The sun burned brightly in the middle of the sky. Outside, some flowers basked blissfully in the warm sunlight, while others looked withered and forlorn under the intense heat.
"Xenoki, can you confirm that you can activate the formation?"
Saya passed the thought telepathically to Xenoki while sitting beside Ko, pretending to watch the movie.
"Yes, Milady. I have stationed six of our men near the formation. We can launch it whenever you want," Xenoki replied.
"Good. Activate it in two minutes. Set the area of effect to laser-point precision and aim it directly at the Raibon mansion," Saya ordered, side-eyeing Ko as she spoke.
Ko noticed her sharp glance and fell completely silent for a few seconds. Unable to control his curiosity, he finally asked,
"Can I ask you something?"
Saya turned toward him.
"Hmm? Yes," she replied in a cold, detached voice.
"Do you secretly have a crush on me?" Ko asked with a completely unhinged, straight face.
Saya stared down at Ko as though he were a cockroach. Several silent seconds passed.
"What?" she asked in a voice filled with pure rage, releasing a slight wave of killing intent.
"Umm… I-I meant… are you curious? Since you were looking at me from the side," Ko quickly tried to recover from his previous words.
Without saying another word, Saya simply turned her head away.
"Xenoki," Saya called through their Neural Thought Sync. "Activate the formation."
"Yes, Milady."
Xenoki immediately transmitted Saya's command to the men stationed near the Dark Matter Ray projector formation. Her voice was converted into a single ray of red light, which struck the receiver embedded within the formation.
*Module 1 activation key detected.*
*Preparing DM Ray Unit Storage Box 7…*
*Preparing low-density laser nozzle for launch…*
*Fetching laser-point coordinates…*
*Preparations complete. Initiating launch.*
The formation's core processing system announced each step into the empty space high above Earth.
The nozzle released a beam that perfectly matched the color of the void above Earth. As it entered the atmosphere, it absorbed so much ambient light that the sky darkened, making it appear as though it were about to rain.
The beam struck the Raibon household, locked onto an immensely powerful source of light, and began gathering inside the living room.
Xenoki noticed the sudden anomaly and immediately contacted Saya through their Neural Thought Sync (NTS).
"Milady, the DM Ray is acting strangely."
"Yes, I know. The living room is filling with dark matter, and it is pouring directly into this boy," Saya replied, a hint of curiosity slipping into her otherwise calm voice. "Stop the formation immediately and observe the molecular behavior of all units, especially Unit 7."
Xenoki transmitted the signal to halt the sequence. The command struck the receiver, and the core ceased operating with a sharp electronic beep.
"The formation has stopped operating, Milady," Xenoki reported.
"Leave the unit observations to the others. I want you to monitor this boy personally. It seems the dark matter is being fiercely attracted to him. I don't know why, but he is devouring it. The density of the DM Ray inside the living room has already begun to decrease," Saya said, her eyes remaining fixed on Ko.
Several ordinary minutes passed before Xenoki's voice echoed inside Saya's mind once again.
"Milady, his golden aura is slowly losing its shine."
"Stay where you are. Do not act recklessly. We are in the middle of an important test. If we wait a little longer, the results may even allow us to replicate this planet's protective layer," Saya warned in an even colder voice. Xenoki could feel the overwhelming pressure radiating from her thoughts alone.
The dark matter inside the living room had almost completely disappeared.
A heavy silence blanketed the mansion.
No birds screeched outside. No wind stirred through the trees. It felt as though the world beyond the estate had come to a complete standstill.
"Milady, warning! Evacuate immediately! The power levels inside that room are rising to the point of a black hole collision! Space and time around the mansion appear to be distorting!" Xenoki screamed through their Neural Thought Sync, his body trembling violently as he stared at the monitor.
Hearing the warning, Saya sharply turned to her right.
There, she saw dark void energy oozing from Ko's body.
She immediately shifted her gaze toward Kenika.
Frozen.
"What is happening here?" Saya asked herself in disbelief.
Saya couldn't move her legs. She silently watched Ko for several tense seconds.
Suddenly, Ko rose from the couch.
The dark energy flowing from his body flooded across the floor. Saya watched as the surrounding objects physically glitched, forming and decaying in rapid succession. The past and the future intertwined violently with the present.
She remained frozen in place, watching time itself run wild around Ko. Yet there was no fear in her eyes. For a few brief moments, she observed with pure fascination as time bent itself to the will of a sixteen-year-old high school student.
Suddenly…
Ko fell to his knees.
He opened his eyes to a horrific sight.
His right hand was buried deep inside someone's chest.
His hands oozed with a thick, mud-like purple energy that mixed with the dark red blood of the person he had just stabbed, dripping all the way down to his elbow.
Ko slowly looked around.
Everything was utterly destroyed.
Raging fires devoured nearby buildings and vehicles. Hundreds of dead bodies lay scattered behind him. The ground itself was scarred with deep cuts, all carved by the same purple energy currently pouring from his own arms.
Ko stood there in complete silence as his sixteen-year-old mind struggled to comprehend the horrific scene before him.
Tears rolled down his cheeks.
"Wha…"
"What is this place?" Ko asked softly as absolute fear, guilt, and anxiety overwhelmed him. "What is happening here? Is this a dream? Is anyone here?"
"DAD!"
"MOM!"
"Kenika!"
"Are any of you here?!" Ko screamed, crying like a five-year-old child who had become separated from his parents. "Get me out of here, somebody… please! AAAAAhhhh!"
His cries echoed through the frozen flow of time.
"Milady," Xenoki called urgently through their Neural Thought Sync. "The power levels are increasing so rapidly that our radars can no longer keep up. Please evacuate immediately!"
"Xenoki, something massive is about to happen. I cannot move my body. Retrieve the Ray samples harvested from this planet's protective layer and direct them toward our mansion immediately!" Saya commanded.
Xenoki activated the formation to fire Light Ray Unit-1.
*Preparations complete. Launching Unit-1 Light Rays.*
The formation announced the sequence before firing the rays toward Earth.
The descending beam of light looked as though a hundred bolts of lightning were striking the planet all at once.
The moment the Light Ray struck the Raibon mansion, Ko immediately began absorbing it.
"Xenoki, increase the density! That strange dark energy is consuming all of the light!" Saya ordered.
"Increasing the output to its absolute maximum will exhaust Unit-1's Ray samples within seconds," Xenoki warned in a deeply concerned voice.
"We don't have a choice. Do exactly as I say," Saya replied, her voice even colder than before.
Xenoki turned the control knob to its maximum setting.
The formation unleashed a far brighter, high-density beam that struck Ko, scattering the thick dark energy swirling around him.
Ko collapsed to the floor, completely unconscious.
Beside him, Kenika closed her eyes and collapsed as well.
Saya was finally able to stand up from the couch.
"Xenoki, come here immediately," she ordered.
"Yes, Milady."
Xenoki stood perfectly still for a brief moment.
"RAI SPEED!"
He thrust his hands forward, seized a bolt of lightning out of thin air, and vanished.
In the blink of an eye, he appeared on the roof of the Raibon mansion.
Without wasting another second, Xenoki rushed into the living room.
The moment he arrived, Saya ordered him to suppress Ko's memories of the incident and inspect the radar for any lingering signatures of the unknown power.
While she was speaking, an unusually large bee buzzed past the living room window.
Xenoki's eyes narrowed.
In an instant, he snatched the bee out of the air at light speed and crushed it in his hand.
He slowly opened his fingers.
Resting on his palm were the shattered remains of a miniature surveillance drone.
"Milady… the rebels observed everything that happened here," Xenoki said, his voice laced with suspicion.
To be continued…