Surem was frustrated, but there was nothing he could do but accept his circumstance. However, he had friends inside the Unrestrained Sect, and he wouldn't let them die just like that! He wanted to give them a chance to choose between fighting and not fighting.
Surem quickly went to everyone he knew, but most of them only blew him off. Why would anyone attack their Sect? They were part of the Sect Alliance! If someone could just attack them, the Sect Alliance obviously would have long since collapsed. After all, why would any Sect want to be part of such a useless alliance?
Additionally, they criticized Surem for his words. This was his father and Sect Master he was talking about! They had believed that Surem was a great Cultivator, but apparently, he was a spoiled brat that immediately lost his head when daddy wasn't here for a day.
The biggest reason why so few Cultivators believed Surem was that Surem hadn't talked bad about his father before. He had always said that his father was powerful and that he strived to be like this father, and now, suddenly, his father left the Sect to die? It sounded more likely that Surem simply had some beef with his father and wanted to take revenge by slandering him in front of the Sect.
Surem tried his best and told them with panic in his voice that they had to believe him, but this made others only angrier. In their minds, Surem's image fell many levels until he was nothing but a child to them.
Gravis looked on, and Surem even begged him to help him.
"If they don't even believe you, what makes you think they believe me?" Gravis answered simply.
This increased Surem's frustration even more, but there was simply nothing else he could do. With a broken heart and spirit, Surem decided to give up. He had convinced about three of his friends to leave immediately, but that was all. There were so many more friends that Surem couldn't convince.
Gravis and Surem waited alone near the edge of the Unrestrained Sect, inside a forest. Gravis leaned on a tree with closed eyes as he waited for the inevitable assault while Surem paced around in nervousness.
Surem continually mumbled questions about why no one believed him. So what if Surem was wrong? It was better to err on the side of caution!
"Human emotions are not that simple, Surem," Gravis said. "You wanted to give your life in a hopeless fight while they are willing to risk their lives in a fight that seems winnable to them. In their minds, you would be the crazy one."
Gravis' words heightened Surem's nervousness. On one hand, Gravis was absolutely right, but on the other hand, didn't these people realize that they would die!?
In such a stressed situation, it was difficult to formulate rational thoughts. Emotions broke into confusing whirlwinds, making thinking very difficult. Gravis also wasn't immune to such situations. Sometimes, one was simply overwhelmed by emotions, and one made mistakes.
The hours dragged on, and night arrived. The Sect Disciples had a great barbecue in the training grounds and laughed together. They were talking, dancing, making music, and just generally having fun.
No panic.
No fear.
No nervousness.
Surem looked at the party with pain, rage, and frustration.
"Burn this scene into your mind," Gravis said. "You will relive it many times in the future."
Surem only half-listened to Gravis' words as he looked at the bright and happy get-together. Everything seemed so calm like it was any other day. Nothing seemed different. Would everything truly break down soon?
"This is why you need strong leadership," Gravis said as he arrived beside Surem. "The disciples don't have the relevant information. They can't find out what will happen since they are missing even context clues to come to the correct decisions."
"None of them have seen Arthur and Liran's fight. No one has seen how Liran acts under stressful situations. No one has come into contact with any other Sect Master. They don't know any better since they never had the chance to see the Sect Alliance for what it actually is."
"They entrust their lives to the Sect Elders and Sect Masters. The upper echelon is more powerful than them and has been in these positions for thousands of years. Surely enough, they would know better what to do than them, right?"
"That's a good mindset if you are in an actually powerful Sect. With this mindset, you won't mistrust your leaders. When they are truly good leaders, there is no problem with that mindset."
"However, this mindset is also what allows Sects to die. Every Sect Disciple entrusts the responsibility for their and their Sect's lives to the Sect Master. However, if that Sect Master doesn't take up any responsibility, consequences will happen."
"If no one checks on the baby, sooner or later, it will crawl out of the house and get eaten by a stray dog. Was it the baby's fault?" Gravis slowly said.
Surem didn't answer.
Gravis looked to the gathering and narrowed his eyes.
"Did you notice it?" Gravis asked.
Surem looked to the gathering with narrowed eyes, but he wasn't sure what Gravis was talking about. "What do you mean?" he asked.
"Over the last two minutes, four different Major Circulation Immortals left the party. Additionally, not even a single Peak Immortal or Vice Sect Master is here."
Surem took a deep breath. "You mean they know?" he asked.
Gravis nodded. "I'm pretty sure that they all know. However, I'm also sure that at least two of them not only know but have also helped the attacker. The attackers can't easily spy on the Sect, which means that they need insider intelligence. Some people have given them this intelligence, and they have probably all retreated by now."
Surem gnashed his teeth. "Traitors!? In my Sect!?" he asked with rage.
"Especially in this Sect," Gravis said. "The Unrestrained Sect is more prone to having traitors than any other Sect. You tell every disciple that they are free to do what they want. Additionally, many disciples probably still harbor grudges about their time in the Suppression part of your Sect. Some people are willing to wait years upon years for revenge."
Surem didn't answer as his face became red with rage and frustration.
Gravis took a deep breath and closed his eyes.
"I feel it," he said.
"Safety is slowly vanishing. The feeling of danger has not arrived yet, but the feeling of safety is slowly disappearing. The Sect is slowly transforming from a safe haven with no danger to wilderness, where everything could happen."
Surem became more anxious as he heard Gravis' words, but he couldn't feel any danger approaching, no matter how hard he tried. Was Gravis misinterpreting his own feelings?
"Perceived reality has not changed for the Sect," Gravis said. "They all believe that they are safe, but physical reality is slowly changing. Sadly, to make perceived reality affect physical reality requires both sides of a conflict to perceive it as true."
"When both sides have different perceived realities, physical reality will be the deciding factor. Perceived reality that doesn't conform to physical reality is known with a different word," Gravis said as the feeling of safety had completely disappeared.
Surem waited with bated breath for the inevitable destruction of his Sect.
As soon as all the feeling of safety had vanished, Gravis felt the feeling of danger approaching with blinding speed. In just a second, a neutral environment had transformed into a valley of certain death.
"It's called an illusion," Gravis said with narrowed eyes.
WHOOOOM!
Gravis pulled Surem into his Life Ring and jumped into the sky.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
Apocalypse had arrived.
