A terrifying wave of news spread across the Federation as everyone felt fear grip their hearts.

The news of the first extermination was released, and the first destroyed organization was the Mercenary Group.

This wasn't just a wake-up call for the Federation, but for all other organizations.

---

At the council table of the Federation, Caius looked at all the leaders present, his blood rising.

He had heard the news. Three of his siblings were dead—and in the most gruesome way anyone could imagine.

Lyssandra was dead. Seraphina and Vaelen too. Only he, Theron, and Darius were still alive not counting his banished twin, Darwin.

Regardless, he felt lost… and disappointed.

So all it took was the destruction of one organization for them to finally agree to work with the Federation?

Were they that selfish?

Caius looked around, from the leader of the pirate group to the leader of the Wild Shade Organization.

The leader of the military was here too, but the military had always supported the Federation. The only organization missing was Dreadborne.

"As you all know, our multi-universe is facing an existential war. Now all of our ancestors have started battling the Forefathers, yet we keep hearing of deaths one after the other. This just can't go on, or we will lose.

The worst of it is, we only know a brief narrative of their past and some secrets, but no one seems to know what their plans are exactly," King Caius started.

His eyes settled on the two middle-aged men and the only woman, who was the leader of the pirate group.

Across from him sat men, each with terrifying auras signaling Quasi Rank 4.

One, dressed in military attire with a short beard and stern eyes, was the leader of the military.

The other middle-aged man was dressed in dark robes, his eyes like vortexes of darkness, pulling one into them. He had a goatee, and his face was expressionless.

And lastly, the leader of the pirate group—she was dressed in flamboyant dresses, with a long gown that clutched her body, highlighting her curves. She had diamond piercings and alluring eyes.

"Say you don't know, King… We all know why they are doing this. We tried so much to avoid it, but I guess it still bounced back to us," the leader of the Wild Shade Organization said.

"Yeah, it did. In a nutshell, everyone will die in the end," the leader of the pirate group said, her face resting on her chin as she crossed her legs.

"The Forefathers will devour each other, leaving only one alive. And after that, that one will devour everything—including the multi-universe," the leader of the military finished.

Caius stood up abruptly.

"Im…possible. That is illogical," Caius denied.

"King… you are just a Rank 3 being, so you might not understand. Let me enlighten you. At our realm, you don't get content with just being at Quasi Rank 4. You want to evolve," the leader of the pirate group said with a smile.

"And that drives us to do some… unforeseen things. Regardless, the Forefathers already doomed us," the leader of the Wild Shade Organization added.

"Oh, in simpler terms, they were doomed before they even started their path to power, for our multi-universe failed its ascension into an omniverse," the pirate leader said.

"And because of that, no matter how terrifyingly strong we all get, no one is reaching Rank 4. After all, only an omniverse can house a Rank 4 expert—and also provide the path to Rank 4. With its failed ascension, it did something…"

"It began reclaiming power from its strongest beings to recover—and that fell on the Forefathers," the military leader continued.

"The Forefathers felt weaker, but that wasn't the cause of their shortened lifespan—there was something more. Time had an effect on them," the pirate leader said with a sigh.

"They went insane when they realized they couldn't get stronger. Worse still, this multi-universe was borrowing their power to recover… albeit it turned into a semi-omniverse and can never ascend again."

"So after years of waiting, time, the one absolute thing caught up with them. They went insane and chopped down the Tree of Life. After all, it contained the origins of this multi-universe. They thought they could use it to reach Rank 4, but instead…"

"They made this multi-universe even worse. The path to Quasi Rank 4 became harder, and the multi-universe punished them."

The leader of the military looked at Caius and shook his head.

"It stripped them of their lifespan. So they turned the tree of life

into coffins, and now… they want to destroy and devour this multi-universe. Maybe, just maybe they can reach Rank 4," the leader of the Wild Shade Organization finished.

Caius felt shaken.

No wonder this was kept from them.

Then again… could they really blame the Forefathers? Or was it the multi-universe itself?

And worse still—unless one was a being capable of traveling between realms, like special races, Titans, divine races, and the like…

You would be trapped in your multi-universe forever.

Who knows how long the Forefathers had lived? To suffer that…

It was terrifying.

But more than that…

Heartbreaking.

Alas, whatever the reason was, the truth was something he wasn't prepared for. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

"So now… why are they killing and attacking us—and our ancestors?" Caius asked, stunned.

"They've already recovered their true strength after devouring mortals. Why don't they fight themselves first? Why kill the ancestors? I mean… shouldn't they at least do that after deciding the winner?"

"King, you still don't understand? Well, the multi-universe is already bleeding. Now, as long as you kill a being, you will grow stronger.

And apart from that, the ancestors know about this," the leader of the pirate group said, flashing a smirk as she stood up.

"We do too. In this dark age, everyone is racing to reach the end—to be the winner and devour this multi-universe.

There's a myth about Rank 4. If a being could reach that realm, he could easily create his own race. In simpler terms, it doesn't matter who wins, at the end he can recreate the human race."

Boom…

Caius felt shaken.

"Let me say this in a straightforward way—even we want that. So, King… you and the others are left alone. Wait for everyone to turn against you…" the leader of the Wild Shade Organization laughed wildly as the three of them disappeared.

Instantly, Caius collapsed to his knees in shock.

Just as Caius was in shock, he heard a voice.

"Brother…"

Hearing that familiar voice pulled him back from being consumed by his thoughts. Fear gripped him.

"Darius, I'm glad you're here. But I think the ancestors have turned—"

Caius's face froze in shock as he looked at Darius.

Not in fear, not in joy… but in shock.

SHHHHHHHHHHH—!

PRRRRRAAAAA—!

The sound of heavy drops of crimson-red liquid rang out as the council room was bathed in a rain of blood.

And within it…

Darius smirked.

His eyes held a trace of gold as he stood there, covered in blood.