Chapter 172: Foothold

They commandeered the largest intact building near the square — a former merchant’s warehouse with thick stone walls. Osric sealed the entrances with his silence concept, ensuring no sound would escape. Keeva layered disguise magic over the exterior, making it forgettable to anyone who glanced in its direction.

Inside, the nine Transcendents arranged themselves in a loose circle. Solarius lay bound in the corner, Error-touched restraints keeping him still and silent.

Thalia didn’t waste time.

“Explain.” Her voice was cold, thick with barely leashed fury. “Explain why you and Deacon decided to throw every mission parameter into the fire. Explain why you thought it acceptable to act without consulting me.”

She stepped forward with Order radiating around her like an aura.

“Explain how you became divine.”

The last word came out almost accusatory.

“We all felt your limits before this,” Thalia continued. “Your Error was powerful, creative, but fundamentally Transcendent. But then suddenly, ” she gestured sharply at where Finn stood, “suddenly you’re manifesting divine power, creating divine pressure, fighting a Champion to a standstill like it’s something you’re used to…”

Her purple eyes narrowed.

“Don’t try to pass it off as part of your Error. Don’t claim it was always possible. We all felt the shift and saw the transformation. That kind of change is way too fundamental to be natural, Arros…”

Silence stretched.

Finn could feel the weight of everyone’s attention. Himothy’s curious grin. Keeva’s calculating assessment. Yara’s wary concern. Even Deacon remained neutral, golden eyes watching but not intervening.

“You want to know my secrets,” Finn said quietly.

“I want to know if you’re still you,” Thalia shot back. “If whatever divine power you possess now hasn’t changed you into something else. Something that might endanger this team.”

Finn met her gaze steadily as he considered his options.

He could lie. Deflect. Reveal partial truths while hiding the core.

Or he could redirect.

“Before I answer that,” Finn said, “answer me this: have you noticed the background mana flow?”

Thalia’s expression flickered. “What?”

“The mana leaking into this world from ours. Through the breaches. Did you notice it?”

“Of course I did.” Thalia’s frown deepened. “It’s a problem. Someone is siphoning mana from our world into this—”

“It’s not a problem at all.”

Finn’s flat contradiction stopped her mid-sentence.

“It’s a front,” he continued, clenching his fists. The trace amounts of divinity still within him pulsed in response. “Something to misdirect our attention. Make us focus on the wrong thing while the real purpose goes unnoticed.”

“Explain,” Thalia demanded.

“I’ve felt divinity now.” Finn’s voice was certain. “Felt the disparity in power between divine essence and mana. And I know with absolute certainty that mana serves no purpose in this world.”

He gestured toward the unconscious believers scattered outside.

“These people have ambient mana in their environment, sparse, but present. And none of them can use it. It’s completely incompatible with divine power systems. Like trying to fuel a fire with water.”

“So whoever is behind the breaches,” Deacon added quietly, speaking for the first time, “is using mana leakage as cover. Giving us a false priority to hide their true objective for our world.”

Thalia’s eyes snapped to the Truth bearer. “You knew about this.”

“I saw something,” Deacon admitted. “A truth that…” he hesitated, choosing words carefully, “…a truth that becomes more dangerous the more it’s spoken aloud.”

“That’s why you helped him,” Thalia said slowly. “Why you broke formation without consulting me.”

“Yes.”

A beat of silence followed before Thalia’s expression shifted from anger to calculation. “What truth did you see?”

“I can’t say.” Deacon’s golden eyes blazed brighter. “Not because I don’t want to, but because speaking it gives it power. Draws attention to it. There are truths in this world that know when they’re being discussed.”

A chill ran through the room.

“Gods,” Yara breathed.

“Possibly,” Deacon confirmed. “Or something worse. But Finn is right about the mana. It’s a distraction. A false flag to keep us looking in the wrong direction while the real operation proceeds.”

Finn seized the momentum, pressing forward. “Observation was never an option. Not really. We need a foothold in this world. A way to understand divinity from the inside, gain practical control of this power, achieve equal footing with whoever is trying to extract something from our world.”

“Right now,” he continued, “we lack the ability to even properly discern what someone powered by divinity might value in our world. We’re blind. Operating with incomplete information and no framework to process what we learn.”

He met Thalia’s gaze directly.

“We need to get to a level where we can see clearly. Where we have the perspective to understand what’s actually at stake. And we can’t do that from the sidelines.”

“This was reckless,” Thalia countered, but her voice had lost some of its edge.

“Calculated,” Finn corrected. “Risky, yes. But consider our actual situation: we were allowed entry into this world. Deliberately. The breach that brought us here wasn’t random, it allowed our entry. Someone knows we’re here…”

“But us being together probably wasn’t part of the plan,” he continued. “So we have an advantage: numbers and unity they didn’t expect.”

“But we’re also trapped,” Tavian pointed out quietly.

“Exactly.” Finn nodded. “Casmir stayed behind with the other Transcendents to maintain control of emerging breaches, and in case our world faces direct assault. Which means we,” he gestured at the assembled group, “are on our own here. No backup. No way home except the one we create ourselves.”

“And creating a way home requires power,” Himothy added with an intrigued grin. “Divine power…”

“This move gave us a foothold,” Finn agreed. “But it’s temporary. Fragile. The Radiant One is now aware of us. He’ll send more Champions. Maybe multiple at once. Maybe even an incarnation, someone who can serve as a vessel for his full manifestation.”

“Other Gods might learn about this,” Keeva said, following the logic. “If they’re on good terms with the Radiant One, they could coordinate an assault.”

“Worse,” Finn said grimly. “Solarius had a reaction when I mentioned we were from another world.”

“What kind of reaction?” Thalia asked sharply.

“One that showed he suddenly understood something crucial. Like our presence here is very significant. The Radiant One will place priority on us now. High priority.”

Finn paused, considering.

“If that priority is high enough, he might even hide his involvement. Make subtle moves that don’t trigger attention from rival Gods. Stay under the radar while hunting us specifically.”

“Are we that valuable?” Ailin asked quietly.

“I don’t know,” Finn admitted. “But the fact that we were deliberately pulled here suggests yes. And whatever God orchestrated that won’t be happy that we’re now establishing independent power.”

Thalia’s expression had shifted from anger to grim acceptance. She still looked frustrated — furious, even — but the tactical reality was undeniable.

“You should have consulted me,” she said finally. “Both of you. I’m team leader for a reason. We make decisions together, not through rogue action.”

“You’re right,” Finn said simply. “We should have. But the window was narrow, and consultation would have meant delay. Possibly missing the opportunity entirely.”

“I don’t accept that excuse,” Thalia said flatly. “But I accept the reality we’re now facing.”

She looked around the circle, meeting each Transcendent’s gaze.

“Himothy? Your assessment?”

The Glory bearer slammed his fist into his palm with an unrepentant grin on his face.

“Best thing that could’ve happened. We’re in the thick of it now. Real challenges, real enemies, real opportunity for glory. Observation would’ve been boring as hell.”

Thalia’s eye twitched.

“Keeva?”

The Disguise bearer considered carefully. “Risky. But Finn’s analysis is sound. We were likely trapped here regardless of what move we made. At least now we have leverage.”

“Tavian?”

“I agree with Finn,” the Passage bearer said. “Creating our own exit requires power we don’t currently have. Divine power seems to be the only currency that matters here.”

Thalia nodded slowly, then turned to Yara, Ailin, and Osric. Each gave variations of reluctant agreement, understanding that their situation had shifted irrevocably, that the old mission parameters were obsolete.

“Then we proceed on the assumption that we’re now committed,” Thalia decided. “This settlement becomes our base. We fortify it, understand divine mechanics, and prepare for retaliation.”

She pulled something from her robes. A small crystalline artifact, roughly palm-sized, that flickered oddly in the air. Not quite solid, and somewhat ethereal.

Space distorted subtly around it, as if reality wasn’t entirely certain where the artifact ended and normal space began.

“We may still have a way back, though,” Thalia said quietly.

Everyone leaned forward.

“This is one half of a paired artifact Casmir created before we left. Emergency measure for exactly this kind of situation. It only activates if the second half exists within the same plane as the first.”

She held it up, and Finn could see the way it pulsed irregularly.

“It’s been thrumming since last night,” Thalia continued. “Which means Casmir entered this world somewhere. Probably not alone.”

“How does it work?” Deacon asked.

“Spatial resonance. The two halves want to occupy the same location. If I activate this, it should create a passage to wherever Casmir is. Assuming he’s still alive and mobile.”

“Why haven’t you activated it yet?” Yara asked.

“First, because both artifacts have to be active to create a tunnel. Casmir’s is inactive right now.”

“Second, even if it was active, I don’t know what his situation is,” Thalia said bluntly. “If he’s in hiding, fleeing, or deep in hostile territory, opening a door to his location could compromise him, or worse, even lead enemies back to us.”

She looked at Finn.

“Regardless. It doesn’t change our fundamental situation. Even if we reunite with Casmir and whichever Transcendents came with him, we’re still trapped here until we understand how to create stable passages back to our world. Which requires…”

“Divine power,” Finn finished. “Which means we still need this foothold. We need to claim this territory and learn from it.”

“Exactly.”

Thalia’s gaze swept the group.

“So we proceed as planned. Secure the settlement. Begin converting believers to whatever faith Finn is establishing. Learn everything we can from Solarius about divine hierarchies and power structures.”

Her purple eyes settled on the bound Champion in the corner.

“Speaking of which. It’s time we had a conversation with our prisoner.”

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