They returned to their home reality to find the council already assembled. The news of their victory—and the bizarre, unprecedented method by which it was achieved—had spread through the communication network. The atmosphere in the room was not one of celebration, but of quiet, profound shock.
"You… reprogrammed an entire civilization?" Matthias asked, his mind, trained in conventional strategy, struggling to grasp the concept.
"I gave them a new purpose," Nox corrected. "Their old one was inefficient."
Gorok was looking at Nox with a new, unsettling intensity. 'He did not conquer them. He did not destroy them. He gave them a reason to exist that serves his own long-term strategic goals. He is not just a warrior. He is becoming a god, shaping realities to his will.'
Vexia was already analyzing the data from the Arbiter device. "'World Forge' technology. 'Genesis Seed'. The rewards are… conceptual."
"Explain," Nox commanded.
