The fog had lifted, but its presence lingered in the minds of all who had survived the night.


    What remained was devastation. Fourteen dead. Seven wounded. The fencing splintered in places, trenches collapsed from the weight of bodies and blood. The morning came cold, and quieter than usual. Not solemn—just tired.


    The Cradle moved like a grieving beast, slow and deliberate.


    Miriam stood near the center firepit, arms crossed, eyes sunken but alert, she’d stayed up most the night using her medical ninjutsu. David approached, his saber at his hip, its blade still stained at the edge.


    “We’ve accounted for everyone,” he said. “Bodies recovered. Wounded stabilized.”


    She nodded. “And the beasts?”


    “Thirty-four, plus the Alpha. Jake’s already organizing the sacrifice.”


    Miriam looked toward the Obelisk. It loomed in the mistless morning like it always had—unmoving, uncaring, yet their only path forward.


    “Let’s begin,” she said.


    <hr>


    A slow procession formed. Survivors carried corpses of the creatures—gray-skinned, spine-covered, now limp and oozing—dragged or hauled with care. The Alpha’s body took four people and two spears tied with vines to move.


    Jake stood at the Obelisk, notebook in hand. They were to check the amount of points they could obtain from each of the dead.


    “Fog-Beast,” Jake called, “Four points each.”


    They moved quickly.


    “Fog-Beast... four points.”


    “Another—four.”


    “Alpha variant... twenty points.”


    It took an hour, but when it was done, the tally was clear:


    Total: 156 points in total. Now they just had to assign who can sacrifice what.


    Murmurs rippled through the camp.


    “That''s... a lot,” Raj whispered.


    “Game changing, if one person used it all, they could get formidable devil fruit from the One piece path, Fairy Tail they could learn dragon slaying magic.”


    <hr>


    Near the Obelisk, the Cradle’s informal leadership gathered: Miriam, David, Camila, Jake, Wren, Yusuf, and a few others. Survivors formed a wider ring around them.


    “We have 156 points,” Miriam said, projecting her voice. “And we need to decide—together—how to spend them.”


    Suggestions came fast.


    “Fortify the trenches,” Jason said. “We held the line, but just barely. We buy items, anything to that end.”


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    “What about Muskets and more Flintlocks, we could really outfit ourselves with guns” Jared offered up.


    “We need gear,” Ellie said. “Better weapons, armor, or enchanted tools. Most of us are still fighting with sharpened sticks.”


    “We should pool to unlock abilities,” Wren added. “If we had more Nen users out there... more support, even one or two extra could’ve saved lives.”


    Then Callum stepped forward.


    He hadn’t spoken during the fog fight. Hadn’t been seen, even. But now his voice cut cleanly.


    “I agree with Wren” he said, “ Let’s use the point to let others catch up”


    Several heads turned.


    “I’m guessing you’ll be included?” Grace asked.


    “Why not?” Callum shrugged.


    “I hadn’t seen you last night, no blood on you either” Grace rebuked. “Power is only as good as who wields it”


    “It was chaotic, are you trying to suggest I ran”


    Grace didn’t respond, just staring at him.


    “I don’t like it when he’s on my side” Wren whispered.


    “We need to give everyone a chance to fight for themselves.”


    “I agree with Callum.” Jake said, tone neutral but cold. “We need more capable people, though I’d add a push for healers. We’ve got 7 people, though stabilised at this time, they’re now out the fight for at least the next few days. They can’t hunt or scavenge.”


    “Alright enough, we agreed that it’ll be by vote, lets come up with a damn plan.” Miriam said, silencing them all.


    The group began arguing almost immediately for another twenty minutes. Back and forth. Ellie proposed splitting the points in three: defense, gear, and powers. Raj backed her. Jake did too.


    Eventually, a vote was taken.


    <hr>


    Point Allocation (Confirmed)


    Total: 156 points


    <ul>


    <li>86      points – Combat abilities and power upgrades for frontline fighters.</li>


    <li>70      points – Specialized gear: armour, tools, and weapons.</li>


    </ul>


    Callum muttered something under his breath and stormed off before the decisions were finalized. He hadn’t been chosen for investment of points.


    Camila didn’t even look at him. “Let him sulk. He’s not getting any stronger waiting for someone else to save him.”


    There was no point in waiting.


    “Right let’s get started”


    The sacrifices and point deductions appeared as such –


    <b>Powers – 86 points </b>


    <b>Miriam – Wound Closure Technique – 18 points</b>


    <b>Roger – Observation Haki - 25 points</b>


    <b>Grace - Observation Haki – 25 Points</b>


    <b>Raj – Armament Haki – 25 points </b>


    <b>Dev – Zanpakuto – 15 points</b>


    <b>Items – 70 points</b>


    <b>Marine sabres – 5x – 3 points (15 Points total) (Total Sabers – 17)</b>


    <b>Flintlock Pistols (4 shots) – 2x - 12 points (24 points total) (Total Flintlocks - 3)</b>


    <b>Kunai – 9x – 2 points (18 points total) (Total Kunai - 9)</b>


    <b>Shuriken – 1x – 1 point (1 point total) (Total shuriken – 1)</b>


    <b>Tactical Marine Coat – 4x – 6 points (24 points total) (Total Marine Coats - 4)</b>


    Luckily people hadn’t been, slacking as such the 86 points could go further, making up the difference for them to get a power.


    The Marine sabers had proven useful, but with other skillsets developing they had explored different routes such as the kunai, the shuriken was just to make up the 1 point left over. The Tactical Marine Coats had some defence to them, as such the frontline will have use for them.


    And with that people began to disperse. Miriam immediately headed off to treat the wounded with her newfound firepower, Wound Closure technique. Jake was still busy scribbling in his book.


    <hr>


    As the Sun Set


    A quiet settled over the camp that night. A sombre meal was shared—deer stew and boiled roots. Nothing much, many leftovers that had been scrounged up, people will go hungry tonight.


    The dead were honoured with a ring of torches. No speeches. Just silence. Some cried. Some drank. Some cleaned their blades again and again. The bodies burned, nobody dared suggest they be sacrificed, though there is no doubt some were thinking it.


    David sat beside Miriam atop the south tower.


    “We made the right call,” he said quietly.


    Miriam didn’t answer for a long time. Then: “Every attack, we suffer many casualties. We can’t afford it. We need to step up, grow faster. The trainings coming along nicely, but it’s not fast enough. We need to actively seek out points.”


    They watched the forest, now visible again, trees lined in the golden light of dusk.


    Below them, the Cradle stirred. Not celebrating. But breathing again.


    Jake updated the Obelisk log by lamplight.


    Fog Creatures – 34 slain (4 points)


    Alpha – 1 slain (20 points)


    Total: 156 points


    Casualties: 14 dead, 7 wounded


    Points allocated: Combat (86), Gear (70),


    Total Confirmed Survivors: 72