The Patrol Ship Aurelius descended through the thick atmosphere of Borax C, its hull groaning from the strain of the recent slipstream passage. Upon touchdown, the crew wasted no time establishing a temporary outpost—an island of steel and light upon the barren soil. This forward base would serve as both a refuge and a staging ground, a place to repair, regroup, and prepare. In time, it would become the launch point for their return to the unknown—back to the place where they had first encountered the alien presence, and deeper still into the uncharted void of their expedition.
After final preparations, the Aurelius crew moved out, answering the Sky Marshal's last directive.
Meanwhile, the Moryxil battleship prowled the void, its scanners replaying data from the recent encounter between Zyphorath and the so-called humans.
Yorga: "Report. Any signs of life forms?"
Operator: "No, ma'am. None—except for… this." His eyes narrowed at the flickering display. "A strange energy stream. Its wavelengths don't match any known stellar phenomena."
Yorga: "A stream?" She leaned forward. "Trace its path. Where does it lead?"
Operator: "Investigating… ah—by the stars—it leads to an unknown galaxy. Shielded. Even our most advanced probes can't fully penetrate the barrier."
Yorga: (to herself) Strange… a cloaked galaxy? Could this be the work of a civilization beyond even our own? A Level Five? Impossible… yet undeniable.
Her voice hardened.Yorga: "General Byzon. I'm assigning you and your fleet. Pierce that stream. Find what lies beyond."
Byzon:salutes "Troopers! Ready the warships!"
The Aurelius – Planet Borax C
The Aurelius patrol vessel descended toward its coordinates. The clouds below swirled, obscuring the terrain.
Computer: "Commencing landing sequence… touchdown successful."
The hatch hissed open, and Harold's team stepped into the wreckage of a battlefield. Twisted metal. The stench of plasma burns. Among the fallen, they found a towering figure still clinging to life—Sky Marshal Navion Pulsar.
Harold: (shaken) "Sir…! Sky Marshal!"
Navion Pulsar: (bloodied, coughing) "Commander… listen. A robotic entity… cough… the Red Raven. Take this chip—deliver it to Earth's High Command. My last… order…" His eyes glazed, the life leaving him in Harold's arms.
Sarah: (sobbing) "Commander… what do we do now?"
Carlo: (clenching fists) "We take the fight to them. Whoever did this—"
Noah: (interrupting, pointing) "Look!"
From the shadows loomed a crimson-scarred husk: the mechanical warrior that had massacred the Marshal's army. The insignia on its chest burned with a familiar mark.
Carlo: (furious) "The goddamn New People's Army. They're behind this atrocity."
Harold: (grim) "Not just machines, Carlo. That—" he pointed to the towering frame, "—is a Red Raven. One of the most lethal war machines ever built. The Marshal destroyed ten before it finally took him down. Do you think we can face even one with our firepower?"
Sara: (tearful) "Carl… we can't win this fight. Not now."
Carlo cursed and stormed away, powerless in his rage.
Noah: "Commander, I've salvaged what I could—ammo, tools, data cores."
Harold: (nodding firmly) "Good. Prepare for takeoff. We return to Earth—after we bury the dead."
With heavy hearts, the crew laid the fallen to rest before the Aurelius lifted off, leaving Borax C behind.
The Abyss Stream
The Moryxil fleet entered the shimmering stream. At first, silence. Then chaos.
Operator: "Sir—multiple system failures! Warnings flooding in!"
2nd Operator: "Energy surges—electrical storms ahead!"
Forks of cosmic lightning tore across the void, obliterating ships shieldless or unprepared.
Byzon: "Shields up! Hold the line!"
Despite the defenses, vessels cracked and burned, until finally, the surviving ships burst free of the torrent—into breathtaking stillness.
Before them stretched a galaxy, radiant and vast, its colors unlike any known star cluster.
Byzon: (awestruck) "By the Abyss… it's beautiful. Bigger than Luminare, alive with light."
Bravado (Second-in-Command): scanning, "Sir, nearest planet—Borax C. Requesting data access from the archives…" He frowned. "Strange. The system denies me clearance."
Byzon: "Denied? I'm a general! Override it."
Bravado: "Request sent… awaiting approval."
Byzon: (gritting teeth) "Then we wait. No reckless moves."
The Archives – Moryxil Empire
In the vast intelligence halls, a Watcher's eyes widened at the classified request.
Watcher: "Impossible…" His heart raced as he sprinted past bewildered guards, bursting into the Supreme Leader's chamber.
Watcher: (bowing quickly) "Forgive the intrusion, my leader, but it's urgent—code E-MKEA-2000P."
The Supreme Leader froze, dismissing the guards. Only the two remained.
Supreme Leader: (hoarse) "Are you certain? That code refers to… them."
Watcher: "I cannot confirm fully, but the galaxy General Byzon entered—it matches records thought lost. History says that realm was destroyed a thousand years ago."
The Supreme Leader's eyes blazed with fury and ambition.
Supreme Leader: "Then confirm it. Grant Byzon full clearance. Monitor their every move."
Watcher: "But, my leader, if this truth spreads, our Empire's reputation—"
Supreme Leader: (slamming fist) "Silence! If it is truly them, we shall not cower. This is our chance to restore our honor, to avenge the shame of millennia past. We will rise from the ashes of history—and crush every bastard who wronged us!"
The Watcher bowed deeply.Watcher: "As you command, Supreme Leader…"
The Watcher, following the supreme leader's decree, unlocked the forbidden archives and sent clearance down the chain.
Bravado: "Sir! Authorization granted from the higher council. The files are now accessible."
Byzon: "Good. Send them to me at once."
Moments later, streams of encrypted data flooded Byzon's console. The holographic projector lit up, unraveling fragments of ancient history long buried. As he read, his expression hardened.
The records spoke of a time a thousand years past—an age when humanity's dominion stretched across ten galaxies. Among them was the fabled Milky Way, renowned for its radiant beauty and abundant worlds rich with rare minerals. These resources fueled humanity's rise, granting them technologies that pierced even the deepest reaches of space.
The archives revealed how their brilliance drew the attention of the Galactic Alliance, a coalition of the eldest star-faring races. Humanity was not merely welcomed—they were courted, elevated, entrusted as equals in shaping the destiny of countless civilizations.
But what the Alliance did not foresee was how quickly humans adapted. Within only a century, they had mastered dozens of alien languages, deciphered technologies that had taken millennia for others to perfect, and learned the weaknesses and strengths of every ally. And then, with cold precision, they turned that knowledge into weapons.
The betrayal was swift and merciless. With superweapons and genetically-augmented armies, they struck at their allies. What followed was devastation on a scale the universe had never endured: fleets consumed, empires toppled, whole star systems erased in fire.
Even when the Galactic Empire rallied its combined might, it was not enough. The humans were too advanced, too relentless, too united under their mysterious leaders. Records ended in fragments of despair, whispering that only through catastrophe beyond imagining did humanity finally vanish—swallowed by some cataclysm that erased them from known history.
Byzon slammed a gauntleted fist against the console, trembling.
Byzon: "…This account feels exaggerated. It can't be true… and yet, why hide it for so many years? Was it because of the humiliation they all suffered? The records never state how humanity truly fell… only that everything else was lost. In the end… it was our defeat."
The words on the screen burned into his mind: "The rise of humanity was not their triumph—it was everyone else's downfall."