Darius, standing atop the city walls, kept his gaze fixed on the horizon.
The sky, once clear, was now torn by trails of light — metallic colossi broke through the atmosphere with the roar of artificial thunder.
"They're here...," he murmured, clenching his fists.
The ships of the Solarian Empire descended from the skies like vengeful gods.
The city of Ardor prepared for war, but Darius's heart did not beat with fear alone — there was something more, a memory, a distant echo.
The cold wind on the ramparts was nothing compared to what chilled his chest, something ancient... something that shouldn't be there, he knew the time wasn't right yet, but it was beginning to stir beneath his skin.
Because he had seen this before.
Not with his own eyes, but through the words of an old instructor, inside a room very different from these walls.
And the past pulled him back.
Flashback — 9 years ago
The study room was large and lit by crystals suspended from the vaulted ceiling.
Red carpets, framed maps on the walls, ornamental armors in the corners — an aura of prestige filled the air.
Darius, only six years old, wore a dark blue uniform with golden details. Sitting straight-backed, he watched attentively the man before him.
Sir Arthur, his private tutor, walked slowly around the room, hands crossed behind his back. His silver cloak lightly dragged on the floor, and every step was as calculated as his words.
"Today, we will talk about the fall of Earth," he said. "Darius, tell me… what happened in the year 2105?"
The boy didn't answer immediately.
His eyes wandered for a moment, then he spoke — and his words take us even deeper into time.
Earth, 2105 – New YorkPoint of view: Elena Rowe, doctor
The sky shattered like a cracking mirror.
Ships black as coal appeared in the clouds, descending with a low hum that made bones tremble.
Urban sirens screamed, buildings exploded into flames, the city, once alive, was now ruins and cries.
I ran through the streets holding my daughter in my arms, blood dripping from a wound on my forehead. The streets were crowded with bodies, smoke, debris.
A fighter jet was hit above — it plummeted like a falling star, crashing three blocks ahead.
On top of a nearby skyscraper, human soldiers tried to fight the invaders.
Green beams crossed the sky, the aliens, clad in living armor, marched expressionless, slaughtering everything with cruel efficiency.
Study room
Arthur walked slowly among the books.
"And in the face of that… what did humanity do?"
Darius answered without hesitation:
"They united, created an Alliance called Shield. All the peoples of Earth fought side by side, for the first time, flags were lowered — and weapons pointed at a single enemy."
Arthur stopped and raised an eyebrow, challenging:
"And they won?"
Earth orbit — Alien mothershipPoint of view: General Tyler
"Now or never."
The general's breathing was slow, the armor heavy on his shoulders.
He and his team — five of Earth's best warriors — were inside the enemy mothership.
A labyrinth of living metal, pulsating, suffocating. They had already lost two men along the way.
But they had reached the core.
Tyler activated the detonator.
Thirty seconds.
"It has been an honor, brothers."
White light.
Silence in space.
From below, billions watched as the mothership broke apart in flames over the atmosphere, scattering shards like celestial fireworks.
Walls of Ardor – Present
Darius still stared at the sky.
The Solarian ships approached, cutting through the clouds with their sleek and deadly forms.
Behind him, soldiers began to retreat.
He did not move.
"History is repeating itself..."
But now, the enemy was no longer a stranger.
It was his own blood.
From the ships that had already landed, doors hissed open with a metallic sound, and soldiers began to emerge, one by one, in perfect formation.
POV: DARIUS
Back then, I still believed that good would always win.
Then, ZERUS's sarcastic voice sounded directly inside my brain, loaded with irony:
"Whoa, you're completely screwed, sir. By my precise calculations, the capital has exactly 0.003% chance of victory against this."
"Recommendations: flee immediately. Success chance: 1.2%."
'Shut up, ZERUS. Damn it.'
That damn AI never shuts up. Sometimes I wonder what my father was thinking when he decided to shove that chip in my skull.
The Solarian soldiers who had disembarked now organized into formation.
Within seconds, they began assembling their imposing siege weapons — mobile towers, energy ballistas, spinning magnetic spears.
It was a terrifying sight; they wanted to tear down our walls, stone by stone.
Without hesitation, I turned to the command tower and shouted:
"Activate the city's defensive shield! NOW!"
I waited.
One second.
Two.
Three...
The seconds turned into an eternity, a chill crawling up my spine as if time itself had stopped to announce tragedy.
Then, the radio crackled.
"Captain... we've been betrayed. One of our own... he killed the control tower crew, is locked inside, blocked the security protocols."
The word hit harder than any explosion, for a moment everything inside me stopped — blood, air, time.
Damn.
Damn.
DAMN!
My fist clenched hard.
Breathing grew heavy, this was bad, without shields we were exposed like meat in a butcher shop.
"LOAD THE PLASMA CANNONS!" I shouted, trying to take control, the entire base sprang into action.
Gunners ran to their positions.
Calibrators spun their towers quickly, adjusting angles, checking distances with surgical precision.
Red lights on the panels began blinking, signaling readiness.
"Captain, targets locked. We're ready."
"THEN FIRE! FIRE EVERYTHING!"
The cannons roared.
BOOOOOOM! BOOOOOOM! BOOOOOOM!
Devastating explosions shook the battlefield.
Enemy platforms were engulfed by a storm of energy and smoke, rising to the sky like a radioactive cloud.
The heat was almost tangible, we all held our breath, waiting... hoping it had worked.
But then — even before the smoke began to clear — red bursts cut through the air, violently tearing the fog.
Traces of enemy fire whipped toward us like lashes of light.
"HIDE—!"
BOOOOOOMMMMMMMMM!
The explosion threw my body to the ground like a ragdoll.
My ears rang, a sharp whistle as if the world was sinking into silence.
Dust covered my face, shoulders, chest, the taste of blood and dirt in my mouth, the heat of the wreckage.
I forced my body to rise, dizzy, staggering, my left eye partially closed from the impact, but I could see...
And I wished I hadn't.
Many of my soldiers lay around, some motionless, others... agonizing, blood everywhere, limbs torn off.
Muffled screams of pain, one still stretched his arm to the sky as if begging for divine help.
The Solari counterattack was brutal, calculated, deadly, they knew exactly where to strike.
Rage took over, I shouted with all I had left:
"EVERYONE WHO CAN, GET UP! FIGHT WHILE YOU STILL HAVE STRENGTH!"
Because at that moment, it was no longer about winning.
It was about surviving.
It was about not dying on your knees.