Everything around went quiet. Even the welding and the shouts of the workers faded away, as if they knew the law had arrived. Power incarnate had come. Pain and peace. His Majesty the Holy Emperor Cassius IV, Father of the Holy Imperial House, Commander-in-Chief of all Armies and People, Hand of God's Justice, Martyr of all Humanity, Father of all Worlds.
The fear the Emperor inspired with his presence conquered everyone—even those who had nothing to do with him. Still, before them stood a man who possessed a part of the world.
Even though he was dressed in white and warm colors, and his expression revealed nothing, I immediately dropped to my knees.
"Your Majesty the Holy Emperor Cassius IV, Father of the Holy Imperial House, Commander-in-Chief of all Armies and People, Hand of God's Justice, Martyr of all Humanity, Father of all Worlds. I am Kyle Gratz, officer of the main Legion echelon, son of the planet Cronus, warrior sworn to you in allegiance. It is an honor to see you," I said without thinking, still on my knees.
Durs and Reni did the same.
There was no fear in us, no mindless obedience. Even though he had betrayed us, and I no longer felt love or even loyalty to His Majesty, I had to do this.
"That wasn't necessary, officer. I am glad to congratulate you on the completion of your mission. Commander Maron has reported the successful operation and the elimination of the traitor," he said in a heavy voice. His words lingered easily in the listeners' memory.
"Thank you, Your Majesty," I said briefly and clearly, staring at the floor.
"Rise, warriors. Be proud of what you have done. The Empire is proud of you," he continued.
At his command, we stood and looked directly at him. I noticed his face had almost no wrinkles—it was smooth, only a small scar on his cheek breaking the perfection.
The hologram moved with the Emperor: when he began to move, the image followed him, continuing the projection. He stood and walked to the single window behind him. Around him were arches shaped like statues, entwined with green plants and beautiful roses, and in the window itself stood a solitary planet.
Artemis.
A green and beautiful planet, half blue from its vast oceans and seas. It was the favorite planet of the entire Liberian Imperial dynasty, which is why it was made the capital. They say all the buildings there are snow-white, made of marble brought from Earth itself. Probably true. Perhaps the planet would have continued to prosper, if not for the explosion that would tear it apart, leaving it to burn in the empty vastness of space—silent and deaf.
"Despite your heroic deeds and your successful infiltration of the enemy's system, we still need your help. The war is not over, but you are the ones who can end it," the Emperor continued, standing with his back to us, gazing at his planet through the window.
"What do we need to do?" I asked.
Without turning around, he gave his new order:
"Kill the Galt Emperor. That was your original goal. So carry out the order with dignity and courage, officers. For the people. For the Empire!" he exclaimed, turning to face us.
"But how can we do that, great Emperor?" I asked again.
He looked at me, smiled, and answered:
"For your convenience, you will meet him tomorrow. In an hour, you will receive an invitation on your terminal to appear at Emperor Adreus's residence," he announced.
At this news, I caught my breath for a few seconds. I looked at Reni and Durs—there was surprise and fear in their eyes. Were we really about to face the Galt Emperor himself in his tower? The Tower of Edem.
"If you have any requests, speak. I will gladly fulfill any of them," he said, looking at the three of us.
The first and most important question came to mind—the one that couldn't wait, the one that had to be answered to confirm the Emperor's intentions toward us.
"Why did you disband the Legion?" I asked sharply, without fear or anger. I knew I might face consequences for this question, but I didn't care.
The Emperor's face twisted, and he narrowed his eyes. He clearly didn't like this question, and it certainly wasn't what he expected to hear. But he had to answer.
"You know perfectly well yourself, officer…" he began in a stern, strong voice.
Surely every person in power had something similar—it's much harder to rule through kindness and comfort than through threats and fear. But his attempt was futile.
"Answer me," I interrupted sharply and roughly.
For such an act, I would have been executed on the spot if the Emperor had been here. His warriors would have plunged thousands of spears and blades into me for insulting the Emperor's honor. But he wasn't here.
He looked at me with astonishment, not expecting such behavior. I wondered—had anyone ever spoken to him in such a tone in his entire life?
"Don't forget yourself, officer. Don't mistake kindness for weakness," he said, rising from his throne and walking back to his window. "The Legion betrayed us. They attempted a coup d'état during the war, to kill me and my entire house, to eradicate our society!" he shouted the last words, slamming his fist against the glass.
"But they didn't. You killed Grand Admiral Verus for his doubts. You killed millions of our soldiers for following orders. And now you ask for obedience. I asked my question to make sure there are still reasons for me to obey you," I said and fell silent.
Durs and Reni stared at me as if I were an alien. No one in the entire history of the Empire had ever dared speak such words to those in power, let alone the Emperor. What I had said could be considered treason, and the Emperor could have easily ordered Durs or Reni to eliminate me right then and there for my words. But he didn't.
"The Grand Admiral was a good man, but he gave too much to the war, and it took his clarity. He was too dangerous. But you don't have to trust me if you don't want to. But fight for your people. So that our light may still shine on these planets and stars, so that the human race may not die out…" he trailed off and stopped. "Do this for Cronus and your family," he finally concluded.
Something lifted from my soul—like a weight off my shoulders, as simple folk like to say. I looked the Emperor straight in the eyes. All I saw there was strength. The kind of strength few possessed. He was the one who had held the Empire together for two centuries. Despite the war, it hadn't broken him—it had only made him stronger.
"Well then, officers, I must bid you farewell. Commander Maron will provide you with all the necessary information. Good luck, warriors of the Empire!" he said at last, and the hologram began to slowly fade, the Emperor's face dissolving into the air.
And immediately, the world around us came back to life in all its colors. The soldiers resumed their training, the workers continued their assigned tasks. The headquarters was back in operation.
"You're a goddamn madman," Durs whispered, afraid the Emperor might still hear.
"I had to know. After all, he's just as human as we are," I answered him.
He looked at me with incomprehension.
"Well, I don't agree with that last part. I don't have a harem of twenty beautiful girls and guys pampering me every day," Reni said and laughed.
I started laughing with him, until we were interrupted by a voice—tall and painfully familiar.
"Enough of that," someone behind us said.
Turning around, I saw a man with a scar on his face. Maron.
"Have you been following us again?" I asked him, still smiling from Reni's joke.
"I never stopped," he said. "But that's not important now. Come with me. You need to get moving soon."
He walked ahead of us and headed off through the workstations. I looked at Durs, who shrugged, and we followed.
We walked through crowds of workers standing at various machines, fabricating different parts. Some were making chips for ships and systems, others cutting military components for weapons and bombs. Sometimes we had to stop to let a group of four soldiers carrying a massive cannon pass by, other times we had to run to keep up with Maron. Walking like this for about twenty minutes, observing everything around us, I noticed that many other beings worked here too. Legori, Dovars, even Uvaki. All these aliens worked here, and some wore uniforms and held ranks.
I caught up to Maron and walked behind him.
"What are they all doing?" I asked, still observing and noting the small details of this whole picture.
"Building their own Empire. Their own world," he explained briefly, and we continued walking.
Reni was barely keeping up with us because of his condition, but Maron didn't seem bothered.
"This is only a small part of what they do."
"What do you mean?" I asked him.
He stopped and looked at me.
"Come on," he said and quickened his pace.
We continued our long journey until we reached an elevator cubicle. Stepping inside, he pressed a button. We shot downward.
"What about the others?" I protested, remembering them.
"They'll wait," he said coldly.
A moment later, the elevator opened, and before us stood another massive hangar, but this time in the middle was something enormous—something I couldn't even imagine. It was of colossal proportions. Cables stretched around it, with welders and engineers climbing and working on it. A titanic object, delivering death.
The Weapon.
I caught my breath. Words couldn't escape me—they had to fight their way out.
"But… how… is this possible?" I whispered.
He turned and looked at me.
"It's exactly what you think it is," he said.
A rebel officer approached him and began showing him something on a terminal. While they did that, I started examining the weapon more closely.
It was long and wide, like a rocket, but instead of a pointed tip, there was a deep opening that served as a barrel. Presumably, some kind of energy capable of destroying a planet—or even planets—would emerge from it.
The hull of this horror was matte black, reflecting no light that fell upon its surface. Hundreds, if not thousands, of people were around it and on it, diligently finishing their work.
"Impressive?" Maron asked me, returning to my side.
"But how? The disc said it was…" I began.
"On the edge of the universe? Yes. That was our move, to throw off the intelligence services of other empires searching for this weapon," he began explaining. "And you, Kyle, helped us with that. Thanks to you, the entire Galtian Empire is now searching for it somewhere in space, not realizing it's right under their noses."
He chuckled.
"Is it true that it destroys worlds?" I asked, still shocked.
"Yes. But that's not the most dangerous thing about it," he said calmly, looking at the weapon—or rather, at the way those poor people were working.
"Then what is?" I asked impatiently, with horror.
What could be worse than the ability to destroy planets and billions of people and beings living there? What could humanity have invented worse than that?
The answer was much more complicated than I expected.
"It erases time," he answered briefly and exhaled.
"What do you mean?" I asked in confusion, not expecting to hear that.
"The weapon fires energy that it draws from the space around it. This creates a paradox or a time loop, which…" he began, but I had to interrupt him.
"Can close in on itself."
"Exactly. And anyone within the attack radius could be pulled into it. But we're still working on that. There are ways to check after a shot that you haven't been pulled into the loop," he continued, still looking at the weapon.
"How?" I asked.
"Before I tell you, do you know how the loop works?"
"Not really," I admitted honestly.
"Then listen. When the loop pulls you in, you don't feel it and you don't realize it. For you, nothing in the world changes—everything flows as normal. But for those in reality, you disappear," he began, turning to me. "But there is one way to check that you're still in reality. You need to go to Earth and watch the sunset. If the sun doesn't dip below the horizon—you're trapped forever. If it disappears—you're lucky."
At the time, it all seemed like some kind of joke, or the rambling of a sick or shell-shocked soldier just back from under fire.
"Earth?" I smirked. "What does Earth have to do with it?"
"The first loop was created on Earth. That's where all others originate," he answered coldly.
Now everything fell into place. Earth was the place where loops converged and reopened.
"How powerful is it?" I asked, as if everything he'd said before wasn't enough.
"Powerful enough to destroy a couple of planets at once."
"Incredible," I whispered.
"Yes. It is," he agreed. "But I didn't bring you here to show off. I brought you here to give you responsibility."
He approached me and took me by the shoulders. For the first time, I saw fear and uncertainty in his eyes. He was afraid of something.
"If the war is lost, you must, by any means possible, reach Apollo and destroy the entire Galtian Empire," his words cut off all sound. Everything went quiet again. "Do you hear me, Kyle? At any cost," he finished and stepped away from me.
"Why aren't you telling the others this—only me?" I asked him.
"You scored the highest on the test," he waved it off, and I smiled at his words. "Let's go. They're waiting for us."
We re-entered the elevator and began to ascend. Just before the doors closed, I glanced at that terrible human creation, and the doors shut. We went up.
We rode in silence. I processed everything I'd heard and seen just moments ago, and Maron let me savor those moments—if that was even the right word.
Going back up and reuniting with Durs and Reni, we headed to the quarters. There, we were changed and cleaned up. Reni's wounds were bandaged, and Durs and I were given fresh, clean uniforms to replace the ones we'd worn through all the chaos. An hour later, Maron summoned us to a meeting room, where rebels escorted us. And to my surprise, they didn't just work here—they lived here. Everyone had a family and a home. Many returned to their families and rested at home, while others went out and walked through the sectors. Even here, under the sand and dirt, there was life.
Durs and Reni walked beside me.
"Where did you disappear to?" Reni asked me.
"I don't think I can say right now," I answered him.
"Is that so?" Durs interjected.
"Yes. I don't want to discuss this right now," I said sharply.
Hearing this, he fell silent and didn't speak another word until we reached the room where Maron and the Galt officers—or rather, the bought-off Galt officers—were waiting for us.
Entering the room, he greeted everyone and said he was glad to see us. The Galts only gave us sideways glances. After the greetings, we sat down in chairs and began to listen to why Maron had gathered us all.
"As you know, the Galt Emperor wants to receive our brave officers as his guests. But the main problem is that we need to kill the Emperor as soon as possible, and this audience may be the perfect opportunity for all of us," he began, addressing everyone in the room. "We need to get them into the Tower of Edem."
"But how will they kill him? It's impossible!" one of the rebels protested.
"They will carry poison, attached to one of the officers under his uniform. All he has to do is tear it off, take out the vial, open it, and let the poison do its work," he explained to the protester.
"But how will they get it past security? Their uniforms will be checked by the Emperor's guards. What's more, the Emperor himself is guarded by twelve warriors of his personal guard. They'll have time to evacuate him," this time a Galt officer spoke.
"But the poison will still cause harm," Maron countered.
"Do you want to sacrifice them?" asked a young woman whose name I didn't remember. She was one of those who had picked us up on the streets of Apollo.
"We have no choice. The Emperor has already strengthened his security enough," he said, and everyone fell silent.
After the successful assassination of Fen, many high-ranking officials had taken care of their own security and begun to fear everyone around them. The Emperor was no exception to this rule.
"Be that as it may, nothing can be changed now. In two hours, they depart."
Hearing this, I shifted uncomfortably. In a few hours, we would face our enemy—the main one. Time was flying unpredictably fast. Only thirteen hours ago, we had killed Fen, and now they were throwing us into another mission. This was probably the fate of all deep-cover agents.
The meeting was brief. The officers asked a few more questions, then left the room, leaving us alone with Maron. Soon, a briefcase was brought to him, containing a small vial with a bright blue substance.
Poison.
He handed it to Reni, who hid it where it needed to go. Those hours flew by like lightning. Soon, we were standing on the ramp, waiting for the shuttle that would take us to the Tower of Edem. I looked at Reni.
"Scared?" I asked.
He just shook his head in denial.
"He's not scared of much, the damned bastard," Durs interjected, laughing and patting his brother on the shoulder.
A moment later, a shuttle appeared on the horizon. It was pure white and trimmed with gold. Landing before us, it opened its rear doors and lowered a ramp. We started climbing it when someone called out to me from behind. It was Maron.
"Kyle!" he shouted.
"Yeah?"
The wind from the shuttle was blowing hard around him, making him hard to hear.
"Good luck," he said finally, and smiled.
I nodded to him and entered the shuttle.
We began to ascend. The shuttle shook before lifting off the ground and rising a few meters. Looking out the porthole, I saw all the hangars and people receding from us—the entire rebel headquarters.
We were about to meet him. We were supposed to kill him.
But life is an unpredictable thing.