In the very center of the ruined grove, Kai stood alone, breathing slowly, gaze fixed on the spot where the enemy commander had vanished.
Those final words rang in his mind like the echoes of a bell tolling in a deep cavern:
"Next time, we bring the Collectors."
The elders called for a gathering the same evening, their faces unreadable.
The Spiral Dome, once a chamber of meditation and learning, now felt like a war room. Maps of interdimensional resonance hung in midair. Crystal orbs glowed softly, showing aftershocks of the rift.
Kai stood before the elders with Lira at his side, her arm still bandaged from the earlier fight.
"Who are they?" he asked. "The 'Collectors'. The commander didn't speak that name like it was a bluff."
The head elder—Orin, oldest of them all—closed his eyes.
"No. It wasn't."
"Because the Collectors… are real."
The dome grew darker.
Elder Orin raised his hand, and a large crystal screen hummed to life behind him, showing a swirling void of stars.
"Long before this sanctuary was built… before even your universe was as it is now… there were those who traveled across dimensions not to learn, not to connect—but to take."
"They were called the Collectors."
A projection appeared: tall biomechanical figures, each cloaked in armor forged of obsidian and starlight. In place of faces, each wore a visor engraved with a different alien language. At their side, they wielded strange gauntlets and extractors.
"They harvest life," Orin continued, "not for destruction, but for examination. For storage. They are archivists, scientists… and parasites."
Lira shivered slightly.
"They believe all life should be cataloged. Even if that means disassembling it."
Another elder, Maelin, stepped forward.
"But the Collectors are not interested in random species. They target outliers. Unquantifiable elements."
She looked at Kai.
"They have hunted watch-bearers before."
Kai's heart skipped.
"You mean… the Omnitrix."
"Yes," Orin said. "It is a relic of infinite adaptability. In their logic, the Omnitrix is both an anomaly and a threat to their collection order."
"They've scoured countless galaxies for even rumors of it. The moment you arrived in this realm… they felt it."
Kai clenched his fists, stepping back, pacing.
"Why send scouts first? Why not come after me directly?"
Maelin lowered her eyes.
"Because they study. They analyze. And they test."
"This was a stress test, Kai. To see your limits. Your forms. Your instincts."
Kai gritted his teeth.
"Then I failed. I used almost everything. They saw too much."
Orin shook his head.
"No. You survived. You protected the sanctuary. But more importantly… you changed."
"The Omnitrix didn't just react. It evolved."
There was silence.
Then Lira spoke.
"If the Collectors are truly coming… what do we do?"
The elders exchanged a long look.
Orin's voice dropped.
"This sanctuary was built to stay hidden. Protected by dimensional veils, forgotten even by time."
"But now, that protection is broken. And we have a choice to make."
"We stay. And risk annihilation."
"Or we fight. And reveal ourselves to the wider worlds again."
He turned to Kai.
"And you, child from beyond… you may have drawn the danger here. But you may also be the only one who can stop it."
Kai looked down at the Omnitrix, glowing faintly green on his wrist.
"Then I guess I don't get to be a peaceful delivery boy anymore."