Ethan raised an eyebrow. "Dukara? Another nation?"
Kaelira nodded, violet-pink energy flickering at her fingertips like fire sparked by memory. "They've been working with Helkaris in secret for years. Half the battles Sol'Rakka lost were thanks to those space-warping bastards. They don't fight head-on, but they can tear open reality like paper—drop reinforcements or ambush squads into any battlefield, anywhere."
Her voice grew colder with every word. "They didn't save Helkaris today out of mercy. They're preserving him—for something worse."
Ethan's expression darkened. "If they're bold enough to interfere, then we finish this. Now."
He raised his hand. Power gathered in his palm, swelling into a sphere of radiant energy.
"—All forces, regroup. We're going after them."
At his command, the united armies of the Three Realms surged into the sky, a storm of steel and magic spreading outward like a living tide, racing in the direction Helkaris had vanished.
…
Meanwhile—
