Julian's brain quivered. His ability to comprehend suddenly lagged, and in that moment, he couldn't even feel himself.
His eyes were wide open, staring at the window, his heartbeat pounding violently.
"Stop!" he shouted. "Stop."
The spaceship didn't. It kept moving.
'[The spaceship can no longer stop at this point],' the ship's system said.
Julian was in emotional pain now, and so, at this point, nothing mattered anymore. Nothing at all.
He felt like a void, floating endlessly, his mind detached from his body.
And so, with that hopeless determination stuck in his head, he didn't even bother to inhale or exhale before throwing himself out the spaceship's front screen.
The screen shattered with a sound similar to a clatter.
Shards swirled around him, some colliding with his armor. Nonetheless, it was indifferent, and so, almost to the ground, he glided slightly and landed on his feet, only to fall instantly.
Tears trickled down his cheeks.
Luiin lay there, her eyes wide open, covered in blood. Her nose was bleeding, her mouth twisted in an awkward position,.perhaps her jaw was broken.
She lay sprawled on the ground, her once silky, pretty hair now rough and scattered.
Julian couldn't hold it in anymore.
It hit him.
Luiin was dead.
He was seeing phosphenes now, stars. His mind suddenly shrouded in grief.
The alien commander had obviously lied. He said it was tradition, that he would kill one, leave one on the dying planet, and kidnap one, but then…
What was this?
Luiin was dead.
He remembered how they used to walk along, side by side, through the busy city of the planet, acting like companions to each other.
He remembered the kisses, her warm touch, and her serene moans each time they locked in.
Alas, all was now gone.
Julian cried out loud. Not even the galactic stuff could make him hard anymore. This was a state where he couldn't be hard—ever again.
Luiin had been the reason he lived, especially considering they were orphans.
His mouth twitched into an ugly line, and with that expression, he held Luiin's dead body in his arms, shouting:
"Wake up! Wake up!"
"Don't do this to me. I was going to come save you. I was coming to get you back. No!"
The dust on the ground lifted and swirled past him. Julian looked around—the place he once called home, the place he grew up in.
All in ashes.
His heart suddenly burned more fiercely than a thousand stars, burning was an understatement.
Right now, he could burn a planet, raze it to the ground.
At that moment, crouched beside Luiin, he felt empty. He had nothing to live for anymore.
He wished he would stop breathing… that he would just stop…
Nah…
Just the image of the alien commander's face in his mind made him grit his teeth.
And what was worse?
He found a note.
A note!
'Oh sorry, we lied. Fuck the tradition. We've set a bomb on your planet, and right now, after seeing her dead body, you'll watch the planet explode any second from now.'
"You bastard!" Julian shouted, ripping the paper into pieces.
He stood up. Even though he was angry and acting like he had nothing to live for, he had to be cautious.
He looked at the spaceship, it had halted in the sky, waiting for him.
He looked at Luiin. A bit angry with himself for letting her die, but then… he wasn't too angry.
It wasn't his fault anyway. The incursion had been unexpected, even a seer wouldn't have seen it coming.
But then… he had reassured her, told her everything would be okay, told her he was here for her, and…
He inhaled and exhaled deeply, still crying but silently.
He knelt and kissed her on the lips.
It was gross, but to him, it was only a sign—to reassure her, to let her spirit, or whatever was left, know that he would avenge her.
To let her know he would rip them apart.
But now, "them" wasn't necessarily on his mind.
Of course, he would show no mercy and take down the Archos Imperium, but for now, he was targeting just the commander who had committed this brutality.
The commander who had killed a part of him.
He would show no mercy.
And about the horny Empress who ruled Seisymy, he didn't give a fuck anymore. Luiin was dead, and now he would indulge. He would bend to her desires if it meant getting what he wanted.
At that moment, Julian felt like he had been reborn, like he had reincarnated. Like he was a new being entirely.
Before, he had wanted to play it safe… so they wouldn't kill Luiin… so he could still have a chance.
But now, what was the point of playing it safe?
---
Julian plunged into the sky, taking one last glimpse at Luiin before he did so, muttering:
"I will always love you."
The front screen of the spaceship he had broken had surprisingly grown another (if that was how to put it).
"Get out of this planet at the highest speed you can ever move," he said to the ship's system.
Whoosmhhmm!
The spaceship tore upward through the cloudless orange sky.
Julian put on a seatbelt, his face grim, the speed of the ship wiping away the tears around his eyes.
Like lightning, they tore out of the sky, and now, they were up, out of the planet, in a last surge for survival.
BOOM!
Julian heard the planet explode.
He bent his head low, wanting to cry again—but suddenly, he felt hardened.
He only sighed and stared out the screen, leaning back a little as he gazed into space.
Space stretched endlessly in nearly every direction, a vast, lightless abyss.
Stars were scattered like fragments, small and far too many to count. Some flickered faintly, like a whisper. Others burned sharp and bright, like light bulbs.
Nebulas drifted in the distance,swirling clouds of violet, crimson, and blue. Things that seemed to pulse slowly, like portals of their own.
The place had no sound, not even a hint of wind. No air. Just the soft hum (almost unheard) of the spaceship's engine and the weight of silence pressing down on everything.
As the spaceship moved further, Julian saw planets floating slowly, like marbles in the dark. Some shone with starlight, others were shrouded in shadows.
Ahead, the void looked endless, sprawling into different places, worlds, and dimensions… or so Julian thought.
It was beautiful. In fact, to Julian, it was the most picturesque sight he had seen in his life.
But then… it was uncomforting. It made him uneasy.
It felt like the haunting beauty of something too massive to comprehend.
The ride was silent. Julian glanced at the alien device once in a while, but it remained quiet.
So he cogitated, head down, heart filled with pain and craving for revenge.
Finally, after a long time, the alien device suddenly beeped and asked:
"[She's dead, right?]"
Julian was a bit stunned by the question, but nonetheless replied:
"Yes. They murdered her."
The device fell silent, and that gave Julian the creeps… well, sort of.
He was about to say something when the spaceship's AI said:
"[A few more minutes to the planet Seisymy.]"
Julian looked through the screen.
He could see asteroids now—some tiny, some a bit large, moving slowly past him. And when he squinted, he saw -
Planet Seisymy.
The alien device pulled his attention away from the screen.
It said:
"[I apologize for your loss. But now I'm sure, you'll be willing to crave to the horny Empress's needs. As that's the only way you'll be able to get what you want.]"