Whoosh—
On a crisp morning, a breeze from the depths beneath Lahai Luo brushed against someone.
At an hour when students would normally be in class, a young man of student age had left the Academy and sat down on a hillside.
It was Mo Bai, who had completed his mission with Aemeath and told everyone to disband and head home.
"So that's everything settled..."
Mo Bai glanced back at the scenery behind him.
There was a level road, plenty of ore that the Academy's researchers needed, and a few Tunneler Swarm Creatures wandering about.
But to Mo Bai, the most important sight on that hillside was the enormous cave tunnel not far away.
This place meant a great deal to him.
It was where he had first landed on Solaris, and where he had met Rover and Lynae.
For him, it was where the story began.
But as he had just said, matters at Star Torch Academy had come to a close.
The Threnodian threat here was gone.
And yesterday, Losera had led the students before the New Federation's representatives and successfully demonstrated Star Torch Academy's value.
During the meeting, the students had presented a machine designed to operate entirely through an external resonance effect.
Unlike older models, it would not be disrupted by electromagnetic interference such as a Voidmatter Magnetic Storm.
Losera seized the moment after the students explained the machine's design and produced its blueprints.
She brought out a blueprint she had kept in her memory: a transport aircraft designed by her former students, a testament to their courage.
With Losera and the students working together, the New Federation and several investors accepted their case.
The Academy secured the funding it needed to keep running as usual.
And so, not only had the Threnodian disappeared, but the