As a Reniatsus, I hope you choose to help us. Because if you don't, Virathus will grow stronger. And if he reaches the point where he targets Spheraphase directly if we fail…"
She didn't need to finish that sentence.
Greshina stood up smoothly, brushing her clothes lightly as if she hadn't just dropped the most critical information of their entire journey so far.
"I'm going to relax. If you need anything, just call my name."
She turned and started walking away. She stopped and faced them.
"And try not to destroy my house while I'm gone. I get that you two are mad at me for kissing my man but don't take it out on my house okay?."
Greshina smirked faintly and left the room. The moment she was gone, Veneri leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees as he exhaled slowly.
"Alright."
Phaenora looked at him.
"Alright what?"
"It's time."
Elyonari already knew what he meant. Phaenora did too.
"We call an emergency meeting of the Sentina Erideae immediately. Because if what she just said is even half accurate, we don't have the luxury of waiting anymore."
Veneri reached into his inventory, pulling out the object that none of them had used since Nyramith Island. It always existed as a contingency rather than an active tool.
It was a black helmet.
It wasn't particularly flashy at first glance, which was ironic considering how absurdly complex it actually was in function. It looked like a smooth, dark piece of headgear with faint runic inscriptions lining its inner edges that only became visible when it was activated. The surface reflected faint hues of light.
Phaenora immediately recognized it and let out a low whistle.
"Wow. We're actually doing this."
Elyonari didn't say anything but she had already pulled hers out.
Veneri glanced at them briefly before speaking.
"When we were in Nyramith Island for our first Divine test, we made these as a failsafe. The Andelaris twins handled the astral projection enchantment, I reinforced it with runes to stabilize the output, and Phae worked on the incorporeal environment so we'd have a consistent meeting space."
"Yeah, I remember. I made sure we didn't end up floating in some weird void like amateurs."
"Appreciate that. These things are linked. Even if they're stored in inventories, they'll respond to a call. Only I can initiate it."
He placed the helmet over his head. The moment it settled, the runes along its surface ignited softly, glowing with a network of inscriptions. Phaenora and Elyonari quickly followed, placing their own helmets on and in that instant, the world faded.
When their vision stabilized, they were no longer in Greshina's mansion. They were seated around a massive round table.
The chamber surrounding them looked like a high-end study bathed in warm sunlight, with towering bookshelves lining the walls, filled with texts that seemed both ancient and new at the same time. Large windows stretched along the far side, revealing a serene, almost unreal landscape beyond.
At the head of the table sat Veneri. Specifically, the Love Veneri.
He leaned back slightly in his chair. One arm rested casually against the armrest. Behind him, four figures stood. Each one was identical in appearance, yet fundamentally different in presence.
The Pentarchs stood behind him. Phaenora glanced at them and scoffed.
"Still not used to that."
Veneri ignored them.
A figure materialized across the table. Her presence stabilized almost instantly as she looked around with mild curiosity. Adelasta blinked twice, taking in the environment before letting out a quiet hum.
"So this is the system you mentioned."
Without hesitation, she walked over and took the seat directly next to Veneri as if it had always been reserved for her. Adelasta didn't even acknowledge Ely and Phae, which somehow made it worse.
The next ripple came almost immediately after. Narisva appeared with her familiar cocky edge as she looked around.
"Finally. I was starting to think you'd never use this thing."
She leaned back in her chair, glancing at the five Veneris.
"And wow, you really went all in on this whole splitting yourself thing. I didn't expect different eye colors though."
Another presence formed. The moment Asenane appeared, her gaze turned onto the five Veneris instantly. Her expression shifted into genuine shock.
"Alright, yeah, this is definitely an emergency. That is a lot of you."
Two more figures materialized next. Xander and Farrynelle looked around. Xander took one look at the setup, then at the Pentarchs, and let out a low chuckle.
"So this is what you meant."
Farrynelle tilted her head slightly as she observed the scene, "You didn't exaggerate, huh."
Then came Natalis and Denisia. The twins appeared almost simultaneously for a moment, they just stood there, taking it all in before smiling.
Natalis spoke first. "It's about time."
Denisia nodded.
"We were wondering when you'd finally use it."
They both took their seats gracefully, clearly more fascinated than alarmed.
Peroncerea and Eldrigan appeared last. At first, it was normal. However, the moment their presence fully stabilized, the room felt heavier. Phaenora's eyes narrowed.
Peroncerea and Eldrigan were at the Seventh Enlightenment.
The realization spread through the room. No one said it immediately.but everyone felt it. Peroncerea seemed to notice the change in atmosphere and tilted her head slightly.
"Oh. You noticed."
Eldrigan exhaled quietly, "We were going to mention it later "
The room settled again, though the tension didn't fully disappear. Veneri finally leaned forward slightly, resting his hands on the table.
"Alright, before we start throwing questions at each other, I'm going to give a summary."
Phaenora raised her hand.
"Are we not going to address the very obvious elephants in the room first?"
"I don't know what elephants are but I assume we'll get to that later."
Phaenora stared at Peroncerea.
"You know what, fair."
All eyes returned to Veneri.
"What I'm about to say next is going to determine what we do from here on out."