They left Highmere the same afternoon.
Captain Rena provided fresh horses and a small escort as far as the first major crossroads. The black fog around the fortress had already pulled back a visible distance. Outlying farms that had been half swallowed the day before now sat in weak sunlight again. The second front was collapsing exactly as Fury had predicted once the seed below was destroyed.
Sekai kept the pace high. Fourteen hours on the timer left little room for delay. He used the pause button in short, efficient stretches to clear the road ahead and keep the horses moving at the best possible speed without breaking them. By nightfall they had covered more ground than a normal party could manage in a full day and a half.
They made a cold camp in a shallow depression well off the road. No fire. Watches rotated. Sekai took the middle watch and spent most of it sitting in stopped time, simply letting his body rest while the frozen world waited around him. The controller felt familiar in his hand again. The new three days were already more than half gone, but the capital still stood and Alicia's ritual continued.
Fury joined him near the end of the watch. She did not speak at first. She simply sat a short distance away and looked at the stars.
"You are getting faster at it," she said eventually. "The way you move through stopped time. It is becoming instinct."
Sekai kept his eyes on the dark horizon. "I do not have much choice. The King of Darkness keeps forcing the issue."
"He will keep forcing it," Fury answered. "Every time we close one door he opens two more. The seed under Highmere was old. There will be others like it in places we have not even looked yet."
He nodded once. The thought had already settled in his mind during the long ride.
They broke camp before dawn and rode hard again. By midday the walls of the capital appeared on the horizon. The holy barrier still glowed in a wide golden arc around the eastern side of the city. The black clouds of the Realm of Darkness hung farther back than when they had left. The first major expansion of Alicia's prayer was still holding.
They entered through the northern gate to the sound of horns. Word of their return moved ahead of them. By the time they reached the hidden entrance to the underground chamber, Prince Will was already waiting.
"Highmere stands," he said after a single look at their faces. "We received a messenger hawk an hour ago. The northern darkness is in full retreat."
Sekai gave a short nod and stepped into the chamber.
Alicia remained exactly as they had left her. The golden light around her body looked stronger than before, denser and more stable. The magic circle showed no new cracks. Clau and Yelda both rose from their positions near the edge when the party entered.
Clau studied Sekai for a moment. "You look like you have not slept since you left."
"I slept when I could," he answered.
Yelda checked the edges of the circle out of habit. "The barrier has not been tested as hard while you were gone. The darkness pressed twice, but never with the same force as before. It is as if the King of Darkness is waiting for something."
Fury's ears angled slightly. "Or preparing something larger."
Niña dropped onto a stone bench with a long groan. "Can the larger thing wait until tomorrow? My everything hurts."
Leafa remained standing near the doorway, sword still at her side. "We rest in shifts. No one goes far. The moment the pressure changes we are ready."
Sekai sat against the wall and finally let his shoulders drop. The timer showed nine hours remaining. Enough time to recover some strength before the next demand arrived. He closed his eyes and listened to the soft, steady hum of the golden light.
Alicia's prayer continued without pause. The capital still stood. Highmere still stood. Two major threats had been closed in a short span of days.
Yet the King of Darkness remained quiet in a way that felt deliberate rather than defeated.
Sekai kept one hand near the controller and let himself drift into a light, guarded sleep.
Nine hours.
Whatever the next move was, it would come soon enough.