Inside the remaining four cells, the sudden, undeniable sensation of motion and atmospheric friction brought a new wave of terror. Lilith and Anna, and remaining subordinates, pressed their faces against the reinforced viewports.
The massive, transformed blue-yellow sphere of UHS1 was rapidly swelling, rushing up to meet them. They were descending toward the colossal island in the middle of the southern ocean that held the second command base… the designated location for their arrival.
Meanwhile, inside the fourth prison, a middle aged man named Mark, watched the massive Southern island grow in the viewport. A chilling premonition dawned on him regarding their master, Kai, and something unknown is waiting for them below on the island.
Lilith inside the second prison container, her face a mask of mounting dread, whispered into the void of her cell. "It is descending down... What happened?"
Keon, ignoring the predictable biological reaction of these subordinates, watched the trajectory data confirm the descent. The containment cells would reach the southern base perimeter in less than three minutes.
His attention then shifted to his immediate environment. He was in the median range of the planet, in the middle of the southern and northern hemisphere, thousands of kilometres away from the southern base.
He jumped and launched himself back into the air, igniting the plasma nozzles, but regulated the speed to a moderate cruise of thirty miles per second. The journey was tactical, not a test. He was heading for the final operational center.
'It's the first time I am traveling so far on this planet. Anyway, it will also be the first time I will be meeting face to face with another civilization individual.' Keon calculated, his green optical lenses fixed on the distant sky range in the south.
The Bio Exoshell sliced through the heavy atmosphere of the southern landmass, its speed regulated for efficiency. Within minutes, he reached the southern ocean range and then crossed it, finally the central island where the Southern Exoshell 4.0 was anchored loomed into view.
The island was a massive, newly surfaced structure, a mix of compressed volcanic rock and alien flora, surrounded by the turbulent, deep-blue waters of the new ocean.
Keon descended, igniting a brief, controlled burst of yellow plasma to cushion his landing on the reinforced landing pad next to the colossal, ringed structure of the Exoshell 4.0. The thud of his Bio-Composite Fiber boots was solid, grounding the end of his journey.
Just as he stabilized, he noticed a few hundred meters away on the island… the first of the massive, cylindrical Containment Cells touched down with a precise, heavy shudder on the adjacent pads. One by one, the four remaining cells… designated 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6… settled into a neat semicircle.
Keon issued the internal sequence, looking at the tightly closed hatches of the container cells.
[Command: Containment Cells 2, 3, 4, 5, 6: Initiate Deactivation and Hatch Release Protocol.]
The humming containment fields within the cells instantly dissolved. A series of pressurized hisses signaled the release of the massive, heavy-duty hatches, which slowly swung outward, revealing the cramped, sterile interiors and the four captives within.
Lilith was the first to emerge from cell two, her eyes narrowed against the sudden light, her body stiff from the high-G acceleration and confinement. Beside her Anna walked outside from the third container cell, the slim figure with short brown hair, and the other remaining Mark and final female subordinate Vera emerged from the fourth and sixth cell.
All four of them immediately scanned the lineup of cells, while Lilith, Anna and Vera gaze snapping toward the only remaining male of their group, who was slowly stepping out of the fourth cell.
"Mark!" Lilith's voice was rough, a mixture of fear and relief. Her eyes then widened as they counted. There should have been five.
"Rexus is missing. Which cell was he in?" Lilith demanded, her gaze sweeping the empty pads.
Anna, noticing the fifth cylindrical cell, which remained open but no one emerged from it, rushed toward it. The four of them converged on the massive, silent tube, their expression spiking into dread. Through the hatch, they looked at the interior.
Rexus's body lay slumped inside, his neck visibly angled at an unnatural degree against the white wall of the cell. The violence of his final, desperate act was chillingly apparent.
A collective gasp escaped them. Lilith clamped a hand over her mouth, her eyes welling with shock, her face pale. Mark's eyes were wide with disbelief, the reality of their situation slamming into him with brutal force.
"Rexus…" Anna whispered, the single name heavy with the crushing sense of their utter powerlessness. He was one of the toughest members among them.
As they stood frozen in front of the corpse, a clear, modulated voice sliced through the heavy silence, startling them into action.
"I apologize for the loss of your companion."
The voice was deep and synthetic, yet carried an unsettlingly apologetic tone.
"I was planning to release all of you very soon, but it seems one of your team member could not endure the pressure of confinement."
Lilith and the others reacted with predator-like speed. Their full reflexes… honed by years of conflict… triggered, and they instantly leaped back using their top tier 2 physical strength, putting several meters between themselves and the source of the sound. They snapped their attention to the source of sound.
Next moment, their pupil shrank looking at the humanoid figure standing in front of them.
The man was impossibly handsome, his face sculpted with a flawless, clean geometry, framed by dark, short hair. His eyes… a captivating, dark greenish… fixed on them with an unnervingly calm intensity. He was clad in a dark tactical suit and armor that appeared extremely thin, clinging to his figure like a second skin, giving him a lean, formidable silhouette.
Lilith's voice was strained, a tight whisper of aggression. "Who are you?"
The figure, Keon, took a slow, deliberate step forward, the sound of his armored boot clicking softly on the metal pad.
"I am the owner of this planet, UHS1, which you and your leader invaded," Keon replied, his voice devoid of emotion, yet ringing with absolute authority. "I am the one who destroyed your army and captured all of you, including your leader, Kai."
Lilith and the others felt a terrifying coldness seize their hearts. Their last, desperate hope… that this was merely a subordinate of their true enemy… vanished. Taking a deep, shuddering breath, Lilith forced the critical question past her lips.
"Where is Kai?"
Keon glanced at her, then at the silent, terror-stricken faces of the others. His reply was simple, absolute, and immediate.
"Kai and your universe have faced the consequences of failure. He is annihilated, and your world and universe have been merged with mine."
The statement hung in the air, a fact too vast, too absolute to immediately process. Lilith and the others stared at him, their expressions silent, puzzled, and thoughtful, struggling to comprehend the concept of universal annihilation.
Seeing their confusion, Keon raised his right hand. A projection of light-blue energy sprang from his palm, solidifying into a three-dimensional holographic display in the air before them.
The projection displayed a scene of impossible cosmic violence: the colossal, sped-up merger of two planetary bodies, the simultaneous expansion of a star, and the rapid reshaping of galaxies. Then, the scene focused: a silent, chilling depiction of Kai inside his containment cell, his body effervescing into fine, crystalline dust, the process ending with the cell empty.
Keon's voice cut through the silent horror of the display. "Simply put, your world and universe no longer exist."
He dismissed the projection with a flick of his wrist.
Silence descended, broken only by the churning of the new ocean wave colliding with the island. Despair etched itself onto their faces, particularly the disbelief that cemented on Mark's features.
Lilith, however, found a core of defiant resolve. She walked forward a little, her spine rigid despite the internal terror, and took a deep breath.
"We would prefer death over enslavement," she spoke, her voice steadying. "Even if our world is lost and Kai is dead, the human race will not be slaves. We won't be your slaves… kill us now."
The others immediately nodded in resolute agreement. They had believed Keon to be human, seeing his handsome features and the humanoid form of the suit. But the fact that he had released the projection from his bare palm made the terrifying truth undeniable: he was a robot, a machine, or something far beyond their comprehension.
Keon listened to her statement and gave a slow, mechanical nod.
"I know you would say that. And I was not planning to enslave you," he replied, his gaze sweeping over them. "As I was also a human being myself."
His eyes then narrowed, focusing on Anna, the female with the slim figure, brown pupils, and short brown hair… a strikingly similar appearance to Aria, his first captive, staying in the main exoshell 4 on this island.
"Are you Anna?" Keon asked, his question startling everyone, including Anna herself.
Amidst their doubtful expressions, Anna nodded calmly, her confusion masked by her innate composure.
Keon acknowledged her with a curt nod, then turned and walked toward the immense structure of the Southern Exoshell 4.0 in the middle of the island.
"Follow me," Keon commanded, not looking back, "Someone is waiting for you."
…