The Imperial Council Chamber smelled faintly of wet wool and cold air. Snow had followed half the Councillors into the palace despite the servants’ best efforts.

Boots were drying near braziers while cloaks hung from stands along the walls. The mood inside the chamber was noticeably heavier than usual.

Atheline arrived a few minutes late. Despite his best efforts, walking had started to hurt. The training session with Lilith had left his body in open rebellion.

He managed to hide most of it, but the slight stiffness in his shoulders remained obvious to anyone paying attention. Unfortunately, Lilith always paid attention.

As he took his seat beside her, she spoke quietly enough that only he could hear.

"Is it that bad. We can postpone the meeting."

Atheline kept his expression neutral.

"No, it’s just a muscle pull."

"You can barely sit down."

"Let’s just finish the meeting first."

"I’ll give you a massage after."

He stared straight ahead trying to maintain control.

"That would be helpful and appreciated."

She shook her head slightly.

The meeting began before she could continue to speak. General Thulem stood first, his expression grim. Unlike most routine briefings, he brought no stack of documents, only a single folder.

Atheline frowned. This was unusual when he had been carrying folders of military budgets everywhere with him while asking for a larger share of moon crystals.

The general bowed.

"Your Majesties. Councillors."

He opened the folder.

"During the past twelve days, border garrisons have reported twenty-seven incidents involving corrupted individuals."

The room became still. Corruption incidents were not unheard of but the number mattered. The dark elven kingdom had the largest concentration of the corrupted but had kept them in control and they rarely attacked.

General Thulem continued.

"Additionally, six corrupted beast hordes have been recorded along the northern and western frontiers."

Murmurs spread across the chamber. Atheline leaned forward slightly.

"Twenty-seven?"

"Confirmed cases," General Thulem added," Possibly more."

That changed the atmosphere immediately. The general stepped toward the central map table. Several marked points glowed across the empire’s borders.

They seemed scattered at first glance but then Atheline noticed something unsettling. The incidents formed specific patterns.

General Thulem continued.

"Ordinarily, corrupted outbreaks are mostly isolated," he gestured toward the map, "These are not."

Several military officers straightened. The general pointed at three different regions.

"Separate outbreaks occurred within hours of one another." He pointed at two different places on the map, "Travel between these locations would have been impossible. Yet the attacks began almost simultaneously."

The room grew quieter. Lilith’s expression hardened.

"Coordination."

The general nodded.

"That is our current assessment."

Atheline felt a chill unrelated to winter. Corrupted creatures were always dangerous. Coordinated corrupted creatures were much worse.

The Councillor in charge of Defense, another military commander, spoke next.

"Current losses remain manageable."

A wave of relief moved through the room.

The general continued.

"Frontier garrisons are containing the hordes."

He pointed toward the map.

"Most incidents involve dozens of corrupted beasts, not thousands."

He pointed at another part of the map.

"Several local militias assisted successfully."

Atheline asked the obvious question.

"Then why does everyone look worried?"

The general hesitated, then answered honestly.

"Because they don’t behave like ordinary corrupted."

Silence filled the room. The general looked around the chamber.

"Normal corrupted beasts attack the nearest targets," he calmly said, "these groups bypass villages to strike watchposts."

Someone shifted in their seat, the sound breaking the silence. No one reacted.

"Several incidents involved flanking maneuvers."

Atheline stared at the map. Corrupted creatures did not flank or coordinate and even ignored easy prey to attack strategic positions.

The general continued.

"They’re still degraded, still aggressive, and still corrupted but something appears to be directing them."

Lilith folded her arms.

"Or influencing them."

General Thulem nodded.

"Yes."

Atheline glanced toward the map again. The incidents suddenly looked less like random outbreaks and more like probes.

It seemed as though they were testing defenses, measuring responses, and seeing how quickly troops reacted.

A messenger entered quietly and handed another report to the general.

General Thulem read it, frowned, and looked up.

"Additional intelligence from the Beastkin Continent arrived this morning."

The room focused immediately. The Beastkin Continent was far away. Events there rarely mattered directly to the empire.

The general continued.

"Multiple coastal clans report corrupted emerging from the Blood Ocean."

Atheline felt something tighten in his chest.

The Blood Ocean.

Lilith’s eyes narrowed slightly.

"Numbers?"

"Uncertain."

The general opened another page.

"Initial sightings were isolated," he said while going through the reports, "recent reports describe organized clusters reaching shore."

Atheline’s mind jumped backward instantly. Their journey to the Sovereign of darkness ruin and the army of corrupted that had not attacked them after noticing they wouldn’t be able to win.

He wasn’t even sure if the protagonist and his group had managed to kill them all but if not, his fear might have come true.

He remembered standing on the boat while fragments of the ruin disappeared beneath the waves. At the time, everyone had assumed the threat ended there.

Atheline suddenly wasn’t sure. The general continued speaking.

"The Beastkin clans report that some corrupted appear... unusual."

The room listened carefully.

"They display partial adaptation to seawater," he turned to another page, " several witnesses described black growths resembling coral."

Atheline felt his stomach sink. He knew it wasn’t proof, not even close but the timing was very bad.

Lilith noticed his expression immediately but she didn’t interrupt the meeting.

General Thulem finished his report.

"Current assessment: the incidents may be connected."

Murmurs spread through the chamber again. The mostly quiet Councillor of Magic stood next. An elderly dark elf with ink-stained fingers and permanent exhaustion.

"Corruption signatures remain consistent with known phenomena."

A few people relaxed. Then he continued.

"However, synchronization patterns are not."

The relaxation vanished immediately. The Manipulator tapped several highlighted lines.

"Dark aether traces suggest external reinforcement."

Atheline frowned.

"Someone is empowering them?"

The Manipulator hesitated.

"Possibly... We cannot distinguish between active control, passive influence, or environmental amplification."

In other words: they had no idea. Lilith spoke for the first time since the briefing began.

"What about the Blood Ocean reports specifically?"