The journey back to Novaris took nearly an entire day.
Not because of distance alone.
Because the entire Northern Frontier had descended further into chaos overnight.
Explosions burned across distant city sectors while military aircraft filled the skies constantly now. Multiple battlefronts had collapsed near the border zones and Dominion forces were retreating toward defensive lines closer to Novaris itself.
The war was worsening faster than expected.
Kaien moved silently through the stealth transport while the twin girls rested across from him beneath dim cabin lights.
For the first few hours after escaping Sector Nine, none of them spoke much.
The mission exhausted everyone.
The girls especially looked drained physically and mentally after surviving imprisonment inside hostile territory for days. Yet despite that—
they kept looking at him.
Not fearfully.
Not cautiously.
Like they were trying to confirm something impossible every single time their eyes met his.
Kaien himself didn't know how to react either.
Because deep inside—
he felt it too.
That strange connection.
Like meeting someone forgotten long ago rather than strangers rescued during a mission.
The silver-haired twin eventually broke the silence first while leaning back against the transport wall.
"We really have been seeing you for years."
Kaien looked toward her quietly afterward.
The quieter twin sitting beside her nodded slowly.
"In dreams."
Silence lingered briefly afterward.
Then the silver-haired girl continued softly,
"At first we thought they were just nightmares."
"Or hallucinations," the second twin added quietly.
"We kept seeing the same person over and over."
Kaien remained silent.
The silver-haired twin stared directly toward him afterward.
"A boy standing in flames."
The quieter twin continued at the exact same time almost instinctively,
"A battlefield beneath a broken sky."
Their synchronization made Kaien's chest tighten strangely.
Fragments.
Even split apart—
their souls still moved together naturally.
The silver-haired girl tilted her head slightly afterward.
"And every single time…"
Both of them spoke together again.
"…it was you."
Kaien looked away briefly afterward toward the rain-covered skies outside the transport.
He genuinely didn't know what to say.
Because he himself barely understood the truth anymore.
Finally, after several long seconds, he quietly answered,
"…I feel like I know you too."
The words made both girls freeze slightly afterward.
Then silence returned once more.
Not uncomfortable.
Just heavy.
Eventually the silver-haired twin sighed softly afterward before stretching slightly despite obvious exhaustion.
"Well, since we're apparently connected through weird dreams…"
She extended one hand casually afterward.
"I'm Nyra Vale."
Sharp golden eyes.
Confident expression.
Fearless despite everything that happened.
Kaien quietly accepted the handshake afterward.
Then the quieter twin smiled faintly beside her.
"And I'm Lyss Vale."
Her voice felt softer. Warmer.
Kaien nodded slightly afterward.
"…Kaien."
Nyra immediately smirked afterward.
"We know."
"Half the Dominion probably knows your name now," Lyss added quietly.
Kaien frowned slightly.
"…why?"
Nyra leaned back afterward while crossing her arms.
"Because apparently some insane teenager infiltrated Sector Nine alone and wiped out half a prison fortress."
Kaien stared blankly.
"…I didn't wipe out half the fortress."
Nyra blinked once.
"…that's the part you're correcting?"
For the first time since the mission began—
Lyss laughed softly.
The sound hit Kaien strangely hard.
Warm.
Familiar.
Painfully familiar.
For a brief moment, another laugh overlapped it inside his memories.
Liora.
Kaien immediately pushed the memory away afterward before it could destabilize him again.
Not now.
Novaris City finally appeared through the storm clouds hours later.
The massive military capital glowed beneath endless rain and defensive floodlights while anti-air systems rotated slowly across the skyline. Emergency sirens still echoed faintly throughout outer districts while military carriers launched continuously toward active warzones beyond the city.
The moment the stealth transport landed beneath Dominion Military Command—
Kaien immediately understood something was wrong.
Too many guards.
Too many officers waiting.
The underground arrival hangar had transformed into a full military reception zone. Armed security personnel lined the corridors while command officers stood near tactical platforms speaking quietly among themselves.
And at the center of them all—
stood the highest-ranking officials in Novaris itself.
Supreme Marshal Orion Vale.
Dominion Strategic Directors.
Military research heads.
Senior command officers.
Even Vice Commander Lucien Vale himself stood there now.
The girls' uncle.
Tall. Severe. Exhausted beyond words.
The moment Nyra and Lyss stepped off the aircraft safely—
Lucien visibly lost composure for half a second.
Relief.
Real relief.
Then both girls immediately ran toward him afterward.
"Uncle!"
Lucien caught both of them instantly while closing his eyes briefly.
For several moments, the hardened military commander simply held them silently while the surrounding officers respectfully looked away.
Because despite war and politics and command—
family still mattered.
Eventually Lucien looked toward Kaien afterward.
And Kaien immediately noticed something dangerous in his eyes.
Interest.
Not gratitude alone.
Calculation.
The same expression military leaders used when discovering something valuable.
Or dangerous.
The other directors clearly shared that look too.
Especially when their eyes shifted toward Vijaya secured behind Kaien's back.
One of the senior researchers quietly whispered afterward,
"So it's true…"
Another muttered,
"He actually returned alive carrying it…"
Kaien immediately understood.
Word about the spear had already spread through command.
Of course it had.
Nothing inside military headquarters stayed secret long.
Elias eventually approached afterward before speaking calmly.
"The debriefing can wait until tomorrow."
Several directors looked dissatisfied immediately.
But Elias continued firmly,
"He just completed an impossible retrieval mission after fighting through Sector Nine alone."
That silenced most objections.
Lucien eventually nodded afterward too.
"Agreed."
Then his gaze shifted toward Kaien directly.
"But tomorrow…"
His tone sharpened slightly.
"…we will have answers."
Kaien said nothing.
Because he already expected this.
There was no avoiding it anymore.
The next morning felt heavier than war itself.
Kaien stood silently outside the central command chamber while armed guards waited nearby beneath towering metallic walls. Rain still hammered against Novaris endlessly outside while thunder echoed faintly through the upper city sectors.
Inside those doors waited nearly every powerful person within Dominion command.
And they all wanted answers.
Elias stood beside him quietly afterward.
"You don't have to tell them everything."
Kaien looked toward him briefly.
"…I know."
Because he couldn't.
Not about the cycle.
Not about the other lives fully.
Not about the Entity.
They wouldn't understand.
Or worse—
they would try weaponizing it somehow.
The command doors finally opened afterward.
Kaien stepped inside.
The atmosphere immediately became suffocating.
The massive chamber contained dozens of military directors, researchers, strategists, and command officers seated around a circular tactical platform displaying holographic war maps.
At the center sat Supreme Marshal Orion himself.
And beside him—
Nyra and Lyss.
Kaien blinked slightly.
Why were they here?
Nyra immediately answered before he even asked.
"We insisted."
Lyss nodded quietly afterward.
"You saved us."
Lucien sighed tiredly from nearby but clearly already lost that argument earlier.
Kaien eventually stepped toward the center platform afterward while every eye inside the chamber focused directly on him.
Then Orion finally spoke.
"Kaien Veyr."
His voice echoed calmly throughout the chamber.
"Do you mind explaining why you defied direct military command?"
Silence followed immediately afterward.
Then another director added sharply,
"And what exactly that weapon is."
A researcher leaned forward afterward.
"Why can only you use it?"
The questions came rapidly now.
"What happened inside the containment chamber?"
"How did you survive contact?"
"What are those energy signatures?"
Kaien quietly listened to all of it afterward.
Then finally—
he asked one simple question.
"How many of you know about the Mahabharata?"
The room instantly became confused.
Several officers exchanged looks afterward.
Elias raised one hand quietly.
"So did Dr. Seraphine."
A female researcher near the tactical displays nodded afterward too.
"It's one of ancient Earth's mythological epics."
Kaien quietly exhaled afterward.
Good.
At least the story existed in this world too.
That mattered more than they realized.
Then finally—
he spoke.
"My name isn't only Kaien."
The room fell silent immediately afterward.
Kaien slowly lifted Vijaya afterward before resting it beside him.
"This weapon is called Vijaya."
Several researchers immediately started recording everything frantically.
Kaien continued calmly.
"And I believe…"
He paused briefly afterward.
"…I am the reincarnation of Karna."
Silence.
Complete silence.
Then immediate chaos erupted throughout the chamber.
"What?!"
"That's impossible—"
"Reincarnation?"
"Is this some kind of psychological condition?"
"Wait—Karna from the Mahabharata?!"
Only a few people remained silent.
Elias.
Lucien.
Nyra.
Lyss.
Because somehow—
they believed him immediately.
Kaien calmly began explaining afterward.
Fragments of memory.
Kurukshetra.
Vijaya.
Ancient warfare.
He spoke carefully, revealing only what he could safely say.
Not the other lives.
Not the cycle.
Just enough truth to explain the spear and his memories.
The chamber listened in stunned silence afterward.
Then suddenly—
Nyra froze.
Lyss did too.
Both girls grabbed their heads slightly afterward like something struck them simultaneously.
Fragments flashed through their minds instantly.
Golden armor.
A battlefield.
A man standing beneath the sun.
Then both girls looked directly toward Kaien afterward before speaking at the exact same moment.
"…Karna."
The chamber immediately turned toward them in shock.
Kaien's heartbeat slowed slightly.
The memories were affecting them now too.
Nyra stared toward him breathlessly afterward.
"…why does that name feel familiar?"
Lyss whispered quietly,
"…why does it hurt?"
Kaien hesitated.
He should stop here.
He knew he should.
But looking at them—
feeling their souls resonate so painfully with his own—
he couldn't lie anymore.
So finally—
quietly—
he answered.
"…because I think…"
The entire chamber waited silently.
Kaien looked directly toward the twins afterward.
"…you two were my wives."
Silence exploded.
Absolute silence.
Then chaos worse than before erupted instantly throughout the command chamber.