The next morning, without knowing why, Megose found herself standing on Zortland Street.
Her swollen belly felt heavy.
A restless unease pressed against her thoughts.
She suddenly felt she should ask Blackthorn Security about Lanvus.
Perhaps they had already found clues.
At the front desk, she was received by Miles Reed and Leonard.
The moment Miles saw her, an instinctive chill ran down his spine.
Threads of recent cases, strange coincidences, and lingering intuition snapped together in his mind.
Something horrifying was growing inside Megose.
And behind it all, someone was pulling strings.
Miles signaled Leonard with a glance.
"Please have a seat," Leonard said gently, guiding Megose toward a chair.
Miles turned and hurried deeper into the building.
Captain Dunn listened in silence as Miles reported.
When the explanation ended, Dunn made his decision immediately.
"Evacuate all non-combat personnel."
Miles nodded and moved.
Dunn then sent an emergency message to the Cathedral, requesting immediate reinforcements.
For a moment, he considered using the sealed Saint's ashes behind Chanis Gate.
Then he dismissed the idea.
Whatever lay inside Megose's womb might react violently to such a stimulus.
That would push the situation straight into catastrophe.
They were not only dealing with the unborn entity.
They also had to assume an unseen manipulator was nearby.
Two options remained.
Delay.
Megose was not yet at full term.
If they could buy enough time, the Cathedral's elite would arrive.
Or—
Lure Megose into Chanis Gate and fight there.
Inside the sealed chamber, they could draw out the full power of the Saint's ashes and all available artifacts.
The seals would also block outside interference, giving them space to recover afterward.
Dunn chose delay.
The second option would almost certainly cost half the team.
As Miles finished evacuating civilians, he did not hesitate.
He pulled out the pacifier.
Placed it in his mouth.
Activated it.
Patterns lit across its surface.
A flame ignited in front of him.
The fire twisted, condensed, and took human shape.
Rowan Mercer stepped out.
Megose's unborn child was either a dark god…
or the offspring of one.
At minimum, a mythic creature capable of wiping Tingen off the map.
Miles had coworkers here.
Friends.
People he cared about.
He refused to gamble.
"What's going on?" Rowan asked, scanning the hallway.
He had expected an enemy.
Instead, he found the Night Watchers' headquarters.
Miles explained everything at speed.
Rowan's expression flickered with surprise.
"So it's Megose…"
He nodded.
"I already know her condition. Don't worry. I can handle it."
Then his gaze sharpened.
"Follow your captain's plan. I'll stay hidden and see who's really behind this."
Rowan had already converted sealing magic.
He had planned to return to Tingen eventually anyway.
But now it was clear Megose was only part of a larger scheme.
A petty con artist could never engineer something like this alone.
And if dark gods could descend so easily, the world would have ended long ago.
Someone was guiding events.
Rowan decided to wait.
Let the hand behind the curtain reveal itself.
It also happened to be the perfect opportunity.
Digesting the Faceless potion required living as another identity.
And what better stage than preventing a god's descent and saving an entire city?
Miles exhaled.
"Okay."
He left to regroup with Dunn.
Rowan's body blurred.
In a heartbeat, the infant became a young man.
He turned invisible.
His presence folded inward.
High above Blackthorn Security, a translucent eye opened.
Rowan's vision stretched outward.
Hidden among the shadows, he spotted another figure.
Watching.
Writing.
A man holding a feather pen, rapidly scribbling inside a plain notebook.
"Roughly on par with a mid-tier elite," Rowan assessed.
"But that pen…"
Rowan drifted closer.
He read the words forming on the page.
Megose felt an inexplicable impulse and came to Zortland Street, entering Blackthorn Security.
The child inside her was at a critical stage and could not suppress her urge.
Dunn, having stabilized his condition through a new method, chose the correct response.
Delay.
Miles sensed approaching danger and used his strange artifact to summon an unknown helper.
Adrian Crowe sensed the disturbance but refused to retreat.
Adrian Crowe wrote:
"Due to unknown and inexplicable reasons, a meteor suddenly altered its trajectory and fell upon this planet.
Its impact site was Blackthorn Security.
Yes.
Precisely there."
A meteor would not destroy Chanis Gate.
That was never the goal.
Megose was.
If Megose faced mortal danger, the unborn offspring of the True Creator would be forced to emerge early to defend itself.
If born at full power, it would immediately possess angelic strength.
With such a vessel, the True Creator could descend completely.
Crowe did not want that.
Because if the True Creator truly descended, someone who dared manipulate Him would not be spared.
But if the child was forced to emerge prematurely…
Its strength would be limited.
Likely no higher than a high-tier demigod.
To regain power, it would slaughter all of Tingen.
In doing so, it would draw out the Saint's ashes.
Dunn would have no choice but to use them.
No matter who won.
No matter who died.
Crowe would harvest the remains afterward.
The perfect harvest.