Published at 11th of February 2026 8:23 am

Chapter 1496 In the Shadows

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The Reformers were a faction that believed corruption couldn't simply be destroyed and replaced, it had to be reshaped from the inside.

Operatives from this faction specialized in infiltration, political leverage, and long-term manipulation, embedding thier agents within governments, guilds, and institutions that had already begun to rot.

Rather than tearing such systems down, they aimed to redirect them, replacing key figures, rewriting policies, and steering power structures toward stability through gradual reform. To them, burning everything to the ground only created chaos.

True change, they believed, came from patience, influence, and control.

Shaw Jidu, the leader of the Rerformers, was the living embodiment of the faction's ideals. He was calm, calculating, and relentlessly patient.

Then there were the hermits known as the Seekers of Balance.

They kept themselves apart from the rest of the Brotherhood, rarely interfering directly and almost never explaining their motives.

To most, they were little more than philosophers obsessed with equilibrium, endlessly debating abstract concepts like fate, causality, and cosmic balance while the world burned around them.

Their actions, when they acted at all, seemed disconnected and ill-timed, guided by principles no one else fully understood. That was what made them unsettling.

No one could tell whether the Seekers were indifferent to the Brotherhood's struggles, or whether they saw a far larger picture that everyone else was blind to.

Its leader, Carlton Yates, was the embodiment of the Seeker's philosophy. He was soft-spoken, distant, and unnervingly composed.

And now… both of these hidden masters had reappeared.

The Wardens of the Preservationists, who were going over the valuable intel secured by Kenny, rushed to the Brotherhood's headquarters when they were summoned by the two Councilors.

The Preservationists had no Mana Core Magus to lead them and were instead governed by a small group of old and experienced Mana Vortex Magi. Three of these Wardens had been chosen to represent the faction in the meeting with the two Councilors.

Before long, the representatives of the Preservationists had arrived at the meeting location.

They exchanged uneasy glances with one another as they stood before the towering stone doors. Neither of them knew why the two Councilors had suddenly emerged. Nor did they know the reason why they had been summoned — that too, right as they were going through the evidence about the traitorous factions.

The Wardens didn't have any more time to think as the doors before them suddenly opened.

They gulped nervously before stepping inside, their postures humble and respectful. The moment they stepped in, they could feel a heavy aura permeating the air. This was the presence of not one but two mighty Mana Core Magi.

On a round table, two elderly figures sat.

One of them was Shaw Jidu. He had a gentle expression on his face as he sipped herbal tea. When the three Wardens entered, he turned to them and smiled.

"Welcome, little friends," he said with a warm smile.

The three Wardens immediately went down on one knee and respectfully said, "Greetings, Lord Councilors!"

"Rise," he said softly.

As the three of them rose to their feet, Shaw added, "Tell us your names."

"Hagley Steele, Warden of the Preservationists."

"Gregor Hendrix, Warden of the Preservationists."

"Krummor Grimriver, Warden of the Preservationists."

If Adam were here, he would identify Grimriver in an instant. The dwarf had met him in Ravenfell many years ago, while he and Daneli were still investigating the Umbra Thieves and the Cult of Bones.

"Hmm." Shaw Jidu stroked his neatly trimmed beard as he nodded. "You have done well to lead the Preservationists all these years. Gerald would be proud of you."

When the three Wardens heard the name of their previous leader, they couldn't help but feel sorrowful. At the same time, they also harbored resentment towards the two old men sitting before them.

Gerald Acadia was close friends with Shaw Jidu and Carlton Yates.

So where were they when he perished?

Where were they when his faction was ruthlessly beaten into the ground?

And more importantly…

Why did they choose to emerge now?

"My Lords," Krummor gathered the courage to speak. "May I ask the reason why you have summoned us?"

"Ah, yes, of course." Shaw Jidu nodded with a smile.

"There has been a great upheaval in our organization," he said calmly. "Yates and I had been summoned by the other Councilors for an emergency meeting. Now that it has concluded, we decided to see for ourselves what has been happening with Gerald's faction."

Krummor smiled bitterly. "So you were just passing by…"

Shaw Jidu's response caused the three Wardens to freeze.

"No," said the leader of the Reformers. "I believe it is now time for a meaningful reform from within to be possible."

"…What?" Krummor's pupils constricted. "What… do you mean?"

Carlton Yates, who had been silent all this while, spoke with a cryptic smile on his elderly visage:

"My faction and I withdrew deliberately and stayed in the shadows for decades. I watched the chaos unfold to see how the scales would tip, convinced that only after the imbalance fully manifested would true equilibrium be restored."

To the Wardens, it seemed like Yates had said a lot of stuff but also said nothing at all. They were having slight difficulties comprehending his response.

"A meaningful reform is possible now?" Krummor murmured with a light frown. "A true equilibrium can be restored?"

"Little friend," Shaw Jidu began with a gentle smile.

"I believed that the fracture within the Brotherhood was already inevitable long before it became visible. To me, intervening in the moment of collapse would have meant taking sides too early and cementing divisions that could never be undone.

"My faction and I remained in the shadows and observed who adapted, who overreached, and who revealed their true nature once the old order fell apart. Now that the dust has settled, I can see everything clearly."

After a brief pause, he gestured to Carlton Yates and added:

"The Seekers, on the other hand, saw the fracture as a necessary correction rather than a disaster. In their view, the Brotherhood had grown stagnant and lopsided. Interfering prematurely would have artifically preserved an imbalance that was already unsustainable to begin with."

Krummor and the two Agents digested the meaning behind those words.

Gradually, they came to realize that the Reformers and the Seekers remained in the shadows not out of fear or indecision, but patience.

They were waiting for clarity, to see which factions would dominate, which would collapse under their own weight, and which might emerge strong enough to change the trajectory entirely.

Still, somewhere in their hearts, they couldn't help but label these old men... cowards.

But why show themselves now?

The timing of it all still caused great unease within the Wardens of the Preservationists.

Krummor gulped, then asked, "So what changed now?"

Shaw Jidu's blue eyes flashed with a sharp light. He then replied in an even voice:

"Two Councilors have been murdered."

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