I opened a slight smile, relieved to know I had made the right choice by following William, and answered the girl, “I know her. We became close, but she disappeared before my eyes... I came here searching for her".

   “If you’re searching for Catherine, then you’re either a foolish ignorant man who doesn’t understand how important she is... or an idiot who simply doesn’t care about his own life", she replied before turning her back on me.

   She then walked toward the exit without saying another word. I remained frozen for a moment, surprised by her words, but motivated after finally finding a clue about Catherine.

   Her smaller ally approached and said, “Creator... right? My name is Kira. William must have already told you most of the information he had, but a lot has happened in the past few days... let’s head to the meeting room", the girl finished, pointing us toward the correct direction.

   After a few minutes of walking, we arrived at a large room where a round table occupied most of the space. A map covering the far wall was the second thing I noticed, and finally, the ten seats surrounding the table, though only four were occupied now.

   A more robust and detailed chair, almost like a throne, was being used by the priestess. William, Kira, and the muscular man took their seats, and I, being the last, chose a place where I could easily observe everyone.

   “For the Creator... My name is Anne. I am Catherine’s sister, and your knowledge about her was also a surprise to me. I personally sent her to your world, preventing her power from falling into the wrong hands, and mainly, because she could not protect herself", the Priestess began her side of the story.

   “Knowing about her disappearance, I couldn’t think of any other possibility. Both sides align toward the same objective", she continued.

   “We received an offer from the Northeastern Island... if we hand over our wealth and decide to fight under their banner... we would be accepted as their soldiers", Anne completed.

    William sharpened his gaze toward Anne and shouted, “That... is treason".

   “We know... he knew that too", Kira raised her voice.

   “Facing such an unimaginable threat, surrendering our honor would be the only salvation for our people", completed the general who still hadn’t revealed his name.

   “But nothing prevents the creature from attacking territories that never threatened him...", I stated, completing his thought.

   Anne closed her eyes and lowered her head as if trying to recall recent events.

    “William", she called

   “Yes, ma’am", he replied like an ideal soldier.

   “You must have noticed the absence of the fifth general, haven’t you?” she asked.

   “Yes... what happened?”, William questioned, though his expression already knew the answer.

   “The fifth knew about the threat... but he was our second strongest... He decided to head to the frontlines and face the enemy alone... He wanted to give us a chance", she sighed before continuing

   “We discovered his plans too late... and found his body torn apart, but the enemy was no longer there", she finished.

   William stood up in shock. “It wasn’t there? If the fifth was defeated, then the enemy should have come here immediately, shouldn’t it?".

   “That’s what happened every other time, but not now... We believed the fifth may have managed to wound the beast. That’s what I believed... until now.

   Everyone turned toward Anne as if she alone had solved the answer to a riddle.

   “Catherine... was born with the gift of manipulating souls"

   Once again, everyone was stunned, but I could no longer contain myself:

   “Manipulating... souls? Then the demon was after her this WHOLE TIME?".

   Anne looked toward me with feigned indifference, though sadness was obvious in her eyes.

   “The facts connect together... I sent her to your world because I was the only one capable of opening rifts, and mainly because there were no great concentrations of energy there. Even if they searched for her, it would have been impossible to find her... or so I thought”.

   “What exactly is this power capable of?”, Kira asked.

   “My sister in theory,...can absorb an individual’s energy, consume it, and grow stronger. She can create and destroy souls at her own will, no matter how much energy her enemy possesses, a single touch... is all she would need”.

   Everyone fell silent in shock.

   “That creature possesses nearly absolute power. If it knows about your sister’s abilities and is still capable of opening rifts between worlds, then its destructive potential may become unreachable", I completed.

   “Our only option is a direct assault, preventing it from obtaining Catherine’s power", Anne declared.

   My hands trembled as I imagined the possibilities... She, once again kidnapped... tortured... alone.

   “Where is it?” I asked, my calm voice now carrying pure seriousness.

   “We don’t know", Anne replied.

   “Our only clue is the place where he used to wait before", Kira offered as a possibility.

   “It would be a waste of time if he were already heading here now", the other general argued.

   “It’s a twelve-hour journey. If he isn’t there, we’ll have lost an entire day before returning", Kira completed.

   “And if we stay here, we’ll only wait for the inevitable", William countered.

   “If it’s already on his way here, then our journey will have been pointless", shouted the other general.

   “And if we allow the battle to begin here, the number of casualties will be immeasurable", William fired back, with equal intensity.

   Silence cut through everyone’s arguments. We were all fearful of any action we could take, knowing this battle could determine the survival of this world itself.

   “If the fifth general’s attack had reset the timer... another nation would already have been destroyed", I stated, agreeing with William.

   “We can’t wait any longer...", he completed.

   Another wave of silence left us uneasy, waiting for the final command from the one they followed as their leader.

   “Then we march toward the end", Anne prophesied.