The city of Corintopia trembled as wave after wave of destruction rippled across its districts. The air was thick with smoke, and the sound of collapsing stone echoed through the streets. Fires burned in the distance, casting an eerie orange glow over the city, but something was wrong—something deeply unsettling.
Amidst the chaos, there were no screams. No cries of pain. No bodies littering the ground.
Tel-Nu was attacking—there was no doubt about that. His presence could be felt in every corner of the city, a dark and suffocating energy that weighed down on everyone. But despite the devastation unfolding around them, not a single citizen had been harmed.
In the First Ring, Junna had positioned herself at the forefront of the defenses. Her sword was in her hand, her armor gleaming as she stood ready to face the invader, but as reports began to flood in, her brow furrowed in confusion.
"Captain," she called out to one of her soldiers, a tall man with a serious expression who had been coordinating the defenses. "What is the status of the casualties?"
The captain hesitated for a moment, his eyes wide with uncertainty. "There are... no casualties, my lady."
Junna blinked, not understanding. "No casualties?"
"None, my lady," the captain confirmed, his voice strained with confusion. "Not a single injury. Not even a scratch."
Junna's grip tightened on her sword, her mind racing. How could that be? The city was under attack—Tel-Nu had made his move. Buildings were being destroyed, the very ground was shaking beneath their feet, and yet... no one had been harmed. It made no sense.
She looked out across the battlefield, watching as her soldiers moved in perfect formation, their weapons ready but unused. There was no enemy in sight. No one to fight. The destruction was happening all around them, but it was as though Tel-Nu was intentionally avoiding direct confrontation. And that frightened her more than anything.
In the Second Ring, Cusi stood at the head of his forces, his glowing staff held high as he issued commands. The tremors from the attacks had reached his district, shaking the very foundations of the buildings, but his soldiers, like Junna's, remained unharmed.
"What is happening here?" Cusi muttered to himself, his eyes scanning the horizon for any sign of Tel-Nu. "This isn't a battle—it's a game."
One of his aides approached him, her face pale with worry. "Master Cusi, the reports from all districts are the same. No casualties. No injuries. The people are scared, but... no one has been harmed."
Cusi frowned, his mind grappling with the information. Tel-Nu was attacking them—he could feel the malevolent energy swirling through the city, tearing at their defenses—but the fact that no one had been hurt only deepened the mystery. It was as though Tel-Nu wasn't trying to kill them. Not yet.
"He's toying with us," Cusi muttered, his grip tightening on his staff. "But why?"
The same confusion spread across the city, from the Third Ring to the Sixth Ring.
Kira, standing atop the rooftops of her district, watched as her rangers moved into position, their bows drawn and ready, but there was no target to fire at. The destruction was happening all around them—rooftops collapsing, walls crumbling—but there was no direct threat to the people.
"Why isn't he attacking us?" one of her rangers asked, his voice shaky with fear. "He's destroying everything, but no one's been hurt."
Kira didn't answer right away. She, too, had felt the same unease. Tel-Nu wasn't behaving like a traditional enemy. He wasn't waging a war of bodies and blood. This was something else entirely.
"I don't know," Kira finally said, her voice barely above a whisper. "But whatever it is, it's worse than we imagined."
In the Fifth Ring, Dmitri paced back and forth in his command center, his fists clenched in frustration. He had expected a fight—a real fight—but all he had seen so far were buildings being leveled and the earth shaking beneath his feet. His soldiers were ready to defend the city, but there was no enemy to fight.
One of his captains approached him, her face filled with confusion. "Sir, the reports from the Fourth and Sixth Rings are the same as ours. There's destruction, but no casualties. It's like he's deliberately avoiding harming anyone."
Dmitri slammed his fist against the stone wall, cracking it with the force of the blow. "What is he doing?"
The captain flinched but held her ground. "We don't know, sir. But whatever it is, it's not an ordinary attack."
Dmitri's mind raced. This was Tel-Nu they were dealing with—a being of unimaginable power. He could destroy the city in an instant if he wanted to, and yet he hadn't. Instead, he was dismantling their defenses, piece by piece, while leaving the people untouched.
"He's not just attacking our city," Dmitri muttered under his breath. "He's attacking our minds."
In the Sixth Ring, Eshe hovered above the ground, her form shimmering with ethereal light as she observed the chaos unfolding below. She could feel Tel-Nu's energy rippling through the city, but like the others, she was perplexed by the lack of casualties.
"Why isn't he attacking us directly?" she whispered to herself. "What is he waiting for?"
From the highest tower in the Seventh Ring, Delson Snow Sr. watched as the reports from his council members continued to come in. His expression was unreadable, but inside, he felt the same unease that had gripped the rest of the Core Seven.
No casualties. No injuries. No deaths.
This wasn't a battle. This was something far more sinister.
"Tel-Nu," Delson Sr. muttered to himself, his fists clenched at his sides. "What are you planning?"
For all their strength, for all their power and training, the Core Seven felt powerless in the face of this bizarre attack. Tel-Nu wasn't fighting them in the way they had expected. He wasn't engaging them in combat, wasn't trying to kill them or their people. He was dismantling their defenses, eroding their control, and leaving them in a state of confusion and fear.
And it was working.
As the tremors continued and the destruction spread, the people of Corintopia looked to the sky, waiting for the next move. The city was in chaos, but the true terror lay in the unknown. Tel-Nu was out there, somewhere, watching them. Waiting. And none of them knew what he was going to do next.