The wind that swept across the highest hill of flare mansion was cold, carrying with it the heavy, suffocating scent of ozone and burnt carbon.
Kealen stepped through the ruined threshold, his boots crunching against the black gravel. He had rushed here to comfort his family , but the home he expected to find no longer existed. There was no mansion. There were no elite guards.
All that remained were dead bodies, blood and ashes of the flare.
Kealen's eyes widened into absolute circles, his breath catching painfully in his throat. "How... who... why?" he whispered, his voice cracking .
He walked forward slowly, like a man moving through a dream, his gaze scanning the wreckage. His foot brushed against a small, metallic object buried in a pile of fine soot. Kealen paused, looking down. It was a silver hairpin, its intricate design instantly recognizable. It belonged to his mother, Sola. It was the only piece of her that the black flames left behind.
Kealen knelt down in the ash, his knees sinking into the gray powder. He picked up the hairpin, his fingers trembling violently as he clutched the cold metal against his palm. A chaotic storm of conflicting emotions tore through his chest, ripping at his sanity.
"Should I be sad... or happy?" Kealen muttered, a bitter, hollow laugh escaping his lips before it choked into a sob. "They weren't even a family to me. Since the day I was born, I was tortured, cast aside, and rejected because I didn't fit their perfect mold. They threw me out like trash."
He squeezed his eyes shut, his knuckles turning white as his grip tightened around the pin. A single, hot tear spilled over his cheek, burning a path through the dust on his face. "But why... why do I feel so much pain? Damn it!"
Kealen screamed into the empty sky, the raw, agonizing sound echoing off the molten rock. Even though they had abandoned him, the finality of their extinction shattered something deep within him.
A few hours later, the quiet ruins were swarming with activity. The blue and red flashing lights of dozens of military vehicles illuminated the crater, casting long, frantic shadows against the debris. Xenocide squads and Border Enforcers moved in tight, synchronized formations, setting up high-grade containment fields and scanning the area for spatial anomalies.
The heavy door of a premium command vehicle hissed open, and Dock Von stepped out onto the scorched earth, his captain's cloak billowing behind him. His face was set in a grim, stony expression as he walked toward the center of the devastation, where the head of the Intelligence and Analysis Team was waiting with a digital data pad.
"How could this have happened?" Dock Von demanded, his gravelly voice tight with suppressed rage. "Who did this?"
"Sir, we believe it was a Zethrian," the analyst said, his hands shaking slightly as he pulled up a series of complex genetic heat maps. "Our forensic drones picked up a faint trace of unique bio-energy and analyzed the DNA sequence. However... it's highly irregular. The results show a prominent Zethrian signature, but it has an undeniable human architecture woven directly into it. I think it might be an hybrid."
Dock Von's eyes widened to absolute circles, his fist tightening against his side. "A hybrid? He looked out at the massive, two-mile crater, his mind racing through the terrifying implications. "We need to increase security across every sector immediately. If whatever did this could wipe out the strongest, most heavily fortified family in the Border within hours, then we are completely doomed."
The analyst swallowed hard, looking up from his screen. "Understandable, sir. But the public... should they know about this? The Prime Minister election is only two days away. This will cause absolute mass panic."
Dock Von closed his eyes for a brief moment, letting out a long, heavy sigh. "We have no choice. We can't cover this up; it's simply too big to hide, Let the people know the stakes have changed."
Meanwhile,
"So, where exactly are we going?" Tyson asked, breaking the silence.
"We are looking for clues about the anonymous tipper," Zane replied calmly, his eyes fixed on the dark road ahead as he turned the steering wheel. "And more importantly, we need to locate the identity of the mole operating within the Xenocides."
"I see," Tyson replied, leaning back against the leather seat, his eyes narrowing.
"A mole, huh..." Elias whispered.
"So, do we have any solid leads right now?" Elias asked, turning his head to look at his older brother.
"Nope," Zane replied smoothly, his tone entirely casual.
Elias blinked, . "Really?
Well... I hope this gets interesting." Tyson said
The vehicle came to a smooth halt in front of a massive, derelict structure. The rusted corrugated iron walls of the abandoned warehouse rose up like a monolith against the gray sky, its heavy loading doors chained shut and covered in warning signs.
Zane, Tyson, and Elias exited the transport and stepped into the vast, shadowy interior of the warehouse. The air inside smelled of old oil, dust, and something distinctly exotic—a faint, sweet scent that didn't belong on Earth.
As they walked deeper into the center of the floor, past rows of empty wooden crates, Elias suddenly froze. His physical conditioning kicked in instantly, his muscles locking into a combat-ready stance as his eyes locked onto a figure sitting on an overturned steel container in the shadows.
It wasn't a human. It was an alien.
The creature was incredibly beautiful, possessing smooth, jade-green skin and long, flowing white hair that cascaded down her shoulders. Two delicate, slender antennae protruded from the top of her head, twitching slightly as she picked up the sound of their approach. She . Her species was called an Antris, a resident of a distant world.
"Em, Zane... who is she?" Elias said, his voice dropping into a low, dangerous register as his fists tightened.
Tyson crossed his arms, glaring at the back of his brother's jacket. "And you said you had no leads."
"Yeah, I didn't," Zane said, raising his hands in a defensive gesture as he turned around to face them. "But Elias... promise me you'll stay completely calm right now."
"Huh? Why?" Elias asked, his silver eyes flashing with suspicion.
"Will you promise me?" Zane cut in, his expression turning completely serious.
Elias stared at his brother for a long three seconds before letting out a sharp breath. "Yeah. I promise."
"Ok," Zane said, turning back toward the green-skinned alien. "Her name is Princexx. She is an Antris, another species of alien from deep space. And up until recently, she worked directly for a Zethrian called Valkhyre—the man who, according to her, is the most dangerous person in the entire universe. She is also the one responsible for the Sector 1 incident."
The moment the words left Zane's mouth, the air in the warehouse turned entirely suffocating.
"She's responsible?" Elias whispered His knuckles popped like firecrackers as he took a step forward, his eyes filled with absolute rage. "So that giant mutant was her fault? The total destruction of the sector... the people could have died... it was all her fault?"
"Calm down, Elias," Tyson said quickly, stepping up beside him and delivering a sharp, grounding slap to the back of his head to break his focus. "Listen to what Zane has to say first."
Zane sighed, rubbing his temples. "Before she could escape from Bola Ahmed's custody during the chaos, I used my ability to pause time. I isolated her from the battlefield and made a private deal with her. She's our inside source."
Princexx sat on the steel container, her large, expressive eyes looking down at her own trembling hands. When she spoke, her voice was soft, carrying a melodic but was filled with sorrow
"As you know, my name is Princexx," she began, her antennae drooping sadly. "I am from a planet called Antra, and my species are called Antris. In my world, I am the rightful heir to the royal throne. But my lineage means nothing now. My mother, the Queen, is dead... and my entire populace has been brutally enslaved by Valkhyre's cosmic allies. My planet was completely destroyed."
She slid off the container, her knees hitting the dusty floorboards as she knelt before the three human brothers, tears welling up in her eyes and leaving sparkling trails down her green cheeks.
"I had no choice but to do this," Princexx sobbed, her shoulders shaking as she buried her face in her hands. "I had to serve him, I had to do all sorts of terrible things so my remaining people could be allowed to live. I'm sorry... I truly had no other choice."
Elias stood perfectly still, his silver eyes tracking the tears as they hit the floor. The intense, burning rage that had gripped his heart just a moment ago suddenly began to wither away, replaced by a heavy, quiet understanding. He looked at her form—kneeling, broken, and desperate—and thought of his own struggles to protect the people he cared about.
"I see," Elias said quietly, his tight fists slowly softening, he took a step forward, his voice dropping into a gentle tone. "I'm truly sorry. I didn't know."
Princexx lifted her head, her white hair shifting away from her face as she looked up at him in surprise. "It's ok," she cut in quickly, with a faint, grateful expression . "You don't have to apologize to me. I am the one who brought war to your doorstep."
Zane stepped forward, past Elias, his shadow falling over the kneeling alien princess. His expression was calculated, but his voice carried the weight of an absolute vow. "Ok. Tell me exactly what I need to know, and I will help your people win back their freedom."
Princexx's eyes widened into absolute circles, a sudden, blinding spark of genuine hope flaring within her dark pupils. She took a deep, shuddering breath, stabilizing her voice as she prepared to deliver the ultimate piece of intelligence.
"Before the Sector 1 incident even began... Valkhyre sent a high-frequency signal into the deep expanse of space," Princexx revealed, her voice dropping into a tense whisper. "I was the one who helped him calibrate the transmitter and send it. This signal wasn't a standard transmission; it was sent to someone unimaginably dangerous. He rules a rogue planet... and this planet moves through the cosmos like a traveling fortress."
Tyson and Elias expression changed in shock.
"It was him—this stellar conqueror—who invaded my home world of Antra and enslaved my people," Princexx continued, her grip tightening against her uniform. "Valkhyre gave him my planet as a payment. He did something for Valkhyre in the past, and Valkhyre promised him my world in return for his absolute cooperation."
She paused, taking another deep breath to steady her racing heart.
"So now, he has altered his trajectory. His moving planet is coming directly to Earth to completely destroy the Border and wipe out humanity. And once he succeeds in flattening your defenses, Valkhyre plans to assassinate him from the inside, seizing control of both Earth and the moving fortress for himself. He will have two worlds to rule entirely alone."
Princexx looked up at Zane, her voice trembling with absolute certainty. "It was his ultimate backup plan... in case Xerxes Vahl failed and died."