The Queen was dying.
Its enormous body lay across the chamber, green blood spreading beneath its broken armor.
Hitake stood over it, breathing heavily.
His ribs hurt.
His right arm burned.
Zena remained beside him.
John and Mirai guarded the others while the instructors searched for a safe route out.
Then Hitake's vision flashed.
[FATED QUEST UPDATED]
THE ANNIHILATOR'S SON
Objective: Survive the Coalition's Investigation
Reward: ???
Hitake stared.
“Annihilator's son?”
Nefertiti remained silent.
“Nefertiti.”
Nothing.
“Nefertiti.”
Finally, she answered.
[I don't know why the system called you that.]
Hitake's expression hardened.
“You manage my quests.”
[Yes.]
“So you should know.”
[I don't.]
That frightened him.
Nefertiti always had answers.
Sometimes incomplete.
Sometimes irritating.
But answers.
This time, she had nothing.
The chamber shook.
One instructor shouted.
“Move!”
The ceiling began collapsing.
John immediately planted his feet.
“Everyone behind me!”
He raised his shield.
The first slab crashed down.
His knees buckled.
“John!”
“I've got it!”
Another section fell.
John gritted his teeth.
His shield cracked.
Hitake watched him.
Two years ago, John would have frozen.
Today, he was terrified.
And he still stood there.
Not because he wasn't afraid.
Because he had finally understood that courage wasn't the absence of fear.
It was choosing to move anyway.
“Go!” John shouted.
Everyone ran.
Hitake stayed behind.
Zena stopped.
“Hitake!”
“I'll catch up.”
“No.”
“Zena—”
“I am not leaving you.”
He smiled.
“I knew you'd say that.”
They ran together.
Behind them, the chamber collapsed.
The Hive Queen disappeared beneath tons of stone.
The strange energy vanished.
For several seconds, there was silence.
Then the system appeared.
[FATED QUEST COMPLETE]
SURVIVE YOUR FIRST COMMAND
Reward: 40 Attribute Points
TEAM CASUALTIES: 0
Hitake stared at the notification.
Forty points.
He should have been happy.
Instead, he looked back toward the collapsed chamber.
Something still felt wrong.
The Queen had been dangerous.
But it hadn't been the real threat.
Zena touched his shoulder.
“It's over.”
Hitake looked at her.
“Is it?”
She followed his gaze.
Neither answered.
Behind them, Mirai approached.
There was blood on her cheek.
“Hitake.”
He turned.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah.”
“You could have died.”
“So could you.”
“I know.”
She looked at him for several seconds.
Then quietly asked:
“You really don't look at me the way you used to.”
Hitake said nothing.
Mirai smiled, but it wasn't a happy smile.
“Never mind.”
She turned away.
Zena watched her.
“You really don't notice anything.”
Hitake frowned.
“Notice what?”
“Nothing.”
“That's becoming your favorite answer.”
“It is.”
Her shadow slipped around his ankle.
Hitake sighed.
“Again?”
“It likes you.”
“Apparently.”
A voice came from behind them.
“Congratulations.”
Commander Vale approached.
“The Hive Queen is dead.”
Hitake looked toward the collapsed tunnel.
“Are you certain?”
“Life readings are gone.”
Vale's gaze shifted toward his arm.
“The Coalition has confirmed your weapon's activation.”
Hitake's expression darkened.
“So?”
“They're coming.”
“Who?”
“The Council.”
Silence settled over the group.
“They want you brought in for questioning.”
Zena stepped forward.
“They can't force him.”
Vale looked at her.
“They can try.”
Hitake gave a quiet laugh.
“Great.”
He looked toward the sky.
The extraction ship waited above.
For the first time, the pieces seemed to be connecting.
The weapon.
The strange energy.
The Hive Queen.
His father.
The Coalition.
And whatever had been beneath Sector 7.
They weren't separate mysteries.
They were pieces of the same story.
Far beyond Earth, inside a facility hidden from every known civilization, a black screen flickered to life.
SUBJECT: HITake KAEL
BLOODLINE: KAEL
WEAPON: CONFIRMED
AWAKENING STATUS: ACTIVE
BLANK CANVAS: UNVERIFIED
COALITION SURVEILLANCE: ACTIVE
A final command appeared.
DO NOT ENGAGE WITHOUT COUNCIL AUTHORIZATION.
The screen went dark.
A man stood alone in the chamber.
He stared at a holographic image of Earth.
Then another file appeared.
KAEL — STATUS: UNKNOWN
The man whispered:
“After all these years...”
His expression hardened.
“His son has awakened.”
Behind him, something shifted in the darkness.
A voice emerged.
“Then the bloodline has begun again.”
The man turned.
“Not yet.”
A pause.
“Let us see what kind of man Kael's son becomes.”
The darkness swallowed the chamber.
Back aboard the extraction ship, Hitake sat beside the window.
Zena was beside him.
John had fallen asleep across the medical bench.
Mirai sat several rows away, staring through the opposite window.
Hitake looked down at his right arm.
The black weapon was silent beneath his skin.
He closed his eyes.
Then Nefertiti spoke.
Not teasing.
Not playful.
Afraid.
[Darling.]
Hitake opened his eyes.
“What?”
There was a long pause.
Then she whispered:
[Your father didn't disappear.]
Hitake's heart stopped.
“What did you say?”
Nefertiti's voice became almost inaudible.
[He was taken.]
Hitake stared into the darkness beyond the window.
Somewhere beyond the stars, something answered.
And this time—
he heard it too.