The first night in Vailor was too quiet.
Not because of the absence of external sound. The city remained alive beyond the walls of the property. What changed was the atmosphere inside the mansion. There was no longer any expectation about the journey. No more speculation about the stone. Now we were back at our base point, and that meant one thing.
Definitive planning.
The next morning, I woke before the others and went straight to the main room. The central table was already clear, ready for maps and reports. I ran my hand over the wooden surface and felt the stability of that space. It was there that decisions would be made.
Little by little, they came downstairs.
Elara brought the strategic scrolls we had accumulated over the past months. Vespera carried reports of recent movements. Liriel brought notes on demonic energy patterns. Rai'kanna was already dressed in training gear. Lyannis organized the records from the Kingdom of the Cyclopes alongside our own documents.
I sat at the head of the table.
"Let's begin."
It wasn't a formal order. It was the start of a new phase.
Vespera spoke first.
"The northern borders recorded two small incursions. They weren't direct attacks. They looked like tests."
"Reconnaissance," I replied.
She nodded.
"We eliminated the groups sent, but their resistance was above normal."
Elara opened a map.
"The Fourth General still hasn't appeared personally."
"He doesn't need to," Rai'kanna commented. "If he's truly immortal, he can prolong the war until everyone is exhausted."
That was the central issue.
Immortality doesn't mean immediate invincibility. It means temporal advantage.
Lyannis opened one of the cyclopean records.
"If the theory is correct, his immortality depends on an external link or a sustaining structure."
"Energy source?" I asked.
"Possibly. Or a contract."
Liriel tilted her head slightly.
"Some demonic entities use spiritual anchors."
The word lingered in the air.
Anchor.
If one existed, cutting the body wouldn't be enough.
It would be necessary to break the link.
Elara looked at me.
"The stone may interfere with that bond. But we need a strategy beyond that."
I agreed.
"We'll divide into three fronts. First, analysis of the immortality structure. Second, specific training for prolonged combat. Third, gathering information on the Fourth General's direct movements."
Rai'kanna crossed her arms.
"Training starts today."
"Yes."
There was no reason to delay.
We spent hours discussing possibilities. Every scenario was evaluated calmly. If the stone failed, we needed an alternative. If it worked partially, we needed to exploit the opening created.
No plans based on hope.
Everything based on contingency.
At midday, we went out to the training field behind the property. It wasn't as large as the cyclopean fields, but it was enough.
I started by testing endurance.
Simulated combat against Rai'kanna. She advanced with controlled force, aiming to pressure my reflexes. I maintained a firm stance, conserving movement.
The focus now was efficiency.
If the enemy doesn't tire, I can't waste energy.
After several exchanges, we stepped back.
Vespera entered next, attacking with precision from a distance. We worked on positioning and coverage. Liriel tested casting time under pressure. Elara simulated terrain variations with magic. Lyannis measured energy stability around the sword.
Nothing extraordinary happened with the blade.
But something was different.
My mind was more organized.
There was no longer internal doubt.
There was calculation.
At the end of training, the sun was already slowly descending.
We sat under the side shadow of the mansion.
Elara discreetly wiped the sweat from her face.
"You're more restrained."
"Because now I know what's at stake."
Vespera looked directly at me.
"Are you thinking about direct confrontation?"
"Not immediately. First, we need to force him to act."
Rai'kanna raised an eyebrow.
"Strategic provocation?"
"Controlled exposure."
Lyannis took notes.
Liriel spoke softly.
"If the spirit of the sword awakens, it will be at the right moment."
I looked at the blade resting beside me.
"I won't depend on that."
But I knew.
If there was a moment of real rupture, it would come on the battlefield.
We returned inside at nightfall.
We reorganized maps, defined observation points, and distributed watch shifts.
The mansion wasn't just shelter.
It was an operational base.
Before going up to my room, I stopped at the entrance of the room once more. I looked over the scattered maps, the notes, the cyclopean records alongside our own.
The journey to the Kingdom of the Cyclopes gave us possibility.
The return to Vailor gave us immediate responsibility.
I touched the hilt of the sword.
Silence.
But not emptiness.
The war was not distant.
It was approaching step by step.
And now, inside the mansion, every decision we made could define the course of the confrontation.
I turned off the lights in the room.
Climbed the stairs.
The phase of searching was over.
The phase of tactical preparation was fully underway.
And I would not allow failure.