"I brought everything you told me to. Nothing's missing," Laura said as she dropped the gear on the ground. "We already drank the antidote in the car," she added. Evie scoffed. "We're Etherians, and you still expect us to wear night-vision goggles made for Subtherians? Other Etherians would die laughing." Laura shot her a firm look. "Evie, Emma's been through this forest countless times. She knows it better than we do. Trust her—she's not mistaken." Evie waved dismissively. "She needs those because she's weak. I'm a Rank 5 Etherian, and my mate's at least Rank 6. We've long outgrown detox potions." Therians were never afraid of the dark. Their vision cut through the night with ease. Etherians were even more superior in that regard.Evie and her mate often hunted beasts. They had never needed such equipment, so she simply assumed Emma was too feeble and relied on tools to compensate. Emma didn't bother arguing. If Evie wanted to dig her own grave, she wasn't going to stop her. The scanner had already locked onto the beasts' direction. They entered from the pond on the eastern side. Before stepping in, Emma sent her coordinates to Edric. She still remembered what he had told her the night before. The forest's edge was eerily silent. The group moved quickly and without much noise. Evie chattered beside Laura. "Laura, guess what? When I was on the Central Planet, I heard some news about the outer battlefield."Laura turned toward her. "Is the war over? I heard Prince Louis and the First Commander were both deployed there." Evie lowered her voice. "I heard it ended, yeah. But both Prince Louis and the Commander went missing half a month ago. "The Empire's been covering it up. Almost no therian knows. "My cousin matched with an Aurelia Etherian three days ago—we got the news from him." The shock hit Laura so hard she nearly cried out. She clapped a hand over her mouth. After a few seconds, she managed to speak, her tone tense. "Is that true?" Evie nodded solemnly. "My cousin's mate is part of the Aurelia royal line. He may not be a major figure, but his information isn't wrong." She sighed, the sound laced with regret. "There have never been any photos of Prince Louis on the lightcore. But when I visited the Central Planet once, I caught a glimpse of him from afar." Her eyes softened as she recalled the image. "I've never seen a man so breathtaking. Looking at him felt like gazing upon the Beast God himself." "I've heard the Commander is just as striking," Laura said quietly. "If something really happened to them, that would be devastating." Damian rolled his eyes at Evie's dramatics. Is it honestly that breathtaking? He doubted Lucien looked better than him anyway. After dropping ranks, he'd adjusted his appearance; his real face didn't lose to Lucien's. And as for Silas—people called him charming and kind, but Damian knew better. Beneath that polished mask, his heart was darker than black crystal. Politics had a way of staining even the purest souls. "They'll be fine," Laura said firmly.The prince and the Commander they were talking about had once saved her life. She was born on a fringe planet of the Empire. When she was fifteen—right after her awakening—Chitinids attacked. Back then, the prince and the commander weren't yet who they were now; just ordinary soldiers of the Empire Army. They had fought that battle and pulled her out of the swarm. Throughout the galaxy, everyone knew of Prince Louis and the First Commander. They never appeared in public or on camera, but that didn't stop countless females from admiring them. After all, it was hard not to fall for a male so noble, powerful, and impossibly handsome. Evie pressed her hands together, her tone reverent. "The Beast God will protect them." Then she shifted the topic. She spoke about how the war had ended and how scavengers were already moving in.Scavengers—simply put—collected what was left behind. After battles ended, they combed through the wreckage, retrieving fallen Empire soldiers so their bodies could return to the Beast God's embrace. They claimed whatever else they found—broken ships, shattered weapons, Chitinid remains, insect cores. The Empire was vast, but restoring damaged warships was a massive drain on resources. Most were simply written off. Rumor had it, finding a derelict ship on the battlefield was as easy as picking up plastic bottles on Earth. And it wasn't just Empire vessels—there were Chitinid ones, too. A single damaged battleship could sell for tens of billions. Some were even worth over a hundred billion. Emma had heard about scavengers before. At one point, she'd even thought about becoming one.