Chapter 476: Building from nothing

Chapter 476: Building from nothing

The conversation had moved from shock to acceptance to planning, the way it always did with them. They sat scattered around Sophie’s living room, the city lights below beginning to flicker on as evening approached, and talked about the impossible task ahead of them.

Kelvin had pulled out his tablet, his fingers moving across the screen with the kind of focused energy that meant his brain was working overtime. “Okay, so let’s be real about this. A faction needs a bunch of things. Men, obviously. Equipment, definitely. Resources, funding, logistics. Oh, and PR. Can’t forget public relations. Nobody’s going to follow a faction that looks like a bunch of kids playing soldier.”

“We’re not playing,” Diana said from where she’d claimed a corner of the couch. “We’ve got more combat experience than most active duty soldiers.”

“I know that. You know that. But the public? Random awakened humans looking for work? They see teenagers and they think we’re amateurs.” Kelvin kept scrolling through his tablet. “We need legitimacy. A track record. Something that makes people say ‘yeah, I’d follow them into a fight.'”

Sophie leaned forward, her analytical mind engaging with the problem. “We have that though. Noah fought Kruel toe to toe, a four-horned Harbinger that slaughtered three hundred EDF soldiers. He killed the Widow, the first female Harbinger humanity ever encountered. We saved an entire city block around the Nexus Arena from a Purge bomb. We evacuated two million people from Lilivil. We’ve fought multiple Harbinger encounters, worked with original families. Our records are impressive.”

“Records the EDF has,” Noah pointed out. “We quit, remember? They’re not going to advertise our achievements when we just walked out on them. If anything, they’ll bury that information to make us look like deserters rather than heroes.”

Cora had been quiet, taking in this conversation with the kind of attention that suggested she was processing everything at high speed. “You also need territory. A faction without territory is just a gang. And you need income streams. Beast core sales, contract work, protection services. Something that keeps money flowing so you can pay your people and maintain equipment.”

“Protection services?” Diana raised an eyebrow. “You mean like mercenary work?”

“I mean like what factions actually do,” Cora replied. “Look, I didn’t grow up in the cities like you guys. I grew up in the outer settlements where beast attacks happen weekly and the military doesn’t show up fast enough to matter. You know what we had? Factions. Groups of awakened humans who’d protect settlements in exchange for payment. They’d hunt beasts, sell cores, take contracts for dangerous work that regular folks couldn’t handle.”

She shifted to face them more fully. “And you know how most of those factions got started? They didn’t build from nothing. They absorbed existing ones. Gang takeovers, hostile acquisitions, whatever you want to call it. One group sees another group that’s weak or poorly managed, they move in, they take control. Sometimes through intimidation, sometimes through proving they’re better leaders, sometimes through just beating the current leadership in a challenge fight.”

Kelvin’s fingers froze on his tablet. “Hold on. You’re saying faction takeovers are common?”

“Super common in the settlements. Happens all the time.” Cora looked at their expressions and seemed to realize she’d just dropped information they hadn’t considered. “What, you thought every faction started with some noble mission statement and a recruitment drive? Most of them started as protection gangs that grew into legitimate organizations.”

Kelvin was already pulling up search results, his eyes scanning rapidly. “Holy shit, she’s right. Look at this. The Iron Fang Faction, established 2045, originally called the Westside Protection Crew. Absorbed by the Goldberg Guard in 2051, which was then absorbed by the current Iron Fang leadership in 2068.” He kept scrolling. “The Stormbreakers, founded 2039, three different leadership takeovers in their history. The Silver Wolves started as a gang in the northern territories before going legitimate.”

“It’s how the system works,” Cora said. “Strong groups absorb weak ones. It’s natural selection for organizations.”

Noah felt something click in his mind, pieces of a plan forming. “So instead of building from nothing, which would take years we don’t have, we find an existing faction that’s struggling. We approach them with better leadership, better resources, better prospects. We offer them something they can’t refuse.”

“A merger,” Sophie said, understanding immediately. “But one where we’re clearly in control.”

“Exactly.” Noah stood up, pacing now as the idea developed. “We need absolute loyalty though. That’s the problem. The military has authority and structure, but they also have bureaucracy and politics. A faction is different. People follow you because they believe in you, because they trust you’ll keep them alive and make them successful.”

Diana leaned back, considering. “So we can’t just walk in and demand control. We need to prove we’re worth following.”

“And we can’t use violence,” Kelvin added. “Not as our opening move anyway. We roll in and start beating people up, we’re just thugs. We need to be smart about this.”

“Find a weak faction,” Sophie said, organizing the plan verbally. “One that’s struggling financially or losing members or dealing with leadership problems. We approach them with an offer. Join us, follow our leadership, and we’ll turn things around. Better contracts, better success rates, actual growth instead of slow death.”

“But here’s the thing,” Noah said, stopping his pacing to face them. “We’re not just offering them beast hunting and core sales. We’re offering them something bigger. A faction that fights Harbingers. That takes on threats the military won’t touch. That actually protects people instead of just making money.”

Cora whistled low. “That’s a big leap to sell. Most faction members are used to hunting category one beasts, maybe category two if they’re feeling brave. You’re talking about asking them to fight one-horned Harbingers eventually. That’s suicide from their perspective.”

“Not if we train them properly,” Diana countered. “Not if we show them it’s possible. We did it. We survived encounters with four-horned Harbingers as recruits. Imagine what we could do with a full faction of trained, equipped, motivated fighters.”

“It’s ambitious,” Kelvin admitted. “But it could work. We just need to find the right faction to approach. One that’s desperate enough to listen but not so far gone that they’re useless.”

They talked in circles for another hour, debating approaches, discussing potential targets, trying to figure out how four teenagers were supposed to convince hardened fighters to follow them. The logistics were staggering when Noah really thought about it. They needed to locate a weak faction first, one struggling enough to consider new leadership. Then they needed to approach them without violence, prove their value, earn loyalty rather than demand it.

It was a tall order. Regular folks who spent their days hunting beasts and selling cores weren’t going to wake up one morning ready to face Harbingers. The jump from fighting creatures that were dangerous but manageable to fighting cosmic horrors that could wipe out cities? That required a different mindset entirely, a different level of training and equipment and mental fortitude.

But it was possible. It had to be possible.

Because the alternative was accepting that Lucas would stay trapped, that Arthur would continue operating with impunity, that the Harbingers would keep pushing humanity toward extinction while they sat on the sidelines unable to help.

The sun finished setting, leaving the city below fully illuminated by artificial lights, a sprawl of civilization that felt both comforting and alien after months in space.

Eventually, Cora checked her watch and winced. “I should probably get back before someone notices I’ve been gone for hours. Academy might be more relaxed than a military base, but they still track attendance.”

“I’ll walk you back,” Kelvin said immediately, standing up.

Cora’s smile was genuine and warm. “You don’t have to do that.”

“I want to. Besides, gives us a chance to catch up properly without everyone else around.”

Diana watched this exchange with an unreadable expression, then stood as well. “I’m going to bed. All this planning is making my head hurt, and I need sleep before we start actually doing any of this.”

She headed upstairs without waiting for responses, leaving Noah and Sophie alone in the living room.

The silence between them was comfortable, the kind that came from knowing each other well enough that words weren’t always necessary. Sophie moved to sit beside Noah on the couch, close enough that their shoulders touched.

“We need Lucas to hang on,” Sophie said quietly, voicing what they’d both been thinking. “Wherever Arthur is keeping him, whatever is happening in that shadow dimension, Lucas needs to survive until we can figure out how to reach him.”

“He’s strong,” Noah replied. “Stronger than most people realize. He’s survived everything else the universe threw at him. He’ll survive this too.”

“And Bruce? King Aurelius? Lucas’s father?”

“All of them,” Noah said firmly. “We get our faction established, we build our strength, and then we go after Arthur properly. Not as recruits following orders, but as an independent force with the resources and freedom to actually hunt him down.”

Sophie leaned her head against his shoulder. “It’s a lot to take on. Building a faction, training fighters, dealing with logistics and funding and recruitment. And that’s before we even get to the actual fighting.”

“I know. But what’s the alternative? Go back to civilian life and pretend we don’t know about the threats out there? Join another military organization that’ll just tie our hands with regulations? This is the only way we can actually make a difference.”

“I’m not arguing,” Sophie said. “Just acknowledging that it’s going to be incredibly difficult.”

“Everything worth doing is difficult.” Noah turned to look at her properly. “But we’ve got each other. That’s more than most people get.”

She smiled, reaching up to touch his face. “Very philosophical, Mister Eclipse.”

“I have my moments.”

They sat together in comfortable silence for a while, just existing in each other’s presence without the weight of immediate danger pressing down on them. The house was quiet except for distant sounds of city life filtering through the windows and the occasional creak of Diana moving around upstairs.

Noah’s mind kept working though, planning, calculating, trying to figure out the thousand moving pieces that would need to align for this to work. They needed to move fast with their plans. Every day they spent building their faction was another day Lucas spent trapped, another day Arthur had to advance whatever his plan was, another day the Harbinger threat grew.

But they also needed to be smart. Rush too fast and they’d make mistakes that could get people killed. Take too long and opportunities would slip through their fingers.

It was a balance, and Noah had never been great at balance.

“Do you think Lucy got our message?” Noah asked suddenly, breaking the silence with a question that had been nagging at him since they’d sent it this morning.

Sophie lifted her head to look at him, understanding immediately what he was really asking. Before they’d left Vanguard Station for Earth, before they’d even touched down in the Eastern Sector, they’d sent an encrypted communication to Raiju Prime. To Lucy specifically. Explaining what had happened at the tribunal, their decision to leave the EDF, their plans to build something independent. Asking if the Grey family would be willing to support them.

“Communications lag between Earth and Raiju Prime is what, six to eight hours?” Sophie said thoughtfully. “We sent the message early this morning, so it’s probably just reaching her now. Whether she responds immediately or takes time to consider is another question.”

“I know it’s a lot to ask,” Noah said. “Lucy’s got her own situation to deal with. Her mother recovering, the political alliance with the other families, managing Grey territory across three planets. Supporting four kids who just quit the military might not be high on her priority list.”

“But Lucas is her brother,” Sophie countered. “And we’re his team. If anyone’s going to find him and bring him back, it’s us. Lucy knows that.”

“If she believes we can actually do it,” Noah said quietly. “Building a faction from nothing, training fighters to face Harbinger-level threats, going after Arthur when the entire EDF couldn’t track him down. On paper, it sounds impossible.”

“Good thing we’ve made a habit of doing impossible things,” Sophie replied with a slight smile.

Noah nodded slowly, some of the tension easing from his shoulders. They’d done what they could. Sent the message, laid out their plan, made their case. Now it was up to Lucy to decide whether the Eclipse Faction was worth Grey family support.

“She’ll respond,” Sophie said with more confidence than Noah felt. “Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow. But Lucy’s smart. She knows we’re her best chance at getting Lucas back. She’ll help us.”

“And if she doesn’t?”

“Then we do it anyway,” Sophie said simply. “We find a struggling faction, we prove ourselves, we build our strength piece by piece until we’re strong enough to go after Arthur ourselves. It’ll take longer without Grey support, but we’ll manage.”

Outside, the city continued its eternal rhythm. Somewhere out there, factions were operating, hunting beasts, selling cores, protecting settlements, living the life Noah and his team were about to enter. Somewhere out there, Arthur was planning his next move, holding people they cared about, advancing whatever centuries-long game he was playing.

And somewhere in the vast darkness of space, on a world called Raiju Prime, Lucy Grey was probably reading their message right now, deciding whether four teenagers who’d quit the military were worth betting on.

Noah opened his eyes, looking out at the city lights below.

They’d find a faction. They’d build their strength. They’d train their people and gather their resources and become exactly the kind of threat that Arthur couldn’t ignore.

And then they’d go get their friend back.

The Eclipse Faction was born.

Now came the hard part.

Making it real.

“We should sleep,” Sophie said finally, though neither of them moved. “Tomorrow we start actually building this thing. We’ll need to be sharp.”

“Five more minutes,” Noah replied, pulling her closer. “Just five more minutes of not having to think about factions and threats and impossible tasks.”

Sophie settled against him, her breathing evening out into a rhythm that suggested she might actually fall asleep right there on the couch. Noah let his own eyes close, letting exhaustion pull at him, letting the comfortable weight of Sophie’s presence ground him.

They’d left the military. They’d walked away from everything they’d trained for. They’d chosen to build something new, something better, something that could actually make a difference without bureaucracy and politics getting in the way.

Four teenagers trying to build an army. Four kids who’d barely survived their last encounters with cosmic threats thinking they could create an organization capable of fighting those same threats on their own terms.

But they’d done impossible things before.

What was one more impossible task?

But that was a problem for tomorrow.

Tonight, Noah just held Sophie close and let himself believe that impossible things were still possible.

Because they had to be.

The alternative was unthinkable.