The battle in the skies raged with unrelenting fury. Clouds trembled under the roar of engines as two battle jets maneuvered behind Evolve, their wings gleaming beneath the blazing daylight.
"We fire at him at the same time," one pilot commanded through the radio, his voice tense and urgent. Both jets released a barrage of missiles, streaking through the air like fiery serpents toward the lone figure.
Evolve tilted his head slightly, amusement flickering in his glowing green eyes.
"Heh," he laughed, the sound echoing like a low thunder. In the next instant, he vanished.
"What… when did he— how did he come here?" one of the pilots gasped in disbelief as Evolve materialized before them, floating effortlessly in midair.
"Thrust back!" another cried out, pulling hard on the controls, but before they could retreat, their jet engines groaned and twisted violently. Evolve's elongated arms had extended, crushing the metallic hulls as if they were paper.
"Help! Help us!" the female soldier screamed, her trembling hands firing bullets in vain as she tried to flee. But Evolve, smiling faintly, swung both jets with tremendous force and hurled them skyward. They soared into the clouds before crashing down to the earth, erupting in a colossal explosion. The entire sky turned white as dust and debris blanketed the land.
Evolve hovered above the chaos, his expression calm and thoughtful. "Hmm, the base is not destroyed at least," he muttered. "Let me free the other species and lead them to true evolution."
He descended slowly toward the black facility below, but his path was immediately blocked by a formation of armored tanks, soldiers, and combat robots that spread across the barren plain. The ground shook as cannons locked onto him.
"Fire all you've got! Do not hold back for any reason!" a commanding officer roared.
In a thunderous instant, the sky exploded with light. Missiles, bullets, and shells filled the air like a deadly storm. Yet as the chaos unfolded, time itself seemed to slow.
Evolve's movements became a blur. He weaved between explosions, the world moving at the pace of his amusement. "Your chattering is annoying," he said flatly.
He appeared before one soldier and ripped his skull clean from his body. Another screamed as Evolve tore him in half, redirecting a cluster of missiles toward a fleeing group. He shoved a grenade into another man's mouth, smiling as the explosion painted the air red. Every motion was graceful, almost elegant, yet horrifying in its precision.
Bored, he sighed and glanced toward the robotic units. In a flash, he dismantled one, reassembled it from scraps, and struck it with a surge of lightning. The entire horde malfunctioned instantly and detonated midair, fire blooming like crimson flowers in the sky.
Within seconds, he had passed through every human in the area. Time resumed, and the battlefield erupted in a massive explosion. Robots disintegrated into ash, while the bodies of the soldiers fell into a grotesque pile, stacked high like offerings to a god.
Evolve walked calmly into the facility. He touched the reinforced doors, and they melted before him. Inside, hundreds of containment pods hissed and shattered. Beasts of all kinds emerged—three hundred and fifty creatures of every race and form. Elves, dryaids, ogres, xenomorphs...all now free. Evolve led them outside, his glowing body illuminating the desolation as he stood atop the mountain of corpses.
"From today, you all are free!" his voice boomed across the field. He turned to a smaller creature among them, frail but fierce-eyed. "You might look weak, but you are the strongest. I choose you to lead them until I return. Unite them, all species and xenomorphs alike. They are your brothers, not your enemies. Humans are your true enemy. And you shall be named Charybidz, the Xeno King."
As Evolve's energy touched the creature, its body surged and grew, expanding into a towering, muscular form. Two massive wings unfurled from its back, and its six arms retracted into a new, perfected shape. It stood proud, a symbol of reborn strength.
Evolve picked up the cloak of a fallen soldier and wrapped it loosely over his shoulder as he turned away.
"Where are you going, our savior?" the newly crowned Xeno King called out, his voice echoing through the dust.
"I can sense the life of other creatures like you," Evolve replied, glancing toward the distant horizon where a glass dome shimmered faintly. "They are not too far from here. I want to save them too. Occupy till I come."
With that, his glowing figure began to drift away, disappearing into the blazing storm of dust and light, leaving the freed creatures in silent awe.
Hours later, the city of Vegas Voyage buzzed with life. Neon lights flickered over wet streets as rain fell softly on glass towers. Lucian walked calmly down the sidewalk, dressed neatly, his face relaxed as he prepared for a dinner date.
His smartwatch flickered with a priority alert.
"Over five thousand foot soldiers dead. Heavy casualties in battle against an unidentified creature," the message read.
Lucian chuckled under his breath, the faint reflection of data screens dancing in his eyes.
"So, it has awakened," he murmured. "Seems my efforts on that creature weren't in vain after all. I'd better get on its good side, rather than its bad."
He adjusted his coat, smirked, and continued down the luminous street. The rain fell harder, and the city lights reflected in puddles like fragments of another world.
The screen dimmed. The scene faded.