CHAPTER 9 — THROUGH THE VEIL
The stars stretched into streaks of pure light.
A roar of energy filled the cabin as Astrin's ship—The Halcyon Wraith—tore through the threshold of realspace.
Kario gripped the console as the view exploded into color: streams of violet, blue, and gold bending into infinity.
Hyperspace.
They had all dreamed of this moment—but nothing could have prepared them for the way it felt.
The way the stars themselves seemed to sing.
1. The Jump
Vexa sat frozen, her reflection caught in the glow of the glass. "This… this is insane."
Sen's voice cracked. "We're actually in hyperspace. That's… real?"
Astrin smirked faintly, fingers dancing across the navigation controls. "Real enough. We're crossing twelve systems in five minutes."
Juno spun in her chair, laughing breathlessly. "How are we even still alive?"
"By holding together," Astrin said. "And not touching anything glowing blue."
Kario couldn't speak.
For years, he'd stared up at the night sky from the scrapyards of Virel-9, wondering what it looked like up close.
Now he was flying through it.
But even as the light washed over him, something tugged at the edges of his mind.
A whisper, faint but clear. You are not ready.
He blinked hard and shook it off. Probably just nerves. Right?
2. The Arrival
The hum deepened, the colors stretched thin—and then, with a flicker of starlight, they were through.
Normal space returned in a silent burst.
Before them hung a massive nebula of swirling gold and crimson—a cosmic storm illuminated by an inner sun. Floating in its heart was a planet unlike any they had ever seen.
It glowed softly with crystalline oceans and dark continents latticed by light. Rings of floating satellites and old rebel ships orbited lazily around it like guardians.
Astrin leaned back, watching their reactions.
"Welcome to Eryndor Prime. Home of the ROPS."
Vexa's eyes went wide. "This is their base? It's… beautiful."
"Hidden," Astrin corrected. "The PWSP has been trying to find it for decades. The nebula scrambles their scans. To them, it's just another dead star system."
Juno grinned. "So, we're safe?"
Astrin's tone hardened. "Safe is a word I don't use anymore."
3. Descent
As they broke through the planet's atmosphere, the view shifted again.
Towers carved into mountains of crystal rose over glowing rivers. Airships glided across silver skies, each marked with the insignia of the ROPS—three intersecting stars forming a circle.
Sen leaned forward. "I thought they were myths."
"They like it that way," Astrin replied. "Myth makes the truth harder to kill."
The ship landed on a raised platform surrounded by armed guards and towering sentinels—old tech, patched together with rebel creativity. As the ramp descended, the group felt the change in air: sharp, charged, alive.
A woman approached—tall, pale, her cloak shifting between light and shadow. Her eyes glowed faintly amber.
"Astrin Vael," she said. "You're late."
Astrin smiled faintly. "I brought company."
Her gaze drifted to Kario, Vexa, Sen, and Juno. "Children?"
"Survivors," Astrin corrected. "And something more."
4. The Hall of Resonance
They followed her through wide, metallic halls carved with glowing sigils.
Each wall pulsed faintly with the same energy that had flowed through the Primordial Core.
At the end of the corridor stood a massive chamber lined with mirrors of liquid light. The air itself hummed.
"This is where we test resonance," the woman said. "If they truly touched the Core, the chamber will awaken."
Astrin nodded. "They already did."
"Then let's see if the Core remembers them."
One by one, they stepped forward.
When Vexa entered the ring, faint embers floated from her palms—shimmering red-gold sparks that flickered in the air. She gasped. "What… is this?"
"The Starfire," Astrin said softly. "The power of the suns."
When Sen took his place, the floor rippled like water under his boots, forming gentle waves that danced around him. His eyes widened in disbelief. "It feels alive."
"The Tide of Space," Astrin murmured. "The calm before storms."
When Juno stepped forward, lightning arced around her fingertips—tiny, harmless pulses snapping through the air like whispers of thunder. "That's… kinda cool."
Astrin smiled. "Primordial Lightning. Rare. Unstable."
Finally, Kario.
He stepped into the ring, heart pounding. The others watched as nothing happened—no light, no sound, no spark. The silence grew heavy.
Vexa frowned. "Maybe it didn't—"
The chamber shook.
The mirrors darkened, then flared white. The air distorted, bending like heat. For a single instant, everything inside the hall felt… wrong. Weightless. Infinite.
Then, as quickly as it came, it stopped.
Kario fell to one knee, gasping.
Astrin's jaw tightened. He'd seen that before—once, years ago.
The mark of someone who could channel all Primordial Arts.
But he said nothing.
The woman, pale-faced, turned to him. "Astrin… what did you bring us?"
He looked at the kids—his misfit crew—and smiled faintly.
"Change."
5. Between Fire and Lightning
Later, they stood on a terrace overlooking the crystalline city.
The nebula above shimmered like living fire, and the air buzzed with unseen power.
Sen leaned on the rail. "So… we're really part of the ROPS now?"
"Not yet," Astrin said. "First, you train. You learn control. You learn to survive what's inside you."
Juno tossed a spark between her fingers. "Sounds fun."
Astrin raised a brow. "Until it burns you alive."
That shut her up.
Vexa turned to Kario. "You okay?"
He nodded weakly, still pale. "Yeah. Just… tired."
She smirked. "You lit up half the planet back there, genius. Don't play it off."
Astrin interrupted softly. "He'll need time. Power like that doesn't come without cost."
They all turned toward the horizon as the sun of Eryndor began to rise, spilling light across the crystalline towers.
Kario exhaled, eyes fixed on the endless dawn.
"We finally made it," he said quietly.
Astrin nodded, his gaze distant.
"Now," he said, "the real story begins."