The ship drifted to a halt just beyond Verizon's stratosphere, suspended in the dark between stars and atmosphere. A soft hum echoed through the bridge before silence took over.
[We've stopped. This is as far as I can take us. The aether core's done. No response, no regulation. It's… completely dead.]
Nyx reported. Her voice, crisp but edged with frustration, came over the comms.
Nova stood with his arms folded, looking out through the viewing panel at the swirling clouds of the planet below.
"Then we'll take the sub-shuttle. We're close enough to descend without a full warp drive."
He said.
[I can pilot the mothership away once you've landed. If I keep it in deep drift and cloak the signature, no one will be able to track it.]
Nyx offered.
Nova nodded.
"Do that."
Anna stepped into the bridge, adjusting the gloves of her uniform.
"How bad's the core?"
She asked.
[Bad. We can't jump again until it's replaced or repaired. That Aetherite from the tournament is our only option now.]
Nyx said.
"Then let's not waste time."
Before they could turn to leave, Nyx spoke again, this time with a more cautious tone.
[There's another thing. You might want to disguise yourselves. Clavacis III's announcement has spread. He's offering compensation for your capture.]
Nova's eyes narrowed.
"Bounty?"
[Not an official one, but enough to attract scavengers and mercenaries. No confirmed images yet, but rumors are spreading fast. Word is—any pair seen together near Verizon matching your general description will be hunted.]
Anna let out a slow breath.
"So, we're walking into a net."
Nova turned and walked toward the rear storage chamber.
"Then we need something to conceal our identity."
They entered a sealed chamber behind the main console, a room storing several prototype artefacts.
Most of them were inert, locked behind aether shielding or tagged as incomplete. But in the center, resting on a velvet-lined plinth, were two sleek, crystalline masks.
Anna approached first and picked one up.
"These mold to your face?"
]Using aether resonance. They alter your bone structure and appearance on a superficial level. It's not full transformation—it's just enough to pass by scans and casual observation.]
Nyx confirmed.
"Why haven't I seen this before? This kind of tech could sell for a fortune."
Anna asked, turning the mask over in her hands.
[Because it's unfinished. The longer you wear it, the more strain it puts on your nervous system. A few hours is fine. More than that and you risk permanent nerve damage….Probably. We never tested it to it's extreme.]
Nyx replied flatly.
Anna immediately lowered the mask an inch.
"And we're using this?"
Nova had already placed his against his face. The mask liquified on contact, crawling across his skin in an instant, forming a new visage—completely unrecognizable, yet disturbingly natural.
"You're already wearing it. Shouldn't we have talked about this first?"
Anna muttered.
Nova looked at her, voice muffled slightly through the shifting material.
"It's too late to question it now."
Anna sighed and pressed hers to her face. It latched on immediately, reshaping her jaw, eyes, and skin tone with a faint pulse of blue light. She reached up and touched her cheek.
"This feels weird."
She said.
Nova checked her over.
"You'll get used to it."
Anna flexed her fingers, unsettled.
"Feels like I'm not even me."
[That's the point.]
Nyx answered over the comm.
With masks in place and the sub-shuttle powered up, Nova keyed in the launch sequence.
As the bay doors opened and the sleek, compact shuttle detached from the mothership, Anna glanced at the looming planet beneath them.
"Verizon. Let's hope it's worth it."
She whispered.
Nova didn't speak. His hands moved fluidly over the controls, eyes focused, body still. But his mind was set.
The tournament would be theirs.
And so would the Aetherite.
______
The shuttle settled with a muted thud, dust rising around its landing gear as the engines powered down.
From the cockpit, Nova scanned the treeline ahead—tall, dark-leaved trees swayed against the wind like silent sentinels.
They had landed on the outskirts of Verizon's main city, just beyond the thick forest line that circled it like a living wall.
[You'll have to go through the forest. It's the shortest path to the tournament registry point. I've mapped the terrain already—just keep heading northeast and you'll reach the city's outer district within an hour.]
Nyx's voice came through the system.
Nova nodded once, already unstrapping himself from the pilot's seat.
"Let's move."
Anna followed him out of the shuttle, adjusting the straps on her belt. The forest loomed in front of them, dense with layered foliage and low fog curling at the base of the trees.
As Nova stepped into the shadows, Anna instinctively fell in behind him. She didn't like the way the air felt—heavy, charged.
After just a few minutes of walking, Nova's eyes narrowed. His steps slowed.
"I'm sensing multiple aether signatures. Stay alert. If I tell you to run, you don't look back. You just go."
He said under his breath.
Anna nodded, tense but ready.
Suddenly, the underbrush snapped violently—trees cracked, the air rippled with force—and a massive beast lunged from the foliage.
It had horns shaped like jagged roots and skin armored with mossy stone. Its claws cracked the forest floor as it barreled toward them.
Nova reacted instantly, one hand raised. Aether surged through his arm and formed into a long, midnight-blue spear in the blink of an eye.
He didn't flinch as the monster charged. Instead, he stepped forward and met it.
The spear clashed with the monster's horns, a deafening clang ringing through the air as energy flared out on impact. The beast reeled, its momentum slowed—but not stopped.
"Run!"
Nova snapped.
Anna hesitated only a second before turning and sprinting toward the city, branches whipping past her as she fled.
Alone now, Nova shoved the monster back with a forceful burst of aether and slid into a low stance, spinning the spear into a reverse grip.
He surged forward, aiming a clean strike at the beast's exposed underbelly. His feet barely touched the ground as he glided forward like a shadow.
Just as he went in for the kill—thunk.
Another spear slammed into the monster's back. It howled, crumpling mid-charge before falling dead with a thud.
Nova blinked once. Then—
Whistle.
The second spear, now freed from the beast's corpse, launched straight at Nova's head.
He twisted aside, narrowly dodging. The weapon grazed his shoulder and embedded itself into a tree behind him, cracking the trunk down the middle.
A blur came from above—light feet, heavy pressure.
Nova jumped back just in time to avoid a spinning kick from a new assailant: a short-haired woman clad in battle gear, her body flowing with trained precision.
She landed and immediately lunged again, another spear appearing in her hand, drawn from her back like an extension of her soul.
Her attacks came fast—brutal, efficient, relentless. Every movement screamed of military discipline.
Nova parried her first thrust with his own spear, the force of the collision cracking the ground beneath them.
She twisted mid-strike, trying to sweep his legs, but Nova flipped backward, using aether to boost his jump.
The moment he landed, he pushed forward and returned the favor—his own spear now sparking with raw power as he slashed horizontally.
She blocked it with the shaft of her spear, but the aether shockwave launched her back a few feet.
Still, she didn't fall.
She skidded to a stop, breathing evenly, eyes locked on him. And she smiled.