Elyon vanished, leaving us in the care of silent, drone-like servants who escorted us to a "guest wing."
It was a spartan chamber of white stone, floating detached from the main station. One wall was entirely open to the void, offering a breathtaking view of a violet nebula.
"Mom," Lily said the moment the door sealed. Her voice trembled. "They're going to kill us. Or enslave us."
"They're going to try," I said, pacing the room. "But we have leverage. They need a stable anchor. They can't strip-mine us without damaging the sector. Elyon was bluffing about the immediate destruction."
"Are you sure?"
"No," I admitted. "But we have to act like I am."
Suddenly, the air in the room shimmered. The light dimmed.
A figure stepped out of the shadows in the corner.
I pushed Lily behind me, my hand blazing with green energy.
It was the shadow knight. Malakor. He was massive, his armor black iron that seemed to drink the light. His visor was a dark slit.
"Founder," he rumbled. His voice was like rocks grinding together.
"We're resting," I said sharply. "Come back later."
"I am Malakor," he said, ignoring my hostility. "High Lord of the Void Sector. I do not follow the Directorate's protocols. I follow power."
He stepped closer. The temperature in the room dropped ten degrees. Frost formed on the stone floor.
"The Directorate is weak," Malakor sneered. "They want stability. I want dominance. The Convergence is not a disaster, Shen. It is an opportunity. A war to end all wars."
"What do you want?"
"The Null Point," he said. "But unlike them, I do not wish to drain it. I wish to fortify it. To turn your world into a fortress from which my legions can launch the conquest of the merging realities."
"And the price?"
"Fealty," he said. "Swear your world to me. I will station my Void Knights in your valley. We will protect you from the Directorate. We will make you strong."
"I don't trade one master for another," I spat.
"Then trade for your life," Malakor said. He pointed a gauntleted finger at Lily. "Your daughter. She has potential. The raw energy of a shield-bearer is rare. Give her to me as an apprentice. I will train her to be a Queen of the Void. In exchange, I will leave your world independent."
My blood ran cold.
"You want my child?" I whispered.
"I am offering her godhood," Malakor corrected. "She is rotting in that valley, picking tomatoes. Under my tutelage, she could stop suns."
"Don't touch her," I said, my voice trembling with rage.
"I am trying to save you," Malakor hissed. "The Directorate will bleed you dry. Zeta will report your every move. You are a prisoner in your own home. I offer a way out."
He reached out, his shadowy hand hovering near Lily's face. She flinched, her barrier flickering to life.
"Think on it, Gardener," Malakor said. "But do not take too long. The offer expires when the Summit ends."
He dissolved into smoke, leaving the smell of sulfur and rot behind.
Lily collapsed against the wall, hyperventilating.
I pulled her into a hug, my heart racing.
"I won't let them take you," I promised. "I'll burn this station down first."
But even as I said it, I knew we were trapped between a rock and a hard place.