Chapter 18 – Call and Alliance

  Moonlight shimmered softly across the surface of the underground lake on planet K11. The cavern was silent, broken only by the gentle drip of water echoing through stone.

  Leon emerged slowly from the lake, water sliding down his shoulders. There was a calmness about him now—something deeper than relief. His eyes carried a quiet light that hadn’t been there before.

  Lee, still stained with blood and dust from battle, froze when he saw him.

  “Leon… are you alright?” he asked, his voice rough.

  Leon smiled faintly.

  “Better than ever. You should wash up. I have a lot to tell you.”

  Without another word, Lee stepped into the lake, letting the cold water cleanse the blood from his skin.

  Inside the cave, Professor Liu ignited a small flame using Xprian technology. The light cast warm shadows across the stone walls, turning the shelter into something almost peaceful.

  “Leon,” the professor said quietly, “did you find your answer? What happened down there?”

  Leon’s expression grew serious.

  “I will explain. Let’s wait for Lee.”

  When Lee returned, exhausted and silent, he sat beside them.

  “I already know Lara was here,” he said. “Now tell me everything.”

  The professor spoke first.

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  “An android—one of Spilri’s mercenaries—came for Leon. His mission was assassination.”

  Leon lowered his gaze.

  “If I hadn’t transformed… I would be dead.”

  Lee’s jaw tightened.

  “I know who sent it.”

  Both Leon and the professor looked at him.

  “Three members of the Xprian Council,” Lee continued, his voice dark. “Lara discovered the truth. I confronted them… and killed them.”

  Silence fell like a heavy weight.

  “That will have consequences,” the professor warned.

  “They won’t touch my mother or my sister,” Lee replied coldly. “If they do, I’ll destroy all of them.”

  Leon stood and faced him directly.

  “Lee… since I arrived here, I’ve never understood what you truly fight for. I know about your father. He hunts you—but he doesn’t hate you. So tell me… what keeps you going?”

  Lee hesitated.

  “My mother. My sister. They’re all I have.”

  “And if you lose them?” Leon asked gently. “What remains? Living only for them makes you unstable… dangerous, even to us.”

  The professor tried to intervene, but Lee raised his hand.

  “Let him speak.”

  Leon’s voice grew stronger.

  “I’ve seen slavery. Death. Despair. I was empty long before I came here. But God rescued me. He gave me a calling. If Jesus—the Son of the Creator—chose me, then hope still exists.”

  A quiet warmth filled the cave.

  “I learned something else,” Leon continued. “Lara and I share the same birthday. Just like Lim and the goddess Lara from the prophecy—the ones who united the two most powerful races in the universe.”

  He smiled softly.

  “Today, I may not be Lim. But your sister is Xprian. I am Krizardian. And we stand for the same purpose.”

  A distant memory echoed in Lee’s mind—words once spoken by the prophetess of Videu:

  Do not push your sister away from the boy. Protect him with your life.

  “Could history be repeating itself?” the professor whispered.

  “What’s our next move?” he asked.

  Leon yawned and lay back.

  “Sleep. Tomorrow, I’ll show you what I learned.”

  Then he looked at Lee.

  “Whatever you face… I’m with you. You’re not alone.”

  For the first time, Lee felt something unfamiliar tighten his chest.

  Someone cared.

  “LARAAA!” the professor suddenly shouted. “Where’s my food? I’m starving!”

  Lee laughed despite himself.

  “She said she’d send supplies… guess she forgot.”

  He stood and activated his transport bracelet.

  “If my mother asks, tell her I’ll be back soon.”

  Leon smiled, already drifting off.

  “Go with God, brother.”

  As Lee walked toward the ship, he looked up at the sky of K11.

  And for the first time, he understood—

  Living only for his mother and sister… might not be enough anymore.

  End of Chapter 18