Chapter 3062: Debates

A month after Emery left for the mission, a problem had already surfaced.

It wasn’t coming from an outside enemy or any threat to Neo Terra.

The problem was coming from within.

The dark avatar could no longer keep it quiet.

Guarding the base had begun to feel like a waste of his abilities. Now that he possessed such a powerfull body, he wanted to take part in the action. He wanted to switch places with the light avatar and take the frontline, while the light avatar stayed behind at Neo Terra for once.

The light avatar, however, rejected the idea with a much calmer and more logical argument.

The problem was that he still depended on the dark avatar to create True Clones for him. In a sense, that meant he had to come "begging" the dark avatar for a new body every few weeks.

By then, Emery and the armada had already entered the designated Voidstream, making direct communication with him impossible.

With their master unreachable, the two avatars eventually decided to bring the matter to someone else.

They called Klea.

Klea sat the two avatars down and let out a slow breath before either of them could begin arguing again.

It was fortunate, in a strange way, that both of them were still Emery beneath everything else. They shared his memories and, more importantly, the same feelings toward her, which meant her words still carried weight with both of them.

Unfortunately, they had also inherited something else from Emery.

His stubbornness.

She couldn’t simply make a decision based on what she thought Emery himself would want. Both avatars were equally a part of him, and both had legitimate reasons for wanting their preferred arrangement.

Klea looked from one to the other.

"I’ll hear both of you out properly," she said. "Fairly. Then I’ll decide."

The light avatar went first, laying his case out simply enough. He already worked well with his current squad. Sending clones — replaceable, expendable — into genuinely dangerous zones made obvious tactical sense over risking anything irreplaceable.

"Recyclable, my ass!" the dark avatar snapped, his voice echoing across the room. "Do you have any idea how exhausting it is to make one of those?!"

The light avatar simply smiled at the outburst before turning back to Klea, as though the reaction had only strengthened his argument.

"We both know his personality," he said calmly. "He’s not exactly built for following orders. More of a lone wolf, really."

The dark avatar’s temper flared again right on cue, doing little to help his case.

Klea quickly intervened before the argument could spiral further, then nodded toward the dark avatar, giving him a chance to present his own argument properly.

He surprised both of them.

"That’s exactly why I need to be out there." His voice stayed level this time, none of the earlier heat behind it. "I need to actually learn that. Order. Discipline." He pressed on before either of them could interrupt. His current arrangement wasn’t sustainable either way — a squad leader who needed to throw himself into something close to suicidal bursts of effort every single week wasn’t functioning under any real discipline at all.

And there was the matter of raw numbers. His own strength alone would give the armada a third Three Cosmos fighter — one specializing in spatial technique besides, which meant real tactical utility, and by extension, better odds of survival for everyone else out there.

Even the light avatar looked genuinely caught off guard by the argument.

Something about crossing into his current realm, it seemed, had done more than just sharpen the dark avatar’s strength. His temper had come with it, sharper edges smoothing out into something closer to actual balance.

The light avatar took a moment before answering.

"The real reason I went to the frontline in the first place was to find a breakthrough." His tone shifted, becoming quieter. "I haven’t found it yet, but I believe there’s something out there that will eventually give me the answer."

The dark avatar simply shook his head.

"Can’t argue against belief. Or fate, for that matter."

Klea let out another long breath before turning her attention to the dark avatar and raising the matter of Kieran, who was still stationed on Oculus.

"I’d be more than happy to go there myself," he offered immediately.

It would solve his boredom and possibly allow him to complete the assignment in the process. Still, he already knew exactly how that suggestion would be received by everyone in the room.

"So... yeah." He sighed, deflating slightly. "I’m still sending shadow clones there instead. That man’s still in seclusion anyway."

Klea considered his answer for a moment.

"How sure are you about that information? How reliable is it, really?"

"Pretty sure. Can’t really get more reliable than that, honestly. We have no way of actually getting inside that complex. Not without having one of those insects planted in our bodies first."

She listened carefully, as if considering something before finally reaching a decision.

"One month each," she said. "Compromise"

Neither avatar looked particularly satisfied, but neither argued either.

"And don’t worry," she added, a bright and entirely too enthusiastic tone creeping into her voice. "Neither of you will be bored in the meantime. We’re starting a new project."

The two avatars exchanged a glance.

Watching the expression on Klea’s face, both arrived at the same thought at almost the same moment. They already regretted letting her be the one to decide.

###

Three Months Later

Across the realm, countless stars burned silently in the endless darkness.

Space suddenly shuddered, then rippled outward from a single point as a portal tore open. A medium-class ship emerged from the opening a moment later, its engines flaring as it stabilized in open space.

On the bridge, Emery and Veyarel both sagged slightly, worn thin from the effort of maintaining the portal long enough to bring the ship through safely. Supreme Karat, seated in the captain’s chair, allowed himself a rare flicker of genuine relief as the viewport filled with the familiar sight of the galaxy.

Behind them, Kayelin, Soltz, and Feyanorr all released what almost a collective sigh.

They were back.

This time, they were truly back within the Tartarus Realm.

"Initiate anchor creation," The supreme ordered. "Signal the rest of the armada."

The crew immediately moved into action. Along the ship’s outer hull, a formation array began to hum, gradually drawing energy from the surrounding space as it prepared to establish a stable connection.

For a moment, everything proceeded exactly as planned.

Then another officer suddenly spoke, his voice tightening.

"Detecting a significant lifeform signature bearing two-two-four."

Before Emery could respond, Supreme Karat was already on his feet, his expression darkening.

"Put it on the main screen."

The image resolved a moment later.

A massive, worm-like silhouette drifted through the darkness, its enormous body surrounded by countless writhing tentacles. Even at this distance, there was no mistaking the creature.

Parasite X.

The entire bridge fell silent.

The sensors could only cover a fraction of the realm, yet they had already detected one such devastating creature roaming freely through Tartarus space. That alone was deeply unsettling.

Something disastrous was happening in the realm.

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This Chapter concludes the month of August, and once again, I would like to express my sincere gratitude for your continued support. For future Chapters, there will be a bit of action from each of the three Emerys, all at a faster pace. I hope it will make for a more enjoyable read.

As for my condition, I am currently on day three of chickenpox. I can’t sleep, I can barely eat, I can’t concentrate, and I can barely recognize my own face anymore. Anyway, the doctor said it should start getting better around days 5–7, So, I hope you can understand the slower updates over the next few days.

Thank you so much for your continued support and patience. I truly appreciate it, and I look forward to sharing more with you in the months ahead.