Chapter 9

Xel’nara’s booming voice filled the chamber as every iridescent scale on his body flickered with pulsing urgency. “Look around you—even among the endless galaxies and billions of stars; fate has led you here. You did not choose by chance; destiny chose you.” His words reverberated like a priest’s sermon. Kalen’s face scrunched in puzzled disbelief as he tore his eyes away from the alien’s mesmerizing presence to the flickering holographic display nearby. “Then what exactly do you expect us to do?” he demanded, his tone edged with incredulity.

The alien’s warm, luminescent scales pulsed like a heartbeat of hope. “There is one way to stave off the all-consuming Void—a darkness that swallows worlds. You must find a key that has been broken into three fragments and scattered across perilous, distant worlds. Each fragment lies behind ancient, deadly trials, challenges meant only for those chosen by prophecy.”

Talak’s eyes narrowed, darkening as if a storm were gathering within them. He leaned forward, his voice low and dangerous: “Are you saying these trials were manufactured just for us?”

“Precisely,” Xel’nara replied, a quiet intensity firming his tone. “Your unique strengths and your combined capabilities are exactly what the ancient texts foretold. Only you three can gather these fragmented pieces and restore the key to seal away the Void.”

Taking a deep, steadying breath, Alliyanna’s eyes hardened with determination. “Then we have no choice—we must retrieve these fragments and end the Void.”

Kalen nodded, though a flicker of uncertainty danced in his eyes. “Where do we begin?”

A glimmer of steely resolve shone on Xel’nara’s glowing scales as he answered, “Our records point to the first piece on a savage planet of blistering deserts and razor-edged canyons. The trials you face there will test your endurance and the bonds between you to their breaking point.”

Talak straightened abruptly, discarding his crossed arms in favor of a forward-leaning stance that spoke of newfound resolve. “Then let’s waste no time—we must gear up and set a course for that infernal desert.”

In that charged moment, the gravity of their mission crashed down upon them like a tidal wave. They were no longer simple traders but guardians standing as the last barrier against an ancient, malevolent force that threatened the very fabric of the galaxy. Every dark corner echoed with the promise of peril, yet within that dangerous quest lay a glimmer of hope for countless lives.

Quan and his relentless mercenary crew tracked a distinct homing signal. Hidden beneath tangled, gnarled underbrush and obscured by

psi devices that muted their inner thoughts, they watched through high-tech scopes as a crystalline city began to reveal itself. The alien architecture soared like a fortress under the planet’s eerie, otherworldly glow—a testament to its civilization.

One of Quan’s hardened operatives whispered, his eyes never leaving a small handheld scanner, “Sir, I’m picking up residual energy spikes that match the Star Shadow’s crash site—roughly two klicks east.”

Quan’s unblinking gaze remained fixed on the towering, shimmering spires. “Excellent. Save that for later. Right now, focus on our true target.” Tapping the side of his sleek helmet, he activated enhanced sensors, and the intricate lattice of the city snapped into high-definition clarity, revealing alien figures moving with deliberate, predatory precision.

In a low, lethal tone, Quan barked, “Listen up—you’re here to extract Alliyanna and eliminate any obstacles. The duke demands she stays alive; the rest are expendable. Their technology may be advanced, but our element of surprise is our strength. Our psi-shields will block any of their mental probes. Fan out—gather every scrap of intel on where they’re holding the humans and identify their weak points. We move only on my command.” With that, his men melted into the alien wilderness, their stealth tech cloaking them as they studied the detailed layout of the city’s crystalline defenses.

Inside the fantastical city, Alliyanna, Talak, and Kalen clustered beneath an enormous holographic display that projected a swirling image of the ominous Void. This dark vortex threatened to engulf everything. Alliyanna’s voice trembled as she voiced what they all feared, “Even if what you say is true, how can we possibly stop something like that? We aren’t warriors bred for battle, nor are we brilliant scientists engineered to combat cosmic terror!”

Xel’nara’s scales rippled in a mesmerizing cascade of colors—a living spectrum that spoke of both understanding and resolve. “The prophecy speaks not of brute strength, but of a broken key—a key in pieces, hidden on three distant worlds, each guarded by trials older than time itself.”

Talak’s frown deepened as he weighed the grim truth, his voice laden with determination, “So you really believe fate has chosen us to reclaim these fragments?”

“Indeed,” Xel’nara insisted, his words resonating with the weight of destiny. “You three are the chosen ones. Our ancestors left behind clues within ancient relics, and only you can decipher them and overcome the brutal challenges that guard each fragment.”

Kalen’s head shook violently in disbelief, his voice tinged with rising panic, “This is madness! We’re mere traders, not legendary heroes. How can we possibly—” His words were abruptly silenced by a cataclysmic explosion that obliterated the crystal chamber. Red and blue sirens shrieked relentlessly as jagged cracks erupted across the walls like a violent spiderweb, and chaos exploded all around them.

“We’re under attack!” Talak roared, instinctively dragging Alliyanna to safety as a powerful shockwave rattled the very foundation of the structure.

Xel’nara’s mental command thundered into their minds: “Intruders have breached our defenses! They are after you—The Sky-Fallen.”

Alliyanna’s eyes widened in a moment of paralyzing recognition. “Birsha,” she gasped, her heart pounding as if trying to escape, “he’s found us!”

Talak’s jaw tightened into a grim set as he retorted, “We need to get out—now!”

Without missing a beat, Xel’nara’s scales flashed with fierce, unwavering light. “Follow me ... We anticipated this possibility.”

He led them through a labyrinth of twisting corridors where explosions sent shards of crystal scattering, and the piercing screech of energy weapons sliced through the clamor. Kalen panted as they raced through the maze, trying to catch his breath. Desperation edging his voice, he asked. “How did they find us? And how do they manage to defy your telepathy?”

“Mind-shielding devices,” Xel’nara replied quietly, his face etched in concern. “Their technology blocks our influence. We’re blind to them and their movements.”