The island of Atlantis. The central city.
Once prosperous, the city now stood desolate, devoid of any sign of life. At its heart, a massive energy barrier flickered with a soft blue radiance. At times, faint tremors shook the earth beneath it. This was the same barrier that had sealed away the disastrous black abyss. But now, its dimming glow suggested it would not hold much longer.
On one of the defense towers at the city's outskirts, King Diaprepes stood watching the scene unfold. Judging by his weary appearance, he had rushed back from the border fortress. Despite the toll on his body, his gaze remained fixed on the flickering barrier. He knew—if that black abyss was not stopped, their land would be lost.
Then, suddenly—
Bang
A soft sound echoed, like something striking the ground. Dark clouds began to gather above the barrier. The ocean around the island surged, forming massive waves that threatened to crash over the mountain ranges and drown the entire island. It was a harbinger of catastrophe.
At last, the barrier lost all energy and vanished. The abyss's devouring force spilled out, consuming the central city. Though the civilians had been evacuated to the peripheral cities, the abyss's power was still overwhelming. Even from the distant defense tower, King Diaprepes felt a faint pull, as if the void was calling to him.
Then, the black clouds twisted, forming a massive hand as large as the city itself. Though it was composed of clouds, the hand radiated an aura so potent that all the citizens of Atlantis instinctively knelt and began to pray. Even King Diaprepes lowered his head in reverence before quickly departing. This power belonged to their ancestral weapon—the Trident.
The colossal hand closed in on the black abyss, trying to crush it. But as its fingers tightened, part of its power was absorbed. Beneath the central pyramid, the assembled Kings looked on in horror as the abyss devoured a portion of the Trident's strength.
"Everyone, stay calm. I can sense the devouring force weakening. It's using too much energy to consume the Trident's power. Do not stop!"
King Atlas's voice rang out. As the one directly linked to the weapon, he could feel the ebb and flow of the battle. His words reignited hope in the hearts of the other Kings.
Time passed. Their strength waned. One by one, they were pushed to the brink of collapse.
'Just a little more. We're almost there.'
King Atlas reassured himself. But then—
Thud
A soft sound as one King collapsed, unconscious. With one less, the Trident's power waned. The delicate balance was broken, and the remaining Kings bore a heavier burden. One by one, they too neared exhaustion.
Before panic could take root, hurried footsteps echoed from the entrance. Heads turned. King Diaprepes rushed in. He nodded at the gathered Kings and swiftly took his place. A sapphire-blue crystal shimmered to life on his forehead.
Balance was restored as hope returned, at least for now.
Meanwhile, outside the now-visible island, Captain Phenex and his squad watched from within a modified MH-60. But their numbers had thinned—of the original twenty, fewer than half remained. The survivors bore wounds, some severe, some minor. Captain Phenex, however, lay unconscious, his body etched with glowing sigils and intricate patterns—the cost of the battle they had endured to eliminate their enemy.
"Che! After suffering heavy loss, we still couldn't destroy that damn city!" A heavy voice filled with regret echoed through the cargo bay.
A bulky man with his head wrapped in bandages sat beside the open hatch, observing the black abyss being suppressed by the cloudy gray hand. He grumbled with dissatisfaction. This man was Gothon, one of the surviving members of the twenty-man squad.
–Cough–
Suddenly, Captain Phenex began coughing up blood—thick and black. The sigils and patterns etched across his body began to glow with a strange purple hue—
–ROAR–
That same primal roar rang out once again. Gothon, who had been tending to the Captain, turned his head sharply toward the source of the sound. His eyes widened as he saw the massive gray hand beginning to shrink. In just moments, it vanished completely. The black abyss was revealed once again—its size even greater than before.
Despite witnessing this, Gothon didn't rejoice. The Captain was still coughing up black blood, and his condition was clearly worsening by the second.
Meanwhile, beneath the central pyramid, the condition of the Kings had also deteriorated. Just as they had believed victory was within reach, the black abyss had surged with overwhelming force, instantly draining their energy. One by one, every King—except King Atlas—collapsed on the platform, unconscious. King Atlas, though still barely conscious, was now kneeling, struggling with all his might to remain upright.
'It seems this is it.'
That was the final thought that passed through his mind before he, too, lost consciousness and fell to the ground.
Outside, the black abyss continued to unleash its devouring force. After the most recent roar, that force seemed to intensify further. In the outer cities, fear gripped the hearts of the people, and despair began to set in.
And then—
–BOOM–
An explosion thundered across the sky as a brilliant flash of light engulfed the entire island. The light was so blinding that everyone instinctively shut their eyes. When they opened them again, they were greeted by an eerie calm—everything appeared to have returned to normal.
"What the hell was that?"
Gothon cursed loudly from inside the cargo bay, his eyes fixed on the center of the island. The place that had once symbolized the pinnacle of Atlantean civilization—the massive central pyramid and the device that shielded the island—was gone. In its place was a vast crater, smoke rising in thick columns. The land was scorched, the rocks melted, and all that remained was ash.
–Cough–
His surprise was quickly pushed to the back of his mind as he turned his attention to the Captain. The patterns and sigils that had once covered Captain Phenex's body had now disappeared.
–Cough–
"Return back—"
–Pew–
His face pale and his body barely holding together, Captain Phenex managed to give the command before spewing a large amount of black blood, tinged with red. Moments later, the aircraft exited the island's airspace and vanished into the distance—just as silently as it had arrived.
---
Moon. I-CA High Command.
Rear Admiral Amelia Valerie sat in her office, closely monitoring the situation that had unfolded on the island. While most factions within the I-CA were unaware of the true destructive power wielded by the two great forces, she knew. So she wasn't surprised—at least not at first.
But that calm quickly turned to horror when she reviewed the final footage captured by the surveillance drones hovering about the island—just before they were wiped out by the blinding flash of light.
–Beep–
[Incoming transmission]
"It better be something important, Commander Casey," the Rear Admiral said, irritation lacing her tone.
[We've received a message from Captain Brad. CL-01 is en route to base.]
"Hmm. Did Captain Brad specify the reason?" Valerie asked evenly. She already had a hunch, considering why the battleship had been dispatched with them on board.
[Captain Brad stated that Captain Percy instructed them to do so.]
The conversation continued as Commander Casey detailed the entire situation. Once again, Valerie found herself surprised. Given the battleship's high speed, it would have already covered a considerable distance—yet they still somehow knew exactly what had transpired on the planet.
–Sigh–
Taking a deep breath, she acknowledged the message.
---
Days passed. A full week had gone by. The situation on the planet had begun to stabilize—but whether this was merely the calm before the storm remained to be seen. After the flash of light that had nearly annihilated half the central city of Atlantis, the Kings had finally regained consciousness. Fortunately, being located deep underground had spared them from harm.
Now, their full attention was focused on restoring their defenses and reorganizing their military forces.
---
"GODDAMMIT!!"
Jason roared in frustration, gripping the doorframe tightly to keep himself steady as the ship rocked violently, like a rollercoaster. After a few moments, the shaking subsided, and he stood up—only to—
–THUD–
"YOU MONGREL! DRIVE PROPERLY! ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME?!" A stream of curses erupted from his mouth as his pupils turned red, and steam began to rise from his body. He stormed toward the cockpit, his anger growing with every step.
The cockpit door slid open, revealing Lucifer, completely absorbed in the console. His fingers moved with the precision of a conductor leading an orchestra. Jason's eyes immediately locked onto the large screen displaying the view outside, and all his anger melted into fear. His throat went dry, and he gulped nervously.
On the screen, massive rocks were hurtling toward the ship at an alarming speed.
Are we dead? That was the only thought that raced through his mind.
Before he could process it further, the screen suddenly went black.
"Hey, is the screen broken?" Jason asked, pointing at the now blank display.
Suddenly, the screen glowed with a purple hue. Puzzled, Jason thought it might have been a malfunction. But then—
–Bang–
The ship rocked violently as if it had crashed into something hard. The impact was so intense that Jason nearly lost his balance. Just when it seemed like all was lost, the shaking stopped, and the black expanse of space with the hurling rocks was visible again on the screen.
"You can handle it from here, Aria," Lucifer murmured weakly.
[Affirmative.]
Lucifer collapsed, resting his head on the console as though he were half-dead.
"Hey, what was that? Are you trying to kill us all?" Jason demanded, his frustration boiling over.
"You're too noisy. Get lost," Lucifer mumbled, barely looking up.
Without warning, Jason suddenly began to float. A powerful force pushed him backward toward the door, and before he could react, it flung open. He was sent flying like a ragdoll, crashing hard against one of the alloy walls.
"That hurt, you punk!" Jason grumbled as he got up, massaging his sore back. Hmm, anyway, maybe Uncle James has some meat ready to roast.
Remembering how tasty the meat was, his mouth watered, and he made his way toward James's cabin.
"Uncle James, let's—"
–BLAH–
When the door opened, he was greeted by the sight of Uncle James sitting on the bed, holding a bucket and violently emptying his stomach into it.
"Never mind," Jason muttered, quickly backing away.
Sigh. "Let's see what the Captain is doing instead." He turned and headed toward the Captain's cabin.
When the door opened, he found Captain Percy sitting cross-legged on his bed, meditating. Jason sighed, preparing to leave—only to be stopped in his tracks by a small, dangerous voice.
"Where do you think you're going?"
"Ah, Captain, you're awake? I thought you were busy. Never mind, I'll come back later," Jason said awkwardly, trying to force a smile.
"It's been a long time since I last saw you. Let me see how much you've improved since then," Captain Percy said slowly, his voice calm yet commanding.