Damn it..
Void take ‘em!
How did they find me already?! No one even knows this place exists.
Dust and loose stones tumble from above, their faint patter amplified by the tight walls of the crevice. The air is thick with the scent of damp stone, the darkness below yawning like an abyss, waiting for a single misstep.
Thena moves swiftly, her body a blur as she leaps between the jagged rock formations lining the narrow pathway. Her foot grazes the edge of a crumbling ledge, but she pushes off at the last second, landing with feline precision. At the very end of the path, she presses her palm to the cold, unyielding rock and exhales sharply.
A shimmer ripples through her body. Her form wavers, turning translucent before vanishing entirely into the stone.
She emerges on the other side, stepping into the silence of her hidden sanctuary. The room is unnaturally precise—smooth walls cut with mathematical perfection, their edges too clean for nature’s hand. A workbench stands to her left, its surface cluttered with papers and intricate tools. To her right, a massive bookshelf, its shelves carved directly from the rock, holds rows of neatly arranged tomes and scrolls. At the far end, a recess in the wall cradles a simple mattress, its bedding slightly disheveled, a stark contrast to the sterile organization of the space.
Artificial lights snake across the ceiling in clean, straight lines, casting a pale glow over the chamber.
Thena strides toward the workbench, fingers hovering over her scattered research notes, her mind racing.
They can’t have my research. But if I destroy it... will it ever be uncovered again?
Thena moves swiftly, gathering her research papers, crystal recordings, and delicate instruments, stacking them haphazardly on the bed. Each scrap of knowledge, each breakthrough—years of work forged through collaboration with some of the brightest minds in the universe, now reduced to nothing. Every scientist she once stood beside is dead. She is the last liability, the final remnant of a resistance that dared to defy the largest corporation in existence.
Her chest tightens as she presses a trembling hand to the cold surface of the walls. She focuses, releasing a pulse of sound from deep within her core. Invisible waves ripple outward from her hand, threading through the walls, the tunnels, the very earth itself—stretching thousands of meters in every direction before snapping back to her like a taut wire.
Her breath catches.
No… No, no, no....
They’re everywhere. A web of figures—closing in, sealing off every path.
I need to get out of here.. But where?
Her mind races, grasping for a place, any place they wouldn’t think to search.
Simultaneously, she snatches an incendiary grenade from a drawer in the workbench and hurls it toward the bed. A flicker of resignation crosses her face, mingling with raw desperation as the weight of her decision settles in.
Sector 2… No one goes to the old sectors anymore.
Cluster 3… and… Seven seals if I know, planet… 7.
Local coordinates… 182;21 and 40;30.
Thena’s mind reels as she scrambles for an escape route. It’s a gamble—those numbers, a half-forgotten set of coordinates buried in the depths of her memory. A place no sane person would willingly go.
But she has no other choice.
Please, please don’t let this drop me inside a mountain.
She presses her palms together, fingers trembling, and channels the last dregs of her strength. The space around her quivers, warping as she forces her will into the jump. Her breath hitches, her vision darkening at the edges. Just one more.
The air around her distorts, collapsing inward as her body begins to unravel. A sickening pull tugs at her very being, stretching her across the folds of existence.
And then—
SCHWONG.
She’s gone.
“Alpha Zero-Zero, this is Echo One-Zero, come in, over.”
A static-laced voice crackles through the comms, sharp against the low hum of a ship’s control room.
“Echo One-Zero, this is Alpha Zero. Provide report, over.”
“Target has executed another jump,” the operative responds, fingers tapping against the glowing interface before him. A holo-display flickers, struggling to trace the remnants of Thena’s departure. The readings are weak—erratic, unstable.
“She’s running on fumes. Won’t get far. We anticipate energy depletion soon. Returning to base. Echo One-Zero, out.”
The transmission cuts.
As the distortion from Thena’s escape collapses, another one tears open elsewhere in the vast unknown.
Coordinates set: 2:3:7 – 182;21 – 40;30.
A new rift yawns into existence.
And a lone figure plummets through.
SCHWONG
The air ripples violently as the distortion collapses, swallowing Thena whole. For a brief moment, she is nowhere—adrift in the formless void between spaces, her body stretched and compressed at once, her very essence pulled through the threads of existence.
Then—impact.
WHAM.
She materializes midair, the weight of reality slamming into her. Wind howls past as she tumbles downward, the world spinning violently around her. The sky above is a deep, bruised purple, choked with heavy clouds. Below, jagged rock formations jut from the landscape like the bones of a long-dead titan.
Thena barely has time to orient herself before gravity takes hold.
Shit—!
With the last embers of her strength, she twists mid-fall, redirecting her momentum. Her body levels out a hundred meters above ground, her descent turning into a controlled glide. She hurtles toward a looming mountainside, eyes locking onto a narrow ledge.
She braces.
THOOM.
The moment her feet make contact, the force of impact rattles her bones. She rolls, momentum carrying her across the rocky outcrop, until she slams against a boulder. Stars explode behind her eyes.
Pain blossoms across her limbs, but she grits her teeth and forces herself upright. Her fingers scrape against the stone as she steadies herself, lungs burning from exertion.
Her mind races. Where the hell am I?
The landscape around her is desolate—cracked ground, distant ruins half-buried in the dirt, and a thick, eerie mist curling through the valleys below. No signs of life. No signs of pursuit.
Yet.
Thena exhales sharply, pressing her palm to her temple. Not ideal, but it’ll have to do. At least for now, she had escaped.
Or so she thought.
A shiver crawls up her spine.
Then—BOOM.
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A shockwave from above slams into her, sending her body crashing downward once more.
A voice follows, sharp and crackling with raw power.
"Think you can hide?"
Thena’s blood runs cold.
She knows that voice.
Kira.
"Twenty years, sis… Twenty fucking years I’ve been waiting for this moment!"
Kira’s voice crashes down like a thunderclap, raw with fury and something deeper—resentment, satisfaction, perhaps even a twisted sense of relief.
Perched on a rocky outcrop, Kira moves with precision, her right hand wrapping around her left wrist in a practiced motion. A pulse of energy crackles to life in her grasp—unstable and furious—before she hurls it downward towards her sister.
The force slams into Thena, sending her body crashing into the dirt. A split second later, another blast follows, cutting off her momentum and pinning her in place with sheer force. Dust and shattered rock explode outward from the impact, forming a crater beneath her.
Thena coughs, her vision swimming as she forces her body to respond. Her limbs protest, her ribs ache, but she presses one foot into the ground and shifts, pushing herself into a kneeling position. Strands of her dark hair cling to her face, streaked with dust and sweat. Her cloak is tattered, her once-pristine garments torn, but aside from the bruises forming beneath her skin, she seems otherwise unharmed.
She exhales sharply, tilting her head just enough to look up at her sister.
"Kira..." she mutters, wiping the blood from the corner of her mouth. "I should’ve known you were involved."
She pushes herself upright, rolling her shoulders as if shaking off the blows.
A slow smirk tugs at the corner of her lips, though her eyes remain sharp, calculating. "So… you actually managed to predict where I’d flee and got here first. How smart you’ve become. Mother would be so proud… Or is this for Uncle? He always was your favorite."
Kira’s expression twists in anger, her fingers flexing as another surge of energy crackles in her palm.
"Shut up, Thena!" she spits, her voice a knife’s edge. "You know nothing! And you never will. I’m here to finish what you started long ago."
She raises her hands again, the growing glow of power reflecting off the jagged stone walls surrounding them.
"Today is the day you die."
Kira lifts her hands once more, fingers tightening around her left wrist as she steadies her aim. Sparks of energy crackle between her fingertips, the very air distorting around them. Her eyes burn with determination, her breath steady despite the chaos unfolding around them.
She unleashes another wave of raw power.
Thena mirrors her, hands forming the same precise gestures, channeling the last reserves of her strength. The moment Kira’s attack surges forward, Thena counters—her own energy colliding with her sister’s in a violent explosion of force.
The impact shatters the air itself. A deafening shockwave rips through the battlefield, sending waves of pressure in all directions. The ground beneath them splinters, jagged scars tearing through the rocky terrain. Trees in the distance bend and snap as the sheer force of their clash reshapes the land.
They hold their stances, locked in a silent, vicious struggle, each refusing to give ground.
Then—just for a moment—something flickers at the edge of Thena’s vision.
Her breath catches in her throat.
Void... She’s not alone.
A new voice slithers into the battlefield, smooth and unshaken, cutting through the charged silence like a blade.
"Thena, Thena, Thena… You just don’t know when to quit, do you?"
The voice carries an eerie calm, the kind that sets every instinct in Thena’s body on edge.
"Do you have any idea how many resources we’ve spent tracking you down?" The speaker draws closer, each step deliberate, unhurried. "Be a good girl and let go of these idealistic delusions. That’s all they are—childish fantasies."
A pause. Then the voice drops, laced with venom.
"They got your father killed, Thena. And if you keep this up, you’ll be seeing him again soon."
Thena’s jaw tightens as she turns toward the newcomer.
A tall, slender man steps into view, his presence unnervingly composed amidst the wreckage. His dark coat flows with the wind, the high collar casting deep shadows across his sharp, angular features. His eyes—cold and unreadable—gleam with quiet authority. A gloved hand rests casually on the hilt of a curved blade at his hip, while the other remains behind his back, as if he already knows he won’t need to draw his weapon.
He is not a warrior caught in the heat of battle.
He is a predator waiting for his prey to realize it’s already lost.
Of course, she brought Uncle…
Thena’s lips curl into a bitter smirk.
"Robert... I should’ve known you wouldn’t let Kira handle this alone. You’ve always loved pulling her strings, dictating her every mo—"
BOOM.
Kira cuts her off with another blast of energy, the raw force screaming through the air. The attack slams into Thena—but instead of striking flesh, it crashes against an unseen barrier, dispersing in a shimmering ripple. Dust and debris swirl in the aftershock.
Thena exhales slowly, the glow of her protective ward dimming as she turns her gaze back to Kira.
Kira takes a measured step forward, muscles taut, prepared to strike again. Her voice is cold, steady. "I really hoped it wouldn’t come to this."
Thena doesn’t move. Instead, she lifts her chin, eyes locked onto her twin’s.
"You don’t have to do this, Kira. I know you don’t believe me, but Robert is using you like a puppet. His only goal is to eliminate anything that stands in the way of his power. I’m the last obstacle, the last loose thread he needs to cut."
Her voice sharpens.
"He’s killed everyone else. Including our father."
Kira’s expression doesn’t change. She tilts her head slightly, a flicker of amusement in her eyes.
"Tsk, tsk… You think far too highly of yourself." She lets out a slow, tired sigh. "You have no idea what you're talking about. And honestly? I’m just relieved this is finally over."
She straightens, rolling her shoulders as if shaking off an old burden. "So? Do you come willingly, or not?"
Robert steps forward now, his movements measured, deliberate. The way he carries himself—the slight tilt of his head, the amused smirk just touching his lips—oozes absolute confidence. He doesn’t believe for a second that Thena has a choice.
With a flick of his wrist, he unclips a set of restraints from his belt, their dull metallic sheen catching the dim light. "Be a good girl and put these on."
He tosses them.
Midair, a sudden force tears through them—BOOM!—a concussive blastwave ripping them apart before they ever reach Thena.
Robert stops.
His expression darkens, his head snapping toward Kira. "Kira?" His voice is edged with irritation.
Kira lowers her arms, her expression stony.
"No special treatment."
She turns her gaze back to Thena, eyes burning with cold resolve. "She might have once been family, but after everything she’s done these last twenty years, she’s not worthy of carrying our name any longer."
Her fingers curl into fists, energy crackling between them.
Her next words are final.
"You die today."
Shit… this is worse than ever.
Thena’s heart pounded against her ribs as her eyes darted for an opening—any opening.
I can’t outrun them. I can’t overpower them.
Her boots scuffed against the dirt as she instinctively backed away, only to feel cold, unyielding stone press against her spine. Trapped.
She forced herself to breathe, releasing another echo pulse. Sound waves rippled outward, bouncing off the terrain, mapping everything within their reach.
The readings came back like a death sentence. Surrounded. Completely.
Her hands clenched into fists.
I really screwed up this time…
Her pulse hammered in her ears.
I’m out of time. Out of options. Out of—
She swallowed hard, forcing the rising panic down. She had to think. There had to be something—anything—she could do.
Then, a fragment of an idea flickered to life. A desperate, reckless, impossible idea.
Wait… if I can’t escape, maybe I can remove myself.
She pressed her back against the stone, her breath steadying as she dug deep into memories she hadn’t let herself revisit in years—memories of a time before all of this. Before she became a fugitive. Before her world turned into a constant game of running and hiding.
Back then, she had been a scientist.
She could still hear her father’s voice, clear as day, walking her through theories, laughing at their missteps, refining equations late into the night. Among their many experiments, there had been one that stood out now—a project meant to test the limits of existence itself.
The stabilized soul-orb.
The theory had been simple: a method of isolating a fragment of the soul, storing it outside the physical plane. In theory, this could allow a person to create a functional clone, a second existence. But they had abandoned the project.
Too dangerous. Too unpredictable. No one had ever severed part of their soul and survived to tell the tale.
But right now? What other choice did she have?
She exhaled slowly, feeling the rough stone at her back. Step by step, she positioned herself carefully, pressing against the rock as she subtly reached into the fabric of reality itself.
A sliver of space quivered beneath her fingertips. A ripple. A weak point.
With deliberate care, she began tearing it open, peeling back the layers of existence just behind the rock—out of sight of her pursuers.
I can’t let them see. I need more time.
The pocket widened, the air around it humming with unnatural energy.
Time was running out.
And this? This was her only shot.
Thena’s pulse raced, her body nearing exhaustion, but her mind sharp as ever. She focused every last ounce of her remaining energy, pulling it inward, drawing her very essence into a tight, contained sphere. With trembling fingers, she reached into the tear in reality she had created, guiding the orb into its hidden sanctum within the rippling void.
The rift closed behind it, sealing the orb away—hidden from their eyes.
Let them think they’ve won.
The air grew cold. Her chest tightened with a breath she couldn’t quite take. The force of the impact from yet another of Kiras bolts hit her straight in her heart region. This time however, Thena welcomed it.
They’ll kill me, but I will be waiting.
As her heartbeat faltered, she heard the sound of Kira’s voice, quiet and cold, echoed in her mind as the last thread of their twin connection frayed to nothing.
“Confirmed. It's done."
For a moment, the battlefield was silent. Kira and Robert, standing poised in victory, turned away—content.
But then…
Kira paused, something tugging at the back of her consciousness. A faint hum, almost imperceptible, but undeniable.
The bond…
“What? No…”
A ripple of energy surged through the air, and Kira's eyes widened as she felt the connection begin to re-establish.
She reacted on instinct.
Her arm shot out, her fingers grasping out and summoning a fraction of her available power, as a bolt of raw energy flew towards the emerging orb.
The bolt struck with a sickening crack, its power sinking into the fragile surface of the orb.
A violent shudder rippled through the sphere, and with a final, deafening snap, it shattered.
In an instant, a burst of blinding light and raw energy erupted from the fractured remains, cascading outward in a torrent of brilliance. Thenas essence, once contained, now scattered in millions of glowing fragments, each a shard of her very soul—sharp, fleeting, and beautiful.
The energy danced across the air, twisting and turning as it slowly fell and finally poured onto the earth below.
For a moment, the world stood still, bathed in a shimmering glow. The energy pulsed like a heartbeat, sending ripples through the earth. The rocks around them glowed faintly, their cold surfaces warming under the infusion. The air itself seemed to vibrate with the intensity, humming in resonance with the fading light.
But as quickly as it had arrived, the glow began to fade, seeping deeper into the earth until it was gone, leaving only a faint trace of its presence.
Kira’s heart skipped.
The connection was severed once more, but this time, Kira felt the ache of its loss.
This time it was final.