"I heard you want to work for the prince." A young elf asked with a smirk.
Bella looked out the window, a blush creeping up her cheeks: "What? No… You know our family's situation. I need to work, and working under the young prince of the Star nation will surely get us out of it."
"Oh… so you don't like him?" the sister teased again.
"Stop it! I don't even know him," Bella said, her voice a little louder than she intended.
"As long as he helps our family, I will be loyal to him forever. Even if I might die, I will stay with him… No," she quickly corrected herself, shaking her head.
"I can't die while he's still alive. How can I serve him if I'm dead?"
"Oh… so he should die first?" her sister pressed, a grin spreading across her face.
"That won't happen!" Bella sighed, running a hand through her hair.
Her sister nodded, a thoughtful expression replacing her grin. "Just saying, but what if a situation occurs where you are faced with death? The type of situation where all hope of living is gone, what will you do?"
Bella stared at her sister in shock. "Why would you ask such a question?"
"Just answer it."
Bella sighed. "I will fight and make my own way. I don't care how I achieve it, but I won't die. Did that answer your question?"
Her sister chuckled. "Hahaha… You are so serious!"
Bella stared at her for a moment, then a smile of her own broke through. She turned her head to their little brother playing outside, a profound thought crossing her mind.
"We will leave this life behind," she muttered to herself, her eyes on the distant horizon.
______
[Back to the Present]
'Why?! Why did I think of that?!' Star thought, a wave of frustration hitting her as she ran.
BAM!!! BAM!!! BAM!!! BAM!! BAM!!
She glanced over her shoulder, seeing the two adult giants closing in, the baby now just 30 meters from their location.
'Shit!! Did that weird sister of mine see this outcome?!' She thought inwardly, her eyes on the forest 20 meters ahead:
'No!! There is hope! And it's right before us!! We all will make it inside!!'
BOOOM!!!
The ground shook violently, drawing the group's attention... They gasped seeing another giant rushing towards them from the right. This one was also an infant, older than the first, and it was running on all fours like a spider.
"What the hell are these creatures!!" the man running last yelled, his voice filled with terror.
"Come on!!! We are close!!" Star yelled, her heart pounding in her chest.
'5 meters! We can make it!!' She thought, pushing her body to its limit.
BAM!!!
"AHHHHHHH!!!"
The five looked over their shoulders, their faces filled with disbelief and terror. The baby giant had grabbed the man running last, and before their eyes, it crushed him in its hand.
"How?! How did it get that close?!!" the second lady screamed in horror.
"Keep going!! It's distracted!!" Star yelled, jumping inside the forest, right between two thick trees.
The others followed behind.
"Come on!!" Star yelled at the last lady, who was still outside, clearly exhausted.
"Shit!! Not enough Celestial energy! And she doesn't have a bloodline!!" the fox lady said, transforming back into her human form.
BAM!!!
The spider giant smashed between them and the lady and lunged towards her.
"Watch out!!!!" the group yelled in terror.
WHOOSH!!!
A dark, cloaked figure moved with incredible speed, delivering a straight punch that smashed into the side of the giant's baby head.
BAM!!!
The group watched in shock as the figure grabbed the lady and ran into the forest while the giant stood frozen, not moving an inch.
"...?!"
"Run!!"
The cloaked man yelled at the four as he ran past them, the lady still in his arms.
Star and her group snapped out of their shock and quickly followed the stranger, running deeper into the forest.
BAM!!! BAM!!! BAM!!! BAM!!!
The giants all stopped before the forest, not moving an inch forward.
Star looked over her shoulder as the spider giant finally moved, shaking its head in confusion.
"What was that?" she muttered to herself, following the mysterious man.
_______
[Hundreds of Miles from Star's location]
"HEEEEEEEEE!!!!"
Sunny stood up, his gaze turning north towards the distant shrieking.
"That's coming from the north?" he said, looking down at the two giants below the hill.
"If I haven't jumped out from the Starship with Ellen and landed on the hill, we both would be right there with them." He sat down on the edge of the hill, watching the massive figures.
"These guys look exactly like humans… Can I take them on?" he asked himself, then sighed.
"I know a day will come when the system will fuck up! But I didn't expect it to be in this situation…"
He turned to the system screen, staring at the numbers on it.
{System Upgrade in: 5 hours:35 minutes: 27 seconds.}
"Five hours to upgrade." He sighed, looking up at the dark storm brewing in the sky.
"The main issue is…" He looked over his shoulder at the sleeping Ellen.
"The moment we landed on this planet, Ellen fell asleep, almost instantly…" He stood up and walked towards her.
"Why? Why did you suddenly fall asleep? Is it because of this planet? Or the storm?" He exhaled, the questions swirling in his head.
"I will wait until you wake up." He sat before her, turning his gaze to the north, staring at the distant smoke.
"Star is strong, she won't easily die… She's strong, right from the day we first met." He smiled slightly, and stared at Ellen.
"You are one thing I don't have in my life… As my first child, I will protect you."
"Mmm…" Ellen whispered, her eyes closed tightly, her fists clenched.
"Is… Is she dreaming?" Sunny was confused, his brows furrowed. "Her face is so pale… What type of dream is she having? Ah!" He rubbed his neck in frustration.
"So many questions, and zero answers… Really annoying."
He stared at Ellen's face in surprise. "Light Dragon… First of her kind… Is this related to her bloodline?"