The time for deliberation ended, and silence claimed the chamber. The Headmaster rose, casting his gaze across the assembly. With authority etched into every word, he called the final debate.
Only one school of thought remained neutral, clinging to the notion that life might proceed as before. All others had chosen sides: either to seal themselves in and fight without retreat, or to prepare a path of escape.
Master Xing stepped forward, her stance firm, her disciples unwavering at her back.
"We declare our position without hesitation: we fortify. We do not flee. There shall be no escape."
Her words echoed through the meeting space, met by the solemn agreement of Master Zhang and three others.
Yet it was the Headmaster himself who rose in challenge—not from disagreement, but from obligation. The truth would be revealed through fire that challenged the foundations of said proposition.
He stepped forward, his presence alone quieting the murmurs.
"Hear me now," he said, voice resonant as thunder over a battlefield. "Thou sayest we must remain. That flight is cowardice. That our strength lies in defiance alone."
He looked upon them all, 8 eyes unwavering.
"But what folly lies in scorning a path that might save what we have built? We are not children of fear. We are the stewards of knowledge, of history, of creation itself. If we fall, all falls with us. And for what? Pride? Honor stripped of wisdom is no virtue. Wouldst thou trade survival for the illusion of courage?"
His voice hardened.
"There are artifacts here that no other world holds. There are truths we guard that no others know. If the oppressor strikes and we stand only to be broken, who shall carry them forward?"
Then he turned slowly, sweeping the room with his gaze.
"This isn't the only world with such knowledge. We have enough Guardians under our watch that it's unlikely anyone could breach our defenses.
To preserve the peace here, we requested a hold on incoming Guardians beyond the two already scheduled to arrive. But as always, there are hundreds of defense systems and countermeasures in place. There's a reason not just anyone can sneak onto this planet."
At that, one of the other masters jumped.
"Then who assassinated Master Karabaw?"
The room fell silent.
One of the senior masters, who had previously taken their side, finally spoke.
"We've documented less than half the species on this planet, haven't we? Statistically speaking, it's reasonable to believe this was the first hostile act from an unidentified native lifeform."
"Right after we receive a warning of an attack? Something clearly breached our defenses, and I have no evidence it was ever caught!"
"The Covenant is employing multiple off-world investigators as we speak. And if you saw the body, it was pierced naturally—not by any artificial weapon.
The warning specifically stated the attack would occur in three days. This is only the first day since that message. Maybe it's coincidence and what's the point of a warning if the attacker ignores the timing?"
"You never know what lies in the fog of war. Karabaw had the strongest cultivated system among us. Without him—"
"And anyone aiming to destroy this place or kill us would know that taking Karabaw down would draw the attention of more powerful Guardians to this planet, even if they aren't S-tier."
"Exactly. That's why they'd strike now. Anti-Covenant campaigns are active across the galaxy. System-wide coordination causes delay.
An attack here could serve a double purpose: send a message to the rest of the universe, and divert attention from somewhere else. This proves that something has already slipped past the Covenant's defenses."
One of the disciples spoke up.
"The Forest Brigade members said they weren't here to track anything. Doesn't that seem odd to you? On a planet this important to the Covenant, they wouldn't even attempt to trace the intruder that the defenses mentioned before failed to hold back?"
"There are Guardians out there with powers on par with the Central System Monitor who can oversee nearly every unmasked system in this universe. Even a fraction of that power would be enough."
"So what you're saying is… right now, those incredibly powerful off-world monitors are supposedly investigating, and still haven't found anything? And this thing that's evading them is just a natural beast from this planet?"
Another scholar added,
"By protocol, any discovery in a case like this would be broadcast immediately. We'd be notified. This whole thing feels off. The Covenant has protected this planet for years, and now, when we're under attack, only two S-tier Guardians are available here—plus, I assume, two A-tiers of the Forest Brigade? That's all? What are the off-world Guardians doing? They should have caught whatever's out there."
And then, the Headmaster spoke his final line.
"Thus is thy truth unveiled"
The room erupted into panic. Scholars who had studied for centuries turned pale with shock. The signs all pointed to the Anti-Covenant yet reality hit them harder: it was the Covenant that had kept them trapped here. This was no ordinary attack. It was a purge of the educated.
Someone shouted, "GET A TABLET! WHERE ARE THEY STORED?"
A disciple sprinted out and returned moments later. They scanned the news feeds.
There was nothing. Not a single mention of a potential attack on the treasured Wisdom Bank, not even anything in the local star system news.
That's when Li saw the truth that the Headmaster had concealed until his final moment. They had always been meant to die.
And then, Li's heart began to race. A memory surged back to him—Naryssa, long ago, whispering about the Vault… and the Guardian it had planted back on Atramenth, the one who had tried to push spending.
The Anti-Covenant had been right about one thing: the Covenant wasn't to be trusted.
It was the Vault behind it after all. And now, the Vault wanted the scholars dead.