“Today is the last day, then?”

  The question hung in the air between them for a few silent moments. Ernesto slid his hands across the dashboard, changing course to avoid a frozen hill ahead.

  Quietly, the truck raced over the snowy terrain, camouflaged and hidden from notice as it swerved around trees and drove onto another tundra. Finn noticed the clouds far ahead getting darker, fluctuations clear in the air. That was a landmark they'd expected to be heading past. One of the last.

  “Yes,” Ernesto answered at length, rubbing his forehead. “The end is finally in sight, you see. This evening, we will be able to reach our pickup point. You have gathered enough food to last us the rest of the journey, just as you have gathered the required information. Your contributions have been invaluable, Shade. Our gratitude to you is endless.”

  Finn hadn’t done this for anyone’s gratitude, but he nodded all the same. After this day, when they landed, he should be able to travel at his own pace again.

  He shifted against the wall, folding his arms together. His new armor clung snugly around his body, dark leather fabric cladding his entire form. It was a new look he was pretty sure he could get used to. He supposed it was fortunate that he wouldn't have to keep purchasing new costumes from here on out.

  Truthfully, keeping it on like this was unnecessary. He could reduce it to the size of a bracelet and wear it that way, carrying his hero suit around wherever he pleased with no one the wiser. It was ideal.

  But he kept it on because he was still getting a feel for it. The capabilities of the shifting leather were something he hadn't fully explored as of yet. Although he'd found some uses, most would only make themselves known in combat, and he wasn't stress testing that here if he could avoid it. Getting into random fights this close to the finish line made no sense.

  That said, he was absolutely keeping up with his training. The alterations to his physique were coming along, progressing steadily along the suggested template set by the nanites. They'd given him a workable image, and he allowed what they were doing. Slowly, of course, and keeping the option of reversing future changes in the event that he disliked them.

  It sounded unlikely. The care with which he observed the physical changes was more out of caution than anything. On a deeper level, he approved of the endpoint of this “metamorphosis.” Plus, the changes were almost done. Not long from now, he would have a complete foundation.

  And his body was just the base. The real power came from the energy techniques he used his nanites for. Yes, his flesh and bones had to endure the backlash. The thing was, he had the ability to reinforce himself further.

  Reality impression was another building block placed on the aforementioned foundation. Though not as fast as he would like, he was approaching the level of raw power he had wielded under the effects of the boost. Getting there would take more time, but it wasn't as strenuous to use.

  The same held true for the opposite application. His eyes had been opened to the potential of reducing the influence the world had on himself or some object in the surroundings in the wake of his encounter with the defense cloak. Inanimate matter counted, tools, machines, anything that lacked a working mind.

  Research and knowledge acquisition was going to be high on his priority list when he got back. Too many techniques for him to try. The stark contrast in variability compared to the beginning stages of his career felt simultaneously jarring and earned. He didn’t know if he ever genuinely expected to reach a point where his strength grew to this extent. He had imagined it solely in an abstract sense. Experiencing what it was like to cut cars in half with a laser was something else.

  Beyond straightforward fighting power, he had likewise stepped up his game in the AI creation department.

  Alright, fine. He was exaggerating.

  He hadn’t found a way past the roadblock he was facing. The quasi aura of his armor had given him hope for comprehending how to create a new intelligence, but he didn’t have any luck after his first few ideas failed.

  Finn frowned. This was urgent. He needed to cover his weaknesses against psionics before returning home. And he wanted more than the bare minimum. A second intelligence in his head would be indescribably helpful. Any task he might want to complete, he would have the choice to face with two minds.

  No matter how much cognitive power his own mind was granted, it was still his mind and no one else’s. The goal here was to preserve and add to that. He knew what he wanted. It was the how that presented a mystery.

  It’d be handled later. He had the time for a dive into his mindscape, yet lacked the mental focus. Consequence of finishing a session minutes earlier. Going for another one in quick succession wasn't going to end well. He had learned that the hard way.

  That left sitting in front of the window and seeing the sights. But to him, the window held little value. The whole vehicle was transparent due to his removal of its colors. And he didn’t even need his eyes to perceive the environment.

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  In the meantime, he pushed the limits of his power. Range, precision, activation speed. Finn refused to slack off in any aspect. He kept going, stopping in short intervals so the strain wouldn’t become debilitating.

  No part of his skill set was left undeveloped. Everything he had available, he sharpened. He was planning to continue until they reached the group that would be awaiting them in a few hours. Finn found himself looking forward to it.

  The last leg of the journey might actually give him some time to rest.

  *******

  When Grand Commander Pesante saw the frozen lake below him had been breached, he bid his mount to land between the trees.

  The massive crystalline wings ceased flapping, gliding down to the indicated spot in circles and giving him multiple angles to observe from before they touched the ground. Raising a hand to his bearded chin, he contemplated.

  He knew what this used to be. An old underground train station that had been intended for travel to other parts of the world. Now, in the wake of his Lady’s rise, there was no such need for the people in these lands. Ungrateful though they acted, they would bear witness to her salvation, in time.

  They landed, floating down to the ground like he weighed no more than a feather. The snow depressed before he made contact, crunching without being stepped on. Pesante breathed in, casting a glance at the frozen avian form patiently awaiting his next order. He exhaled, turning away to stare at the lake, this time from ground level.

  A partially refrozen body of water, uneven chunks sticking out around a darker part where the ice was thinner. It couldn't have happened more than a day ago. He approached for a closer look, and noticed a trail of bootprints leading to and away from the lake.

  Were the US seeking to infiltrate the railways? It was pointless. The track underneath the border had an entire tunnel collapsed on top of it. Every important exit that ran through the continent—mainly the ones near important checkpoints—was spoken for, either being sealed off or having men stationed there. And that was only to account for covert teleportation; there were blockages in place between platforms too.

  If it really was them, they were getting bold, sending people to scout ahead underground. Expected, honestly. They must have thought that, since Lady Seraphim did not see fit to move, they were free to push further. No doubt relying on the threat of Yama to save them from her retaliation.

  Foolish.

  He had no guarantees about the evidence in front of him, though. It was possible for them to have sent a single soldier to scout the premises in preparation for something. And it was equally possible that they didn’t have anything to do with this in the first place.

  If the latter was true, that meant they were more likely than not dealing with rebels. Egh, the thought alone made him sneer.

  First things first, he had to confirm that there was nobody down in the tunnels at this very moment. He could go and check himself, but it was easier to ask his companion.

  He walked back to it, approaching the towering creature standing still as a statue. But it was most certainly alive. His Lady’s poured sculptures possessed a form of consciousness, and this one was among the potent ones. Not the apex of her power, intended primarily for travel. Travel, and observation on patrols like this one.

  “Do you sense a presence down there?” he asked it, pointing at the submerged stone gate.

  It chimed, once, twice. The sound of cutlery tapping against glass. That meant no. He already knew that was the probable outcome, but he had done this for too long to overlook a minor detail and suffer for it later.

  Seeing nothing else to investigate here, he got back onto the bird and told it to follow the direction of the trail.

  Flight aided by his power, they made good time. When the tracks went cold, they were looking at a small clearing from above. Pesante noted how oddly flat the ground here was and he saw some other trails leading in various directions. Different sizes, which indicated a group.

  No uniform footwear. So these were rebels after all. Just his luck. He drew in more of the cold air, centering himself. This was his task, he couldn't delegate everything. That way lay ruin. Things such as this, he had to do personally.

  Further searching told him that the people who'd been camping here could not have walked out of here as a group. Flight and teleportation also seemed doubtful, with how often the watchmen made sure not to get caught off-guard by those modes of travel every day.

  However…

  One other piece of intelligence had already reached him, months earlier. There had been talk of a group of rebels getting caught in a clash between a primebeast, and two opposing companies of soldiers. They had possessed an artifact of respectable potency capable of hiding them from notice.

  Upon being discovered anyway, a supposed new recruit of theirs had put an end to the entire battle. If the stories were to be believed, this mystery individual was worth recruiting to the cause, though something would have to be done about that idiotic propensity for sparing lives in war for no gain.

  In any case, he would have to follow up on this. The encounter would happen in due time, or it would not. His read on the situation may have been incomplete, but he knew he had a pressing need to take care of rogue elements. The main reason for that was because of the push he would be making. If they were to make the enemy retreat, that would bode well for the follow-up. If he was going to join Lucinda up north, he wanted to be secure from every cardinal direction first.

  How did one go about finding a well-hidden convoy like that? He had an idea. Inwardly smirking, he pulled a metallic compass-looking device out of his breast pocket. Clicking it on, a hologram lit up. Rotating green lines ran across a black grid. The actual face was just a metal surface, its inner workings a mystery to the naked eye.

  Some of their brighter minds had at long last cracked the code behind some enemy technologies. This here was the most useful for his current ends. A radar that scanned for a laundry list of threats. With this in his arsenal, finding stragglers would be quick.

  He paused. That did beg the question. To take his men with him, or not? Doing so would delay him, and could he spare the time…

  No. Pesante had decided. He would fly ahead, see if he could find them within the day, but if he couldn't, he would return to his station and resume the march as normal.

  Willing his power to draw itself up in full, the grand commander soared forth in a blast of frigid wind.

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