The barren moon had exactly one advantage—no one lived there to complain about unexpected visitors. Ethan sat on a rocky outcrop, watching the distant fleets slowly disperse now that their target had vanished.
His system had gone quiet after the inheritance transfer, but he could feel the changes. New abilities waiting to be explored. Knowledge that would take years to fully process. And most importantly, the locations of seventeen other dormant Immortal Path systems scattered across the galaxy.
"They're leaving," Commander Seris observed, tracking the fleet movements. Her mother, the Celestial Empress, stood beside her in an awkward silence that spoke volumes about their complicated relationship. "Empress Kara is the last to go. She doesn't like losing."
"She didn't lose," Ethan said. "None of them did. They just didn't win the way they expected."
"Semantics that will comfort no one." The Empress's voice carried centuries of political experience. "You've created an impossible situation, human. Every faction knows you exist, knows your value, and knows you're bonded to representatives from multiple powers. This won't end peacefully."
"It could," Ethan countered. "If we give them something better than fighting over me."
"And what would that be?"
"The Immortal Path techniques." Ethan stood, feeling the Mid Core Formation power humming through his body. "I can teach them. Not to everyone immediately, but to representatives from each major faction. Show them that the knowledge isn't exclusive, that we can all benefit."
Princess Lyra snorted. "You want to hold a cultivation academy in the middle of a power struggle? That's possibly the most naive thing I've heard."
"Or the most brilliant," Nyx interjected. She'd been silent since their escape, studying Ethan with an intensity that made him uncomfortable. "If he can demonstrate that the Immortal Path can be replicated, shared, it removes the exclusivity. He stops being a unique resource to be controlled and becomes a teacher to be protected."
"The Shadow Moon Clan would support such an endeavor," Nyx continued. "We have facilities, resources, and most importantly, isolation from political interference. Bring your students there."
"In exchange for what?" Seris asked sharply. "The Shadow Moon doesn't do anything for free."
"In exchange for first access to the full techniques," Nyx said bluntly. "My clan has preserved Primordial knowledge for millennia. We understand its value. Let us study and document everything Ethan learned, and we'll provide protection while he teaches others."
Dr. Senna, who'd been quietly running medical scans on everyone, spoke up. "That's actually not a terrible plan. The Shadow Moon planet is hidden, defensible, and neutral ground. No single faction controls it."
"My mother controls half the galaxy's military," Seris pointed out. "Neutral ground is wherever she says it is."
The Celestial Empress's expression was unreadable. Through the resonance bond, Ethan could feel her warring emotions—maternal concern for Seris, political calculation about the implications, and something else. Curiosity about the bond itself, about what it meant to be connected to the Reality Anchor.
"I will agree to a temporary truce," the Empress finally said. "Send representatives from major factions to learn these techniques. But there must be rules, agreements, protections. I won't have this turn into another battleground."
"The Fenris Pack will send warriors," Lyra added. "If only to ensure our interests are represented. And to keep an eye on you, human. You're still valuable breeding stock, regardless of your teaching abilities."
"Can we maybe not call it that?" Ethan grimaced.
"Why? It's accurate." Lyra's grin showed too many teeth. "Your genetics are compatible with dozens of species. That's worth more than cultivation techniques to many factions. You'll need to address that eventually."
It was a problem Ethan had been avoiding thinking about. The resonance bonds helped—they made it clear he wasn't unattached property. But Lyra was right. Eventually, factions would push for genetic continuity, for offspring that could inherit his abilities.
"One problem at a time," he said. "First, we establish the academy. Prove the techniques can be taught. Then we can discuss... everything else."
"Avoiding uncomfortable topics," Nyx observed. "Very human. But acceptable for now." She produced a small device that projected a holographic map. "The Shadow Moon planet. Three cycles' journey from here. I'll send coordinates to approved vessels. Arrive with students, not armies."
"And Empress Kara?" Senna asked. "She won't accept an invitation politely."
"She'll come because her rivals are coming," the Empress said. "She can't afford to be left out of something this significant. Her pride won't allow it."
Ethan studied the map, feeling the weight of what he was proposing. An academy for teaching Primordial techniques to multiple species, hosted by the mysterious Shadow Moon Clan, protected by an alliance of former enemies. It was ambitious. Probably impossible.
But the alternative was spending the rest of his life running or caged.
"Send the invitations," he decided. "Twenty students maximum from each major faction. Core Formation realm or below—I'm not ready to teach Soul Realm cultivators. Duration of three months. After that, we evaluate and decide if it continues."
"And if it fails?" Lyra asked. "If old rivalries resurface and students start killing each other?"
"Then we'll deal with it." Ethan met her golden eyes. "But I have to try. The Primordials left this inheritance for a reason. To fix reality, to stop the Voidborne, to give species a chance to survive. I can't do that alone."
Through the resonance bonds, he felt approval from Seris, respect from Lyra, concern from Senna, and calculation from the Empress. Nyx remained unreadable as always.
"Very well," the Empress said. "I'll speak with the Coalition council. Arrange official sanctions for this academy. It will lend legitimacy and hopefully prevent immediate assassination attempts."
"The Fenris Pack will provide security forces," Lyra offered. "My warriors know how to maintain order without starting wars. Mostly."
"I'm coming too," Senna announced. "Someone needs to monitor the medical implications of rapid cultivation advancement. And honestly, I'm too invested now to walk away."
Ethan looked at the women who'd become his allies, his bonded companions, and something more complicated that he wasn't ready to define yet. Twenty-four hours ago, he'd been running for his life. Now he was planning to reshape galactic politics.
"Thank you," he said simply. "All of you. I know this isn't what any of you signed up for."
"Signed up for?" Lyra laughed. "Human, I tried to capture you in a corridor. Seris's mother nearly killed us all. Senna was just supposed to do a medical evaluation. None of this was planned."
"But it's happening anyway," Seris said, a small smile crossing her face. "And honestly? It's the most interesting thing I've done in centuries."
Nyx produced a small ship from some hidden storage—Shadow Moon technology that folded space in ways Ethan's eyes couldn't quite track. "This will take us to my planet. Once there, we have much work to do. Students to prepare for, facilities to arrange, and—" she looked at Ethan pointedly, "—your training to complete. Mid Core Formation is impressive, but you'll need to reach Soul Realm if you're to survive what's coming."
"What's coming?" Ethan asked, though part of him already knew.
"The endgame," Nyx said simply. "The Voidborne won't ignore a Reality Anchor teaching others. They'll see you as a threat. Eventually, they'll come for you directly."
"Then I'd better be ready."
They boarded Nyx's ship, leaving the barren moon behind. Through the viewport, Ethan watched the stars, each one representing worlds full of species struggling to survive, fighting over resources and power and the right to exist.
He was one human. The last human. But he didn't have to carry the burden alone.
The resonance bonds hummed with shared purpose, and for the first time since Earth burned, Ethan allowed himself to hope.
The Immortal Path Academy would either change everything or get them all killed.
Probably both.
But at least it would be interesting.