Chapter 86 Whispers in the Aethel Stream

Months bled into a year, a period of uneasy peace that settled over the Aethel network. The joint efforts of Volta and the Luminants had yielded significant results. The countermeasure, refined and improved, stood ready to be deployed against any newly discovered corrupted guardians. The network-wide scanning technology, a marvel of collaborative ingenuity, hummed with activity, constantly monitoring the Aethel energy flow for anomalies. Despite the outward calm, a sense of apprehension lingered within the hearts of Cyrus, Elara, and Anya Jr. The Umbra, their plans disrupted by the cleansing of the first corrupted guardian, had remained eerily silent. It was an unsettling silence, a precursor to an unknown storm. Their days were filled with routine patrols and data analysis, searching for any sign of further corruption or Umbra activity. They maintained regular communication with Volta, keeping them updated on the situation within the network and sharing their ongoing research. One