"You are a threat, Arthur. And threats… must be eliminated."
Fifteen years.
For fifteen years, Arthur Ragnar drifted through the stars—hunted, wounded and live a life of a murderer, traitor of humanity and disgrace of House Ragnar.
The Shadow—his battleship—was no longer the one of the best battleship. Now, it only awaits for his death surrounded by several enemy battleships, moving towards him.
Inside the dim cockpit, flickering lights painted the walls like a fading memory. Arthur leaned over the control panel, sweat dripping from his chin. His once-pristine commander uniform was torn and bloodstained, just like the empire that had abandoned him after falsely accused for murdering his own comrades and colluding with alien forces.
AI announced in its usual calm, female voice.
* POWER RESERVES DOWN TO 5% *
* RECOMMEND IMMEDIATE EVACUATION *
"Evacuate where?" he muttered angrily. "There's nowhere left."
Outside, a fleet of purple grade-hulled ships formed a crescent around him like vultures closing in. Silent. Precise. Sent by her.
Duchess Merida Ragnar, his father's second wife.
Arthur was born from a commoner and concubine—his mother, Lia. A gentle woman with sharp eyes and a voice like starlight. She died screaming beneath the blade of the assassins send by his stepmother eighteen years ago. Arthur had watched. Powerless without making any noise.
After the death of his mother his father never gave any attention towards him. Despite being extremely talented he never got enough resources to grew stronger and always kept under surveillance by the order of his stepmother.
Fifteen years, since that night on House Ragnar moon estate, when his stepmother—Duchess Merida Ragnar—stand besides his son Kael Ragnar smirking towards him when he was outcasted from his own house and dragged by the officials due to the false allegations for murdering his comrade in battlefield and colluding with alien forces and now his step brother inheriting the title of heir of House Ragnar which was originally meant for him.
Murderer.
They called him disgrace of Ragnar Clan.
The bastard son.
The traitor of humanity.
Through asteroid belts laced with mines. Through warzones. Through derelict sectors abandoned by even the boldest pirates. And so, the galaxy turned against him.
Alarms shrieked through the cockpit.
* INCOMING: ENEMY BATTLESHIPS *
* DISTANCE: 4,000 GR *
* ETA: 3 MINUTES *
He didn't move. What could he do? The weapons were dry, the engines barely spat sparks, oxygen level decreasing rapidly, his vision blurred. Systems shut down, one by one.
" ENEMY LOCK DETECTED. IMPACT INBOUND. "
" GOODBYE, COMMANDER. "
He laughed "After all this time... I die here, alone with countless regrets."
He slumped to the floor as a final blast ripped through the ship. The hull cracked. Flame, vacuum, darkness —
But in that moment... time slowed.
Arthur's breath hitched. His body failed to move, but his mind... awakened. He saw it all. Every year. Every betrayal. Every scar.
His mother's lifeless eyes in front of him.
The cold smile of his stepmother.
The trial where no one listened.
The exiles. The battles. The lies.
But the truth is-
His stepmother had orchestrated it all.
Just as the void reached for him—
He stared down at his necklace a small metallic ball in center a crystalline object, hovering faintly in air. A relic from a forgotten war of ancient human civilization. A gift from his real mother—one he never understood. It pulsed gently, the soft blue glow releasing from it.
"What are you waiting for?" Arthur whispered bitterly. "It's over."
He stared towards the airlock. If he was going to die, he'd meet them face to face.
The ship shuddered violently as the enemy crafts docked. He could hear the slicing whine of plasma torches.
They weren't here to negotiate. They never were.
The doors burst inward. Three figures entered, weapons raised—no insignia, no hesitation.
"Arthur Ragnar," one said. "By the decree of House Ragnar, your bloodline ends here."
Arthur smiled. It wasn't brave. Just tired. "Took you long enough."
A flash. A crack. Then—
Darkness.
Silence.
But not for long.
Arthur's blood soaked the floor...then reversed.
The wounds closed.
His body shimmered.
The stars outside bent inward.
And everything—
Unraveled.