Dimensional Descent

Aina snapped awake after a long and deep sleep. 

Honestly, she would have woken up much later, but for some reason, the room she shared with Leonel had gotten so hot that even she was sweating. The moment even she felt uncomfortable, it was bound to be guaranteed that something had gone wrong. 

When she woke up, she lifted off the covers to find that it had practically become a sauna beneath the cheats. Leonel lay by her side, pale and covered from head to toe in sweat. From time to time, he would tremble and his heart rate would accelerate, only for it to calm for just a few seconds before it happened again. 

By now, if it wasn't for the fact that she and Leonel had become Sixth Dimensional existences and had been cleansed more times than they could count by the Cleansing Waters, the stench in the room would have probably already become unbearable. 

Aina frowned, a deep line of worry marring the delicate lines of her forehead. She had just been in one of the most blissful sleeps of her life, all to suddenly be thrust into this situation. 

She tried to reach forward and wake Leonel, but he caught her wrist somewhat tightly for a moment before letting go. Although he didn't say anything, Aina could tell that he wanted to be left alone. Whatever he was going through, he could clearly come out of it whenever he wanted and simply chose not to. Considering his Dream Force affinity, he was probably one of the very few in existence who could simultaneously be stuck in an illusion, and yet also be hyper aware of what was happening in the real world. 

Aina sighed. She had just been asleep for a small while yet he had gone to get himself into trouble again. This man really wouldn't let her know peace. 

Despite this, Aina smiled. After a while, she found a towel and moistened it with cool water before gently dabbing at his forehead. She didn't know what he was going through right now, but this was the only thing she could do for him. 

**

While Leonel was embroiled in a battle of will power and pride, the Human Domain was slowly being embroiled in its own sort of war, one that had been brewing for the better part of the last over 20 years. However, with the appearance of the Cloud Race thanks to Leonel, it seemed to have supercharged something that was already a volatile powder keg. 

DiVincenzo and the Void Elders went off in hot pursuit of the three Cloud Race members, catching two of them, "Captain Zylgella" and "Captain Urriith". As powerful as those three Cloud Race members were, while it was still possible for them to escape the likes of DiVincenzo, the Void Elders were simply on an entirely different level. 

It could only be said that the Cloud Race members were truly unlucky. The Void Elders would never participate in something so small usually. It was only because they happened to be present and nearby that they acted this time around, leading to such a result. 

It was because of this, though, that it was a mystery to how the likes of "Captain Wimword" could escape them.  However, this embarrassment for Shield Cross Stars didn't end here, and it could be said that this was a greater humiliation than anything Leonel could have personally done to them. 

After the capture of Zylgella and Urrith, they were handed off to the members of Shield Cross Stars to interrogate. Although dealing with outsider threats was usually the jurisdiction of the Void Palace, due to the oddity of the situation and the fact it was in regard to the inner workings of the Human Domain's police force, it was left to DiVincenzo to interrogate the prisoners and escort them back. After all, any other potential spies and traitors had to be weeded out as quickly as possible. 

But who could have expected that on the way back to the main headquarters of Shield Cross Stars that "Captain Wimword" would actually appear again, this time with back up! 

Without his flagship, the formation of DiVincenzo's fleet lacked a core and struggled in its usual coordination. Due to this weakness, the sudden ambush of "Wimword" and his fellow Cloud Race people was too difficult to counter especially after Shield Cross Stars was caught completely off guard. 

DiVincenzo fought tooth and nail, but ultimately, the methods of the Cloud Race were too numerous and those that they dared to send into the Human Domain were only the absolute elites among elites. 

Although the casualties on the side of the humans wasn't particularly high and could even be said to be very good given the circumstances, they weren't able to retain the two prisoners and they were swiftly taken away. 

This news rang across the Human Domain, and the rapid in-succession follies of Shield Cross Stars raised several eyebrows. 

The loss of a Tier 2 Star Ship, the failure to capture of a 20-some-year-old junior, the infiltration of the Cloud Race into their ranks, and then the subsequent loss of the prisoners. 

All of this was only made worse that "Captain Wimword", the only one among the three to escape in the first place, had been under the pursuit of DiVincenzo to begin with. If he had been pursued by a Void Elder, even if he grew extra legs, escape would have been impossible. 

The level of incompetence was so high that not only was DiVincenzo was not only demoted, he was detained and court-martialed under suspicion of being a member of the Cloud Race himself. 

Leonel would probably find this fact to be hilarious, but in truth, from the perspective of the human race, this was an important precaution to take.  There seemed to be too many coincidences for all of this to have happened. 

Unwilling to admit potential personal fault, Shield Cross Stars chose to use DiVincenzo as a scapegoat and claim him to be a member of the Cloud Race from the very beginning!

The entire Human Domain was in an uproar. Just how far did this conspiracy go? How far had the Cloud Race infiltrated into their ranks?