I woke up in the middle of the night without knowing exactly why.
The room was silent. Their breathing was calm, steady. The closeness we shared hours earlier still lingered in the air, but my mind was no longer at rest.
I got up carefully so as not to wake them.
The sword remained resting beside the bed. I touched the hilt for a moment before leaving. No reaction. No sign. Just constant presence.
I walked down the stairs slowly and crossed the dark corridor to the mansion's inner courtyard. The door creaked lightly when I opened it, but the sound faded into the night.
The moon was high.
Clear.
Steady.
The silver light covered the garden evenly, without harsh shadows. I sat on the stone step near the entrance and let the silence surround me.
For a long time, I moved forward by reacting.
Responding to attacks.
Correcting the enemy's mistakes.
Now it was different.
If the Fourth General truly sustained his immortality through some external link, direct confrontation would not be enough. We needed to force him to expose himself.
I looked at the sky.
The stars seemed still, but I knew they moved slowly, in cycles that went beyond immediate human perception.
Immortality.
Maybe it wasn't the absence of an end.
Maybe it was the artificial extension of a cycle that should have ended.
I took a deep breath.
I needed to stop thinking only about how to defeat him.
I needed to decide how to conduct the next move.
I heard light footsteps behind me.
I didn't need to turn to know who it was.
Liriel sat beside me.
"You carry decisions even when your body rests."
"I couldn't sleep."
She tilted her head slightly.
"Leadership rarely allows complete rest."
We stayed in silence for a few seconds.
"Do you think I'm leading correctly?" I asked.
She answered without hesitation.
"You don't lead out of pride. You lead out of responsibility."
It wasn't empty praise.
It was a statement.
"They trust you," Liriel continued. "Not because they believe you are invincible. But because you recognize limits and still move forward."
I looked at the moon again.
"If I make a mistake, the cost won't be only mine."
"That's why you think before acting."
If it were just physical combat, I would have already moved.
But war against immortal demons is not a simple confrontation.
It is prolonged strategy.
Light footsteps again.
Elara approached in silence.
"I knew you'd be here."
She sat on the other side.
"What did you decide?" she asked.
"We won't wait for the Fourth General to choose the battlefield."
Elara kept her gaze fixed on me.
"Then we'll provoke him."
"Yes."
Not with a direct attack.
But with strategic movement.
Cutting routes.
Destabilizing smaller bases.
Forcing him to protect what sustains his advantage.
Vespera appeared soon after, as if she had been monitoring everything from the beginning.
"If we push too hard, he may respond with full force."
"That's what we need."
She crossed her arms.
"You want him to come to us."
"I want him to be forced to act."
Rai'kanna appeared last, leaning against the nearby wall.
"Then it will be open war."
"Not yet," I replied. "It will be intelligent attrition."
Lyannis also came down, still adjusting her hair.
"If we can identify the pattern of energy sustainment, I can try to locate anomalies."
"Do that," I replied.
I looked at the moon again.
The decision was formed.
It wasn't rushed.
It was inevitable.
Staying on the defensive would prolong his advantage.
Forcing movement would create an opening.
Elara took a deep breath.
"You've already chosen the path."
"Yes."
Liriel smiled slightly.
"Then the doubt is over."
I nodded.
"I won't wait for his immortality to become an untouchable legend."
The sword remained silent at my waist.
But something inside me was more defined.
It wasn't an increase in power.
It was clarity of direction.
Rai'kanna stepped away from the wall.
"When do we start?"
"Tomorrow we begin targeted information gathering. In two days, we attack one of their secondary routes."
Vespera nodded.
"I can confirm vulnerable points by then."
Lyannis already seemed to be mentally organizing data.
Elara kept a firm expression.
"If he reacts, we'll be ready."
I looked at each of them.
None showed fear.
Only focus.
The moon remained high, a silent witness to the decision we were making.
I understood something important at that moment.
Leading is not about having absolute certainty.
It is about choosing a path even when certainty does not exist.
I stood up.
"Go back and rest. Tomorrow a new phase begins."
They remained for a few more seconds, as if they wanted to engrave that moment.
Then they went inside one by one.
I stayed alone for a moment longer.
The night was cold, but not uncomfortable.
I touched the hilt of the sword.
"If you are to awaken, let it be at the right moment."
No response.
Not yet.
But I didn't depend on that to act.
I looked at the moon one last time.
The decision was made.
We would not wait for the enemy.
We would make him come to us.
I entered the mansion.
I closed the door with silent firmness.
The next move would not be defensive.
It would be strategic.
And I was ready to lead it.