What had once been a bustling planet filled with unruly combatants, spectacle, and bloodsport, now hung like a corpse in space, hollow and grey.
The atmosphere was cracked with black fissures of residual aether, the telltale marks of high-level divine interference.
Clavacis the III stood on the observation deck of his flagship, fists clenched behind his back, his sharp eyes narrowing at the ruined sphere.
"Where... is the planet?"
He muttered.
A comms officer spoke from behind him, voice wary.
"Sir, satellite readings indicate massive exposure to corrupted aether. Death-based origin. The entire planetary core destabilized. There’s... no life left."
Clavacis turned slowly, eyes blazing.
"No life? You’re telling me that again I have nothing?"
"W-We... there’s more. There are signs—fragments—of advanced emergency evacuation. But we can’t trace who executed it. Whoever did... they planned it well."
Another officer stepped forward, holding a report.
Clavacis snarled and slammed his fist into the nearest console. "That bastard slipped through our fingers again!"
Behind him, Princess Rosay stared at the planetary remains, unusually quiet. Her eyes scanned satellite photos on a personal interface, adjusting the angles.
"Clavacis, look at this."
She said after a long silence.
She tapped on the screen.
"These craters. They’re spaced precisely. No collateral destruction. No scattered bodies. Whoever evacuated this place, they did it without losing anyone."
Clavacis glared at her.
"Are you suggesting they all got out?"
She nodded.
"Or someone made sure of it."
The room went silent.
Then a new voice called out from the bridge.
"Sir! We’ve picked up a signal—faint, but definitely artificial. Possibly a jump trail left behind. It’s headed toward Planet Ursa."
Clavacis straightened, the fire in his chest reigniting.
"Planet Ursa... so he was heading for the military sector." A wicked grin curled across his face. "Perfect. Let’s see how far he thinks he can run."
"Shall we pursue?"
The officer asked.
"Yes. Full speed."
Clavacis said without hesitation.
Meanwhile, outside the militarized orbit of Planet Ursa, Nova stood near the viewport of his ship, arms crossed, while Nyx hovered beside him in her usual spectral interface.
"They’ve increased their perimeter by thirty percent since the last solar cycle. If we try to go in through the sky, we’ll be intercepted before we break through the outer defenses."
Nyx reported, flickering beside him.
Nova didn’t blink.
"So we don’t go through the sky."
Anna, seated nearby, leaned forward.
"You mean infiltrating from the inside? That’s practically suicide. Ursa’s base is one of the most secure Galactic Navy installations."
"That’s why it’ll work. They won’t expect anyone to be stupid enough to try."
Nyx said, voice flat.
Nova finally moved, turning toward Nyx.
"Any information on the Ship of Life’s location?"
"We can’t get exact coordinates yet, but according to the hacked blueprints, it’s kept in Vault Sector Zeta—the heart of the planetary core. Guarded by aether-locked systems and Urn’s personal signature. We’ll need to bypass both."
Nyx replied.
"Then we get in quietly and get the key, and get out."
Nova said simply.
Anna folded her arms.
"You make it sound so easy."
Nova shot her a smirk.
"I prefer simple plans."
Nyx’s tone turned serious.
"Nova... this isn’t just any opponent. Urn is one of the Galactic Navy’s elite. A General with full military clearance. She’s not someone we can afford to alert or provoke directly—not without causing war."
"Which is why we’ll avoid him. For now."
Nova said.
Nyx paused.
"And if we don’t?"
Nova’s eyes narrowed, dark and calm.
"Then we’ll see what burns first—her pride or her planet."
There was silence in the ship for a moment.
Then Nyx brightened slightly.
"I’ll begin crafting an infiltration route. Based on the military patrol patterns, our best option is during the next docking sequence—nine hours from now."
Nova nodded.
"That’s our window."
Anna stood, brushing imaginary dust from her pants.
"Guess I better go polish my fake ID. We’re going in."
Outside, Planet Ursa spun calmly in the void—unaware of the storm now heading toward it from two different directions.
______
Nova stood at the edge of the viewing platform, eyes locked on the planet looming ahead—Ursa. Its atmosphere was layered with orbital defenses and cloaked satellites, all humming with concentrated aether signatures.
A fortress planet, completely militarized, home to General Urn and, more importantly, the stolen Ship of Life.
Behind him, the hiss of the door sounded. Nyx materialized beside him in her usual spectral form, arms folded, sharp eyes fixed on him.
"You’re really going down there?"
She asked, already knowing the answer. Her tone was calmer than usual, but her concern was thinly veiled.
"Yes. There’s no other way."
Nova said without turning.
"Are you planning to unleash your power?"
She pressed.
"Only if there’s no other choice. It’s too risky otherwise. Urn’s military power is dangerous, but using my aether in a place like this would turn the whole Galactic Navy on us."
He replied.
Nyx narrowed her glowing eyes.
"Then what’s your plan?"
"I have something better."
Nova said, finally turning toward her. From his chest, swirling lines of aether twisted as he extended his palm.
From within, a spear began to take shape—long, jagged, and pulsing with a strange mixture of energy.
It didn’t glow like standard aether weapons; it shimmered with the subdued weight of something older, darker... colder.
Nyx’s gaze flicked from the spear to Nova’s face, then back again. She floated closer, inspecting the weapon carefully.
"That’s... the spear forged from the core of that dead ship. The one you retrieved from the god of death’s vessel."
She said.
Nova nodded, fingers flexing as he rotated the weapon, watching the dim ripple of black-and-silver energy along its length.
"It melted into my body the moment I absorbed the sphere. Now, it answers to me."
Nyx circled it once, then looked him dead in the eye.
"You don’t think this could be a trap? That maybe someone wanted you to find this? It’s too convenient we crashed into the god of death’s ship right when we were closing in on Urn."
She asked.
Nova hesitated.
He had thought about it. More than once. The timing, the placement, even the absence of a log trail—it was too clean. Too orchestrated.
But the feeling he got from the spear wasn’t malevolent. It didn’t fight him. It didn’t try to consume him. It... waited. Like it knew him.
"I don’t know. But it hasn’t resisted me. It obeys. It’s quiet. And right now, it’s mine."
Nova admitted quietly.
"And you’re planning to use it against Urn?"
Nova smiled faintly.
"No. Not yet. I need to understand it first. But if things go south..."
He drove the spear into the floor with one hand, embedding it halfway through the reinforced plating of the ship.
Black cracks spread briefly before vanishing as he pulled it free with ease.
"...then I’ll give them something to remember."
Nyx’s expression stayed neutral, but the flicker of unease passed across her features for half a second.
"Just don’t forget that power from the gods always has a cost. Even if you don’t see it right away."
She said.
"I won’t forget. But I don’t think I will be affected too much either. After all, I have the same source as those gods when it comes to aether.
Nova replied, resting the spear against his shoulder.
The door slid open behind them and Anna entered, dressed in infiltration gear and tugging on her gloves. She gave the pair a quick once-over.
"Everything ready?"
Nova nodded.
"Just finished talking to Nyx."
Anna tilted her head at the spear, eyeing it with mild suspicion.
"That thing gives me a bad feeling."
"You’ll get used to it."
Nova said.
The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!