Chapter 265 New world. {2}

Words : 1126 Updated : Oct 9th, 2025

Cleo's glow faded as she lowered her hand. "I... I don't know. I just... acted on instinct. But it worked." The figure turned to face them, its crimson eyes dimming slightly. "You are... different. Not like the others." Rex frowned. "What are you talking about? Who are you?" The figure hesitated, as if struggling to find the right words. Then, it spoke, its voice softer now, almost... human. "I am... a shadow. A remnant of a forgotten war. I came here seeking answers... but perhaps... I have found something else." Rex exchanged a glance with Cleo. Whatever this thing was, it wasn't just a mindless intruder. There was more to it... much more. "Answers?" Rex asked cautiously. "What kind of answers?"@@@@ The figure's gaze shifted to Cleo; its expression under its helmet was unreadable. "The kind that could change everything." The armored figure knelt before Cleo, his massive frame lowering in a gesture of deep reverence. With a sharp hiss of decompression, his helmet deactivated, the plates splitting apart to reveal the face beneath... a haunting visage of metal and shadow, a testament to countless battles fought and lost. "I salute the royal family of the Kaelzars, descendants of the great Emperor Xynithar." His face was a ruin, a grotesque tapestry of scars and shattered machinery. Only one eye remained, its faint glow flickering weakly, as if clinging to the last vestiges of life. A jagged claw mark tore across his metallic skull, so deep and brutal it looked as though some monstrous force had tried to rip his head clean off. Rex's eyes narrowed as he stepped forward, his gut twisting at the sight. But there was something more pressing gnawing at him. "Hold on... Are you a Kaelzar like Cleo?" He asked while his gaze darted between the kneeling warrior and Cleo, who stood frozen, her usual composure shattered by the weight of the moment. The shadow didn't hesitate. "Negative," he said, his voice cold and mechanical, devoid of hesitation. "I am nothing more than a shadow. I cannot call myself a Kaelzar... not like her royal highness, Princess Cleo." He remained kneeling, head bowed, like a soldier awaiting judgment. Rex exchanged a glance with Cleo. She was silent with her expression unreadable, but for the first time, Rex noticed a flicker of something in her eyes, something like pain, regret, or perhaps even guilt. Rex clenched his fists, his jaw tightening. "Alright... then what the hell is a Shadow?" Cleo took a slow, measured breath, as if steadying herself for what came next. "Shadows are those who were once Kaelzars," she said with a voice softer than Rex had ever heard it. "When a Kaelzar's fleet is annihilated, when their main body is destroyed, and there is nothing left... they can transfer their consciousness into specially designed war bodies." Rex frowned, his brow furrowing. "So it's a second chance?" Cleo shook her head, her gaze distant. "No. It's a coffin. A final stand. These bodies grant immense power, but at a terrible cost; they consume all of the Kaelzar's computational abilities. They become locked in those metal husks... until death." Her words hung in the air, heavy and unshakable, like a funeral dirge. For the first time since Rex had met her, Cleo looked genuinely distant, as if she was lost in memories she'd rather forget. He knew better than to push her further. Instead, he turned his focus back to the Shadow, his eyes sharpening. Cleo and Rex exchanged a look, a silent conversation passing between them. Then Cleo gave a small nod, her expression unreadable but her eyes softening just slightly. "Come. Follow us; we'll take you to the nearest exit." With that, Rex turned and walked alongside Cleo, the Shadow trailing closely behind. As they moved through the station's corridors, the Shadow silently observed his surroundings. Aegis Units, smaller, streamlined war machines, stood guard in perfect formations, their sleek designs unlike anything he had ever seen. Through the reinforced glass panels, he saw fighter squadrons patrolling the skies, while colossal construction drones moved with precision, assembling and repairing the ever-growing megastructure. So much had changed. So much was alien to him. Finally, they reached the exterior. As the pressurized doors slid open, the Shadow stepped forward, his heavy frame casting a long shadow against the platform. Before him stretched an unfamiliar sky. A brilliant white sun burned in the heavens, its glow reflecting off the ocean below. For a long moment, he stood motionless, staring upward, his single eye absorbing the sight as if committing it to memory. "...A sky I have never seen before," he murmured, his voice tinged with something akin to wonder. "The mega-sun of my homeworld, surrounded by its living metal rings... That is what I should be looking upon." Slowly, he turned, his gaze settling on Cleo. Then, with a mechanical click, he reached behind his head and retrieved a small, intricate memory device. It glinted in the sunlight, a tiny relic of a bygone era. "Take this, Princess." He extended the device toward her, his movements deliberate, almost reverent. "I do not know how corrupted my memory has become after a thousand years in this body, but within it... are the blueprints of my army and fleet." Cleo hesitated for a fraction of a second, her fingers hovering over the device as if unsure whether to accept it. Then, with a quiet resolve, she took it, her grip firm. "Perhaps," the Shadow continued, "some of them may still be intact. Perhaps... something in there will be of use to you." For a long moment, Cleo said nothing. She simply stared at the small, metallic fragment of history resting in her palm; her expression was unreadable, but her eyes betrayed a flicker of something like grief, gratitude, or perhaps both. Then, she closed her fingers around it. "I have received your will, oh Shadow of a distant past." The Shadow gave a slow nod, his eye dimming further as if in acceptance. "...Glory to the Kaelzars." And then... his eye flickered once, twice... before the light finally died. The Shadow's body slumped forward, falling to his knees... lifeless. Rex stiffened, his mind racing. "Wait... why did he do that!?" Cleo let out a quiet sigh with her fingers still wrapped around the memory device. "Because he lost his purpose." She turned slightly, watching as an Aegis Unit stepped forward to retrieve the fallen warrior's body, its movements precise and respectful. "A shadow with an incomplete code... is nothing more than a war machine without reason. And that is something the proud Kaelzars would never allow themselves to become...."

Chapter 265 New world. {2}

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