Global Survival: I Have Endless Skeletons

Chapter 575: [Bonus Chapter] Thoren’s Shock - Part 1

Inside her office, Lorwen sat behind a large wooden desk, staring at Thoren in amazement.

She had seen many awakeners return from the second floor of the Abyss, some of them with powerful abilities and frightening strength, but none had ever given her the kind of impression Thoren was giving her now.

The young man standing before her looked calm and ordinary on the surface, yet the longer she stared at him, the stronger the invisible pressure surrounding him became.

At first, she thought it was merely her imagination. But as the seconds passed, the feeling only grew stronger, as if something terrifying stood before her.

Something that did not belong to the same race as her.

Lorwen’s breathing gradually grew heavier. Her fingers, resting on the desk, slowly tightened. She could not understand why her body was reacting this way.

She had stood before powerful awakeners before, had even met people whose levels were far above his, and despite the difference in strength, she had never felt this instinctive fear.

Yet simply sitting in front of Thoren made her feel inferior.

It wasn’t because he had released any killing intent. He hadn’t done anything at all.

He was merely standing there.

But her instincts were screaming that the person before her was dangerous, extremely dangerous.

And that realization shook her to her core.

’How could this be?’

Lorwen’s eyes narrowed slightly as she studied him, trying to analyze what she was sensing, but the more she looked, the less she understood.

His appearance revealed nothing unusual. Young, calm, dressed simply, no weapon on display, no arrogance in his expression, no deliberate release of aura to intimidate her.

That was what made it so frightening. If someone deliberately projected their aura, she could at least trace where the pressure came from.

With Thoren, she couldn’t even tell when it had begun. It was simply there, and the longer she stayed near him, the heavier it became.

She had to rely on her own will to pull herself out of the oppression, taking a deep breath and letting the cold air fill her lungs before releasing it slowly. Her shoulders relaxed. She cleared her throat.

"As you might have guessed, I’m Lorwen, leader of the Suncrest City Base Knight Order," she said, introducing herself again.

Thoren said nothing.

He had no reason to interrupt her. From the moment he’d entered the Knight Order’s underground base, he had already noticed this organization was different.

The people moving through the complex, soldiers, hunters, technicians, members of the order were all busy.

That told him enough about their priorities. Still, he wasn’t ready to draw conclusions before hearing what Lorwen had to say, so he stayed silent.

Seeing that he had no intention of speaking, Lorwen continued. "I believe you’re probably wondering how we know about you."

Thoren’s expression remained passive.

She leaned back slightly in her chair. "Two weeks ago, the leader of the Knight Order guild on the first floor successfully returned to the surface."

At those words, something shifted in Thoren’s eyes and Lorwen caught it.

"He contacted us immediately and told us what happened on the first floor," she went on. "More importantly, he told us about you." Her voice grew a touch more serious.

"He described your strength, your influence, and what you accomplished on the first floor. He told us about your undead and the impact you have in helping them destroy the plans of the other factions."

She gave a faint smile. "At first, I thought he might have exaggerated. People who spend too long in the Abyss sometimes come back with stories that are hard to believe."

She shook her head slightly. "But after seeing you myself, I think I underestimated his report instead."

The words made Thoren narrow his eyes.

He finally understood where all of this had come from. The strange call, the knowledge the Knight Order possessed, the fact that they’d already known about his strength.

Everything clicked into place.

’So that’s how it is.’

Now he had his answer; Their member on the first floor had come back two weeks earlier and reported everything after arriving on the surface.

Lorwen noticed the realization on his face but didn’t comment. There was no need to explain further. Instead, her expression turned solemn.

"The reason we contacted you is because the situation in Suncrest City has reached a critical point." Her voice lost its earlier ease. "You know the Federation is divided into three factions. Right?"

Thoren nodded. It was no longer a secret. Word of the three factions had already spread among powerful families and awakeners.Lorwen wasn’t surprised he already knew, and continued.

"But things have changed." She folded her hands on the desk. "Two of the factions have formed an alliance." Her expression darkened.

"They’ve lost faith in humanity, and they’re pushing their agenda with everything they have.

They no longer care about preserving the balance that existed before.

They believe humanity has failed, and rather than trying to save it, they want to force the world to accept their way of thinking." She shook her head. "Many awakener families are even supporting them behind the scenes."

Thoren listened quietly. He had already suspected the situation ran deeper than a simple conflict between factions.

And now Lorwen was confirming that the politics were tangled into a mess.

"The problem is their influence has grown considerably," she continued. "Some families think they’re backing the winning side. Others simply believe the Federation can no longer protect them." She paused.

"The chaos in Suncrest City has only made it worse."

Thoren’s face was expressionless as he listened with rapt attention.

Outside the office, faint footsteps echoed through the corridor, along with the distant mechanical hum from deeper within the underground headquarters.

Lorwen looked directly at him. "Thanks to you, our city will be able to survive their plan this time."

Still, his expression stayed passive and after a moment, he finally spoke.

"I’m confused." His voice was calm. "Why didn’t you stop them?"

The question settled over the office, and the room went quiet.

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