The sound of crackling fire rose, drowning out the voices, growing louder until it consumed everything.
Xavier screamed "STAY WITH ME!" The white cloth turned red faster than he anticipated , still he pressed it hard against the boy's neck.
"COME ON SAY SOMETHING ! THIS ISNT FUNNY OKORO!!" Tears streamed down his face , he slapped his brother's face to try and wake him up.
His eyes were wide open.
But empty.
"No..No..NO STOP ! YOU CANT TAKE HIM AWAY ! NOT HIM." Xavier picked his body up and darted in the opposite direction from the burning streets.
A skyship landed in front of him, lifting dust and extinguishing flames all around , Xavier's heart skipped a beat as he saw a glimmer of hope in the situation.
The door opened and about a dozen armed soldiers darted out the ship , completely ignoring Xavier's distress.
He ran inside , screaming for help.
A man grabbed him "What are you doing here!"
"M-my brother got attacked by a monster hes gonna die please help him please.. I can't lose him too."
The man's eyes widened, he didnt say anything but took Okoro off his shoulder and into another room , the door closed behind him.
Xavier tried entering after him but it was closed , he sat infront of it with his head tucked in his arms, praying.
The rest was blurry, the man came out the room.
His mouth moved , but Xavier couldn't hear.
The sound of flames consumed all of it again.. until.
--------
"Please don't die on me, X.. " Malek's voice cut through the void.
Xavier's eyes snapped open. His body jerked violently as he sucked in air through an oxygen mask sealed to his face. Pain crashed into him all at once. His vision swam, blurry and unfocused, as he instinctively reached up-
Metal restraints clanked.
His arms were strapped down to steel bars on either side of the bed.
"Don't move too much !" Malek pleaded, hands raised in panic. "Please, don't move too much.. Im sorry.. I-I called reinforcements."
He looked away, unable to meet Xavier's eyes.
It took several seconds for the world to settle. The blurriness faded. Shapes sharpened. Malek stood beside him, face pale and twisted with guilt.
"You..." Xavier gasped between shallow breaths. "You called the Empire?"
"I--I didn't want you to die."
The words sank in slowly.
Pain bloomed in Xavier's chest as memories surged back. The lightning , the pain.. all of it.
"...Thank you," he said quietly, eyes dropping.
Malek's shoulders loosened, relief flickering across his face.
Then Xavier looked down.
His breath caught.
There was a massive hole in his shirt.
"What..." Xavier whispered. "What exactly happened...?"
Malek's expression collapsed.
"You don't remember?" he asked carefully.
"No. Not after that hit he landed."
Malek swallowed hard. His voice shook. "He... he finished you off."
Xavier's eyes widened. "What?"
"He impaled you with his hand," Malek said, tears welling. "Tore out your heart. Less than a minute before help arrived."
He rubbed his hand over and over with his thumb, as if trying to scrub the memory away.
"They sent a Delta unit. The pilot fought him off with a mech and then-"
Xavier stared at the ceiling. "How am I alive?"
"I don't know," Malek admitted. "They took you into the mech. When they brought you back out, the hole was... gone. I don't know what they did."
Xavier's jaw tightened.
"They have healing technology like that?" His voice was sharp now.
Malek did not answer.
Xavier's eyes shifted around the room. Metal walls. Soft humming. A low vibration beneath everything.
They were airborne.
Inside a massive ship.
Xavier clenched his teeth. "If they could save me..." His voice cracked. "Why couldn't they save him?"
He bit down on his lip until blood filled his mouth.
"Xavier," Malek said urgently, stepping closer. "Please. Calm down."
His heart skipped.
Xavier's eyes had turned white.
Veins bulged along his neck and arms, glowing faintly beneath the skin.
"Why.." Xavier growled.
With a violent surge, he tore himself free of the restraints. Metal snapped and bent as he ripped out of the medical bed and dropped to the floor.
"SEAL!" a voice shouted from across the room.
Pain exploded through Xavier's chest as a glowing red chain burst into existence and pierced straight through him, pinning him in place.
"XAVIER !" Malek screamed.
He rushed forward, then froze.
A man stood at the far end of the room.
Malek had not noticed him before.
He was tall, not too muscular, with five-inch-long braids hanging down his back. His palm was extended toward Xavier, the red chain emanating from it. Burns ran from his fingertips up his arm, crawling over his neck and up to his right eye, it was a pure white while the other was a low amber.
"YOU BASTARD!" Malek shouted. "WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM?!"
"Get away from him, kid," the man said calmly, stepping forward. "He's fine just a bit shook."
Malek moved instantly, planting himself between Xavier and the stranger. He reached behind his back and drew his signature machete, blade gleaming.
"Take one more step and I won't hesitate to engage " Malek warned, leveling the weapon.
The white-haired man looked down at the blade, then stepped forward anyway.
"I told you to move," he said, sighing. "You're going to get hurt."
"Y-yeah?" Malek snapped, his hand shook "Says the man with a weapon pointed at him."
"Please, just--"
The door slid open.
A girl stepped inside.
She was pale, wrapped in thick winter clothing despite the warm air of the ship. Frost curled from her breath with every exhale.
"Hey, Drako," she said casually. "Having trouble with the res-"
She froze.
Her eyes swept across the room. The chain. The machete.
Her breath fogged heavily.
"What's happening?" she asked, her tone sharp and cold.
"We've got another awakened human."
Malek shouted "Who and what the hell are you people ! Lurkers?!"
The man rushed forward , he grabbed Malek's machete with his hand and shattered the blade with a single squeeze. "My name is Drakonis , you can call me Drako."
Malek swallowed , trying to keep his composure "What kind of name is that.."
Drako pushed him aside , walking towards Xavier.
He leaned over the boy. "This chain is what's stopping you from blowing up this entire ship, so stay put."
Xavier looked dazed.
"Unseal." the chain disappeared into thin air.
The girl got closer "Whats his N.T?"
"Don't know.. all I know is that his nexus signature is stronger than anybody at blackbridge.." he sat down on the chair next to bed and exhaled "Problems keep piling up."
"Hey ! Come on boss you can't just sulk over things like these !" The girl put a hand on his shoulder.
"Don't call me that.." he put his face in his palms.
The girl looked at Xavier who was getting back his consciousness
"Whats your name?" She smiled at him.
Xavier looked at her bright blue eyes "You're aliens-- I mean people from the empire.."
"We are, You can call me Aspen." She extended her hand.
Xavier's gaze hardened, he got up ignoring her handshake.
"Malek, let's go." He helped his friend up.
"And where do you think You're going?" Drako spared them a glance.
Xavier met his gaze. "You're not allowed to keep us in here, we're part of the resistance."
Drako shook his head. "Im afraid I can't let you go for now, you've awakened your Nexus ability and therefore you pose a threat to non-nexus users"
Xavier snarled "Me? A threat??" He closed his fist.
"What even IS nexus?" Malek asked in a defensive tone.
"I can't disclose anything to you, if you end up getting captured by another faction.."
"SHUT IT!" Xavier grabbed Drako by the collar of his shirt "PEOPLE WOULDN'T GET CAPTURED AND KILLED IF YOU ACTUALLY CARED ABOUT THE MESS YOU BROUGHT TO THIS PLANET !!"
Drako's eyes widened, he looked the other way with trembling lips.
"Hey. Let go of him." A cold sensation numbed Xavier's wrist, then it burned.
He let go and hissed in pain.
Aspen's stare was sharp, her hand wrapped tight around Xavier's wrist.
"How about you let go of ME." He said, gritting his teeth.
She did so.
"This is your fault.. you brought those monsters to our planet.. and if that wasn't enough you only protect the areas that give you something in return." Xavier squeezed his wrist and looked the other way.
Malek added : "Thats why we and others like us do what we do. To protect those you don't protect."
"I understand.." Drako muttered "You're brave.. You're just humans and yet you risk your lives fighting against things that you shouldn't."
He bit his lip
"But.. why? If you just joined the empire then you'd get the necessary protection."
Xavier slammed his fist on the metal wall , punching a dent through it.
"So what if we some countries don't join the empire?! Does that make the lives of the people inside those countries expendable to you??" He looked at his purple frozen wrist..
The room fell silent for a second, Xavier sighed. "Just bring us back to the camp , still I thank you for saving me."
As the words left his mouth, his eyes turned white , he felt a surge of energy course through his entire body , from his chest to his fingers.
He fell to his knees while clutching his sides.
"X ! You alright?"
Drako and Aspen reacted immediately, in half a second , Malek was in another room.
Drako was shielding him, it took Malek another second to realize what it was from , a wave of heat slammed hard against his skin.
He heard his friend scream.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO HIM!!" he shouted.
Drako was shook , his entire body trembled as he looked at the flames.
His burn started to sting "This can't be."
Aspen slammed her heel on the metal floor, it resonated. Ice formed all on the floor and climbed on Xavier's body.
The black flames attacked the ice and shattered it "IT HURTS!" Xavier's skin was getting darker as his entire body burnt.
"My ice's not getting through?! What the hells happening !" She leapt back.
Malek gritted his teeth and shoved Drakonis to the side, his foot hit the ground hard, he hurled himself forward and ran with all his might towards Xavier.
"X !" He shouted "What's happening to you ?!"
"GET BACK- I CAN'T" he coughed up blood on the floor.
Malek pushed forward despite the heat "The flames are coming from you ! Try focusing on them!"
Xavier clawed at his sides harder, his eyes flickered between red and white.
"YOU CAN DO IT ! COME ON!" Malek encouraged him, getting closer to the flames.
Drako's face went numb, he walked slowly towards the burning hazard, squeezing his fingers in the tightest fist he could.
He was ready to end this hazard.
His eye glowed silver "I'll put him down." He opened his palm and a silver-ish sword flickered into existence.
Malek turned around at those words , his eyes full of fear. "NO!!"
"I'm sorry there's no other way , he can't-"
"I SAID NO!" Malek shouted over the roar of the flames.
For a split second, everything froze.
Xavier screamed again.
The black flames that had been tearing through the air suddenly lurched, snapping back toward his body as if pulled by an unseen force.
The heat in the room spiked violently, then collapsed in on itself. Metal groaned. The ice coating the floor evaporated in an instant.
Aspen staggered back, throwing an arm over her face , a shield of ice protected her. "He's pulling them back inside his soul?!"
Xavier slammed both hands into the floor.
"GET--BACK !" he roared.
Malek skidded to a halt inches away, the heat scorching his clothes, blistering his skin but he didn't move.
Xavier's veins burned like molten lines beneath his skin, glowing white-hot. His eyes flashed crimson, then pure white again as his teeth clenched so hard they cracked.
He gasped. "Malek.. get back- If they get out you'll get hurt.."
"Then don't let them get out," Malek said, voice shaking but firm. He dropped to one knee in front of him. "If you don't want to hurt me , you have to keep them inside."
The words landed.
Something shifted.
The flames recoiled again, no longer lashing wildly but spiraling tighter, collapsing inward toward Xavier's chest. The hole in his shirt glowed faintly as energy funneled back into him, screaming like a living thing being forced into a cage.
Xavier cried out, his back arching as the fire tried one last time to escape.
"STAY." he choked, clutching his chest.
Malek grabbed his shoulders despite the pain. "X ! Breathe ! You have to breathe !"
The black flames shrank, crawling back beneath Xavier's skin until only heat distortion remained. The air settled. The hum of the ship returned. The screaming stopped.
Xavier collapsed forward, coughing violently, blood splattering the frozen-metal floor.
Drako stared.
His silver sword dissolved into light and vanished from his hand. His breath came shallow, uneven, as the burns along his arm flared painfully.
"...What was I about to do," he whispered.
Aspen turned sharply toward him. "Drako ?"
"I was going to kill him," he said hoarsely. His silver eye dimmed, fading back to white. "I almost executed an innocent...? why?" disbelief filled his expression and voice.
He looked at Xavier, curled on the floor, shaking, doing his best to keep the flames in.
Drako's hand trembled as he raised it again, red light forming shakily around his palm.
"I'm sorry," he said quietly. "Seal."
A glowing red chain burst forth, wrapping around Xavier's soul tightly.
Xavier slumped fully unconscious.
Malek caught him before his head hit the ground, breathing hard, tears streaking through soot and sweat.
Aspen exhaled sharply. "That was.. something."
Drako lowered his hand and sank into a chair like his bones had vanished.
"...That shouldn't be possible," he muttered. "These were the.."
He looked at Malek, at his blistered arms. "You're close to that guy , Xavier."
Malek looked back at him "He's like an older brother to me , the only reason I lasted that long on the frontlines" he chuckled.
Drako raised an eyebrow. "Really? would've thought it'd be the other way around."
Malek laughed "Ahah.. no.. he's really brave and he's courageous enough to sacrifice himself without shaking, I really admire that side of him."
"But you were ready to sacrifice yourself minutes ago.." Drakonis spoke in his mind , looking at the kid.
"Sir, Could I ask for a favor?" Malek looked at his friend , helping him up with Aspen.
"Mmh? What is it?"
"Earlier you called Xavier an awakened human.."
"What're you getting at?"
"Is it possible for me to become one ?" Malek's eye met Drako's.
Aspen intervened "You just saw what can happen when a human awakens Nexus, its unstable and more often that not you're unable to bear the pain." she explained , her tone calm.
"Xavier managed to-"
"No." Drako cut him off. "He was holding back the flames and burning his insides but if he had let go for a second the purgatory-"
He coughed on his words. "The flames.. would've expelled outward and killed you, he's able to keep them in because of my seal chain."
Aspen added. "I think you've lived long enough on the frontlines !" she cheered "We're gonna relocate you to a good appartement with cheap rent and safe from the breaches !"
Malek shook his head with a smile on his face. "No, I can't just go and stay inside while there's people dying."
Drako looked down in shame. "This isn't your responsibility.."
"Its my planet." Malek gave him a warm smile.
Malek and Aspen put Xavier back on the bed.
"I see.." Drako nodded
Silence settled again, heavier this time. Not hostile, just full of the previous events.
Aspen adjusted the monitors beside Xavier's bed, their soft blue glow reflecting off her pale face.
"He'll be out for a while, we're gonna try and get him a permanent absorber."
Malek lingered for a second longer, watching Xavier's chest rise and fall.
When he was sure --really sure-- that his friend was breathing, he stepped back.
"I'm gonna... walk a bit," he said quietly.
Aspen glanced at Drako, then nodded. "Don't wander too far. This ship's bigger than it looks."
Malek almost smiled at that.
He slipped out through the sliding door.
he corridor beyond stretched impossibly far.
The walls were smooth metal, but not cold--faint lines of light pulsed through them like veins, shifting color as he passed.
The ceiling arched high above, easily three stories tall, crisscrossed with rails and suspended platforms where figures moved in the distance.
"Looks like a cruise-ship.. but.. flying !" he thought.
His boots echoed softly as he walked, the hum beneath his feet constant and deep, like a sleeping giant's breath.
Every few meters, doors branched off into other sections , labs, armories, living quarters.. each marked with symbols he didn't recognize.
He passed a wide open hangar bay.
Inside, massive mechs stood docked like dormant god statues, each one taller than a house back home. Their armor plates were scarred, scorched, repaired again and again. Technicians moved around them like ants.
Malek swallowed.
"That blonde guy fought one of these and lived?"
He kept walking.
Eventually, the corridor opened up into a vast observation deck.
Malek stopped dead.
A single, uninterrupted window stretched across the entire wall.
Dozens of meters wide, curving outward. It wasn't glass. It shimmered faintly, layered with energy fields, but it was perfectly clear.
Beyond it--
The world.
The planet hung below them, massive and alive. Cities glimmered faintly on the night side like scattered embers.
Storm systems coiled slowly across oceans. He could see the curve of the horizon, the thin glow of atmosphere clinging to it like a fragile promise.
And farther out..
Stars.
So many more than he'd ever seen from the ground.
Malek walked closer until his breath fogged the barrier.
"...So small," he whispered.
From down there, everything felt endless, the war, the monsters, the fear..
But from here?
The streets where he'd fought.
The camps.
The fires.
They were just specks.
His hand clenched into a fist as he reminded himself people still died down there.
Behind him, footsteps approached, slow and measured.
Drako stopped a few paces away, hands clasped behind his back. He didn't speak at first.
"First time in space ?" he asked eventually.
Malek nodded, eyes still fixed on the planet. "Didn't think I'd see Earth like this."
Drako followed his gaze. "That ship," he said quietly, "is roughly the size of one of your educational spaces. A high school, I think you call them."
Malek huffed a weak laugh. "Figures"
They stood there in silence for a moment.
"You meant what you said back there," Drako finally said. "About it being your planet."
Malek nodded again. "Yeah. Doesn't matter how big the universe is." His reflection stared back at him in the window. small, tired, burned. "This is still home."
Drako remained still, eyes fixed on the planet below.
"...There's something you should understand," he said at last.
Malek turned slightly toward him but didn't interrupt.
"Neither I," Drako continued, "nor the Lurkers... nor even Nexus itself-belong to this universe."
Malek frowned. "What do you mean... this universe?"
Drako lifted a hand and pointed past the stars, past the nebulae, past anything Malek could comprehend.
"My universe is... different."
He searched for the right words.
"Energy flows like wind. Entire civilizations are built with that energy.." His mouth twitched faintly. "And yet.."
Malek stared. "And yet?"
"Yet we haven't made as much progress as you.." Drako said, tapping two fingers against his own chest, "There's war, War against beings so powerful they feel like gods." He glanced back at Malek. "And now those beings are after Earth."
Malek's throat tightened.
Drako's faint smile faded. "There's more," he said.
Malek didn't look away from the planet. "There always is."
"A terribly strong force world attacked your world cause they were looking for something" Drako said.
He turned, lowering his voice as if the stars themselves were listening.
"Divinity."
Malek's heart sank. "Divinity??"
"Yes," Drako confirmed.
The word felt wrong in Malek's ears. Heavy. Like it didn't belong in any language he knew.
Malek's voice was barely audible. "Divinity is on earth..? what does that even mean.. where is it?"
Drako didn't answer.
Malek clenched his fists. "So all of this.. Breaches, lurkers, Nexus.."
"They're collateral damage in her hunt." Drako said.
Malek let out a shaky breath. "And when it finds it?"
Drako didn't answer immediately.
"She'll become a true goddess.."
He met Malek's eyes.
Malek stared back out at Earth.
The planet turned slowly beneath him, blue and white, it felt impossibly fragile now.
"Gods.." Malek repeated softly.
The word didn't sound real.
Behind him, Drako stiffened.
He watched the way Malek's shoulders had gone rigid not with fear, but with something sharper. Something calculating. The same look soldiers got when the fight stopped being abstract.
Drako's jaw tightened.
"I shouldn't have said that."
He took a slow step back.
Malek didn't notice.
"If divinity is on here , maybe we can use it to fight back" Malek murmured, almost to himself. "And maybe we can stop all of this , right?"
Drako's heart sank.
He turned away.
"That's enough," he said, voice suddenly firm. Closed. "You don't need to know more."
Malek finally glanced back. "What?"
Drako was already walking toward the exit, his long coat shifting with each step.
"I've said too much," he said without looking over his shoulder. "Curiosity gets people killed.. especially humans."
The door slid open with a soft hiss.
"Wait-" Malek started.
Drako paused for half a second, hand hovering near the panel. His voice came quieter, rougher.
"Forget this conversation," he said. "For your own sake."
Then he stepped through.
The door sealed shut.
Malek was left alone with the stars and a planet that now felt like the center of something far bigger than war.
Malek shook his head.
"No."
He turned sharply and broke into a run.
The corridor lights streaked past as he chased after Drako, the hum of the ship rising with his pulse. The door at the end slid open just as Drako stepped through.
Malek reached out and grabbed his arm.
Drako froze.
The contact was brief.
"If your world is in danger," Malek said, breathless but steady, "you should do all of what's in your power to save it."
Drako looked down at the hand gripping his sleeve.
Slowly, he turned.
"You don't understand what you're asking to be part of." he said quietly.
Malek didn't let go. "My planet didn't ask to be part of your war," He continued. "But it is. And if there's something on Earth that can turn this situation around then you HAVE to find it before it does !"
Drako's eyes flickered
Malek met his gaze without flinching. "I want to help , I want to be a bigger cog in this fight."
The corridor felt smaller suddenly, the walls closing in around them.
Drako searched his face, as if looking for fear.
He found it.
But it was overshadowed by his will.
"What if you die?" Drako asked.
Malek's grip tightened slightly.
"Are you not scared of death?" he continued.
For a long moment, Malek said nothing.
"I'm terrified of dying.." He held eye contact , his stare said something else.
Drako walked away , pulling his sleeve away.
He turned back toward Malek, eyes tired.
"Very well," he said. "But understand this.. You will die in this war."
Malek nodded once.
The ship continued its silent journey , it would later arrive in the middle of Antartica.