Kael Draven awoke to silence.
No alarms.
No explosions.
No burning sky.
For a moment, he thought he was dead.
Then his cockpit hatch hissed open.
Cold white light poured in.
He forced his eyes open and saw a ceiling unlike anything human engineering could produce — smooth, seamless, glowing faintly like moonlight trapped in metal.
His mech… was gone.
Or rather, dismantled.
The ARES-7 Requiem Frame lay suspended in pieces around him, held in midair by bands of blue energy. Armor plates hovered like fragments of a disassembled statue while streams of light flowed between them, repairing microscopic damage.
"Unauthorized movement detected."
The voice was calm. Neither male nor female.
Kael reached instinctively for a weapon that wasn't there.
"Where am I?"
No answer.
Instead, the floor beneath him shifted, forming a platform that carried him forward through a widening corridor.
Transparent walls revealed the vast interior of the unknown warship.
It wasn't mechanical.
It was architectural.
Columns curved like cathedral supports. Energy flowed through the structure like veins through a living organism. Outside the hull, stars burned against a sea of black — meaning they were deep in space already.
They had left Earth.
Kael clenched his fists.
A figure stepped onto the platform ahead of him.
Humanoid.
Tall.
Clad in silver armor that seemed woven from liquid light.
A smooth helm covered its face, crowned with jagged, star-like protrusions.
"The Sovereign Vessel welcomes you, Commander Kael Draven."
Kael's voice was ice.
"Return me to Earth."
"That is not possible."
"Then I'll take control of this ship myself."
The figure tilted its head slightly, as if analyzing him.
"Probability of success: negligible."
Kael lunged forward anyway.
The moment he crossed an invisible line, gravity intensified tenfold. He slammed to one knee, muscles screaming as his body struggled against the crushing force.
"Hostility is unnecessary," the entity said calmly. "You were selected, not captured."
"Selected for what?"
The gravity returned to normal.
"For Ascension."
Kael spat blood onto the pristine floor.
"I'm not interested."
"Your interest is irrelevant."
Behind them, a massive chamber door opened.
Inside stood something that made Kael's breath catch.
Rows of war machines.
Hundreds of them.
Humanoid combat frames — taller than buildings, sleeker than any Coalition mech. Their armor shimmered with that same silver light, each one bearing the fractured crown symbol he had seen on the ship's hull.
Weapons unlike anything he recognized lined the walls — blades made of condensed plasma, cannons that warped the air around them, drones hovering like silent predators.
"This is the Royal Arsenal," the entity said. "Weapons of the Crown Fleet."
Kael's mind raced.
"Who are you people?"
"We are not 'people.'"
The helm retracted, revealing a face that looked almost human — pale, perfect, eyes glowing faintly gold.
"We are the Aethern."
Kael had never heard the name.
"That doesn't explain why you brought me here."
The Aethern regarded him quietly.
"Because you destroyed a Starfall dreadnought alone."
"So?"
"No human pilot has achieved that in 173 years."
Kael stiffened.
"…173?"
"Yes. Your civilization has been at war for a fraction of the time we have observed."
Observed.
Not participated.
Observed.
"You've been watching us die?" Kael growled.
"We have been evaluating."
Rage burned in his chest.
"You could have stopped the war!"
"We do not interfere in conflicts beneath Ascension Level."
Kael stepped forward, fists clenched.
"Millions are dead!"
"Correction," the Aethern said calmly. "Billions."
The word hit harder than any weapon.
Billions.
Earth didn't even know the full cost.
The Aethern continued:
"The Starfall Empire is not an invading force. It is an expansion species. Your system lies within their natural growth boundary."
"So we're just… in the way?"
"Yes."
Kael laughed bitterly.
"That's your explanation?"
"Explanation is unnecessary. Outcome is inevitable."
Silence stretched between them.
Finally, Kael spoke.
"So why me?"
The Aethern turned toward one particular combat frame at the center of the chamber.
Unlike the others, it was black.
Not painted.
Void-black.
Light seemed to bend around it, unable to reflect.
Its design was sharper, more aggressive — almost predatory. Along its chest glowed a single core shaped like a broken crown.
"This unit is designated REQUIEM PRIME."
Kael felt something stir deep in his chest.
Recognition.
Fear.
Destiny.
"It requires a pilot capable of extreme combat synchronization," the Aethern said. "Every previous candidate has perished."
"Let me guess," Kael muttered. "You want me to try."
"You have already been chosen."
The floor shifted again, carrying him closer to the black mech.
Up close, it felt… alive.
The core pulsed slowly, like a heartbeat.
A voice whispered inside his mind.
Not words.
Emotion.
Pain.
Loneliness.
War.
Kael staggered.
"What… is this thing?"
"A weapon designed to end civilizations."
"Whose civilization?"
The Aethern paused.
"…Whichever opposes its pilot."
Kael's eyes widened.
"That's not a weapon. That's extinction."
"Correct."
Silence.
Then the Aethern spoke the words that changed everything.
"The Starfall Empire has deployed its Sovereign."
Kael looked up sharply.
"The dreadnought wasn't their strongest unit?"
"No. It was reconnaissance."
Cold dread spread through him.
Outside the observation window, space distorted.
A tear opened in reality itself.
Something began to emerge.
Colossal.
Impossibly vast.
A structure the size of a small moon, shaped like a jagged crown of black crystal, surrounded by orbiting rings of energy.
Even from this distance, Kael could feel it pressing against his mind.
"Designation: Starfall Sovereign — Oblivion Class."
Earth didn't stand a chance.
Not even remotely.
The Aethern turned back to him.
"Ascend, Commander Draven. Pilot Requiem Prime."
Kael stared at the nightmare outside.
At the billions of people who would die.
At the war he could no longer run from.
Slowly, he stepped toward the black mech.
"If I do this…"
"Yes?"
"…you help Earth."
The Aethern's glowing eyes dimmed slightly.
"We will observe."
Kael stopped.
"That's not good enough."
Silence.
Then, for the first time, the Aethern inclined its head.
"The Crown Fleet will engage if you survive synchronization."
Kael exhaled slowly.
"Fine."
The cockpit opened like a blooming flower of metal.
Darkness waited inside.
He climbed in.
As the hatch sealed, the core flared with violent crimson light.
Pain exploded through his nervous system.
Visions flooded his mind —
Ancient battlefields.
Fallen worlds.
Endless war across dying stars.
A voice roared inside his head.
"PILOT IDENTIFIED."
Kael screamed.
"SYNC COMPATIBILITY — EXCEEDING PARAMETERS."
Outside, the black mech's eyes ignited.
Deep, blood-red.
"REQUIEM PRIME — ONLINE."
The Sovereign weapon approaching Earth shifted.
As if it had noticed.
As if it recognized a rival.
Inside the cockpit, Kael opened burning eyes.
"Let's end this war."