Mother Telsa's hands were shaking.
Not from fear.
From exhaustion.
She stood alone near the burning asteroid, red dust swirling around her robes as the wind howled across the broken Martian plain. In her arms lay the second child.
Silent.
Wide-eyed.
The markings around his eyes pulsed faintly—
not like magic,
not like light—
but like something listening.
Telsa knelt slowly.
Every movement felt heavier than the last.
Her invisibility spell still wrapped half of Mars in a bending veil of reality, folding cities, soldiers, and entire populations into a space that existed but could not be perceived.
It was not true invisibility.
It was dimensional misalignment.
She whispered the final sequence under her breath.
The ground hummed.
Air vibrated.
Mars shifted half a fraction out of phase with itself.
And then—
She placed the child near the asteroid.
The moment his back touched the stone, the humming stopped.
The spell stabilized.
Telsa froze.
Her heart skipped.
The child did not cry.
The asteroid responded instead.
A deep, low resonance echoed—
as if the stone recognized him.
Telsa staggered back.
"This is not coincidence," she whispered.
Then—
A sound cut through the sky.
Not thunder.
Not wind.
A mechanical scream.
Her head snapped upward.
Her breath caught.
"…Airships."
THE SKY OPENS
High above Mars, the clouds parted unnaturally.
Blue-white light stabbed through the red haze.
Neptune airships descended like gods returning to claim a fallen world.
Massive.
Angular.
Silent.
Their hulls shimmered with advanced alloys, layered with rotating symbols—some scientific, some disturbingly close to runes.
As landing thrusters ignited, shockwaves rippled across the surface.
Dust exploded outward.
Rocks lifted.
The ground cracked under pressure that was not meant for primitive worlds.
Neptune scientists poured out first.
No hesitation.
No caution.
They stared at the destruction in awe.
"Oh my god…" one whispered.
"This isn't just impact damage."
Another laughed—excited, breathless.
"Half the planet collapsed inward."
"Holly shit," a third muttered.
"An entire civilization—gone."
They walked freely.
Confident.
Certain the world beneath them was dead.
Behind them came the soldiers.
Tall.
Heavily armored.
Weapons humming with contained energy.
They scanned the horizon.
Nothing.
Empty plains.
No cities.
No resistance.
The commander frowned.
"Where are the survivors?"
A scientist checked her tablet.
"…That's the thing."
She looked up slowly.
"There are survivors."
THE INVISIBLE WAR
On the invisible side of Mars, panic erupted.
Mars soldiers watched the airships land—
close enough to hear the engines,
close enough to feel the heat—
yet the invaders walked as if no one was there.
"They can't see us!" someone shouted.
Another raised his weapon.
"ALIENS!"
"They destroyed our world!"
"Kill them!"
Weapons charged.
Blades drawn.
Hundreds of Mars soldiers ran forward—
And passed straight through Neptune formations.
No resistance.
No reaction.
Neptune soldiers didn't even flinch.
Mars warriors stumbled, confused, terrified.
"How—?"
"Our weapons—!"
They swung again.
Nothing.
It was like attacking ghosts.
Except the ghosts were real—
And they were laughing.
Neptune scientists looked around, puzzled.
"Strange," one said.
"I'm picking up atmospheric disturbances."
Another shook his head.
"False positives. Planetary decay."
Mars soldiers screamed in frustration.
"We're HERE!"
King Potus stood at the palace balcony, fists clenched, watching the impossible unfold.
His people were alive—
But untouchable.
Helpless.
He turned sharply.
"Telsa!" he shouted.
"What is this maze?!"
THE TRUTH OF THE SECOND CHILD
Mother Telsa arrived slowly, supported by guards.
Her face was pale.
Her eyes dimmer than before.
The Queen clutched the first child—Shri—against her chest.
The baby slept peacefully.
Alive.
Safe.
Potus grabbed Telsa's arm.
"Why couldn't you save him?" he demanded, voice breaking.
"Why couldn't you hide my second son too?!"
Telsa did not pull away.
She looked at the King—
Not with fear.
With sorrow.
"My King," she said softly.
"I hid Mars."
She gestured toward the invisible cities.
"I hid your people."
Her voice trembled.
"But your second son…"
She swallowed.
"…cannot be hidden."
Silence fell.
The Queen gasped.
Potus shook his head.
"No."
"He's a baby," he whispered.
"He's innocent."
Telsa closed her eyes.
"He is not aligned with Mars," she said.
The words felt heavy.
"Magic bends reality."
"Science rewrites it."
"But this child—"
She opened her eyes again.
"—exists outside both."
Potus's knees weakened.
"A… weapon?" he asked faintly.
Telsa nodded.
"Not created," she said.
"Discovered."
Tears rolled down the King's face.
"My son…"
He looked toward the asteroid.
Toward the place his child lay alone.
"So that's why…"
Telsa continued quietly.
"Invisibility magic works by bending light and perception."
"But his energy does not travel through light."
"It resonates."
"With something deeper."
"The asteroid is not protecting him."
She paused.
"He is anchoring it."
The Queen sobbed.
Potus turned away, fists trembling.
"I will raise my first son," he said through tears.
"At least… let one live a normal life."
He looked back at the second child one last time.
Then—
He nodded.
The guards lowered their heads.
The choice had been made.
THE ABANDONMENT
Mother Telsa carried the second child back to the asteroid.
Her arms felt heavier than stone.
She placed him gently near the glowing surface.
The baby stared at her.
No fear.
No cry.
Just awareness.
"I'm sorry," she whispered.
"I don't know what you are."
She stepped back.
The Queen collapsed into the King's arms as the first child cried softly.
The second child remained silent.
The wind shifted.
The asteroid pulsed once.
Telsa felt it.
A pull.
Curiosity mixed with dread.
"This stone…" she murmured.
"It's not a weapon."
"It's a door."
Her eyes widened.
But before she could speak—
A Neptune scientist's voice echoed across the plain.
"Commander!"
"We've found something!"
They were staring directly at the asteroid.
At the baby.
Their scanners screamed.
Their excitement returned.
Telsa's heart sank.
"The hunt," she whispered.
"…has begun."
END OF CHAPTER