Ticking Down

Around the time Arthur was training with the girls, several figures gathered in the office of President Astoria.

All of them wore matching uniforms—a telltale sign that they were part of the same organization: the Astoria Standing Army.

"As the President predicted, the Meyers are moving fast." A brown-haired bulky man, bearing the insignia of a three-star general, spoke with urgency. "They've already assembled a fleet equivalent to our Standing Army—and they're still growing."

"They're mobilizing quickly… almost as if they were expecting this beforehand," a woman commented, her slender fingers resting against her chin in thought.

Her long green hair cascaded down her back, shifting as she tucked a strand behind one pointed ear—a clear indicator of her elven bloodline.