Lian witnessed everything from the edge of the hole.
He saw the representative bow to the massive holographic figure, heard the commanding voice of the superior, and watched as the colossal black ship tore through space to retrieve the injured man. The beam of light lifted the representative away, and the spatial rift sealed behind the vessel with a final, ominous flash. The sky above the ruined planet grew quiet once more, leaving only destruction in its wake.
Lian’s mind filed it all away for later. The hologram’s identity, the Syndicate’s reach, the level of power that could summon such a ship — he would think about it when they were safe. Right now, only one thing mattered.
Elara.
He pushed himself off the edge without hesitation, landing hard on the rubble below. Pain shot through his legs, but he ignored it. He moved swiftly and quietly through the devastated streets, leaping over fallen beams and broken concrete, staying low to avoid drawing any remaining attention. His heart pounded with rare urgency. Elara had been much closer to the representative. She was in far more danger than he was.
The once-thriving districts of Vorthex Pri were no more. The planet had been split, and the city around the auction house had been reduced to a wasteland of rubble, fires, and death. No dical facilities remained standing. No rescue teams were coming. The few survivors who hadn’t fled were either dying or hiding. Lian was completely on his own.
He found her exactly where he had seen her from above — hidden in a narrow gap behind a collapsed wall. Elara was slumped against the stone, barely conscious. Her face was deathly pale, blood trickling from her nose and ears. Her body trembled violently under the lingering effects of the killing intent. Her alloy limbs twitched erratically, systems clearly overloaded. She looked like she was dying.
Lian’s chest tightened.
He dropped to his knees beside her and carefully lifted her into his arms. She was heavier than she looked because of her cybernetic parts, but he didn’t hesitate. He adjusted his grip, supporting her head against his shoulder, and began running.
He ran far.
He pushed his body to its limits, leaping across ruined rooftops and shattered streets, moving away from the epicenter of the destruction. The fractured horizon with the split planet lood behind him as he put more and more distance between them and the danger. He didn’t stop until the ruined city was no longer visible — only endless wasteland and smoke stretching behind them.
His breathing was ragged. Blood still dripped from his nose and ears, but he kept going. Eventually, he spotted a large opening in the ground — a deep fissure created by the earlier shockwaves. He jumped in without hesitation, descending carefully into the darkness while protecting Elara.
The fissure led deep underground into a natural cave system. The air was cooler and damper here. Lian moved until he found a relatively stable chamber, then gently laid Elara down on the smooth stone floor.
He imdiately emptied his storage rings.
Everything he had collected spilled out onto the ground — dozens of other storage rings, credits, pills, herbs, weapons, talismans, and random valuables. He began frantically searching through them, opening ring after ring, dumping their contents without care.
He found healing pills of various grades. dicine tubes — the sa D-grade ones distributed at the auction. He didn’t know exactly which was for what, but he didn’t care. He started injecting her imdiately.
Tube after tube.
He jabbed them into her neck, — anywhere he could reach. One after another. The needles hissed as they delivered their contents into her system. He kept going, watching her face desperately for any sign of improvent. Her breathing was shallow. Her body still trembled. Her cybernetic eyes flickered weakly.
He emptied more rings, finding stronger pills and elixirs. He forced so down her throat, massaging her neck to help her swallow. More tubes. More pills. He kept injecting until the small pile of dicine around them began to dwindle.
Slowly, painfully, Elara began to respond.
Her breathing grew steadier. The trembling in her limbs lessened. Color started returning to her face, faint but visible. Her red heart monitor stabilized. Her eyes fluttered, and she let out a weak cough.
Lian sat back on his heels, breathing hard, covered in sweat and blood.
Seeing she began getting herself back, he relaxed a little.
Power Scale / Cultivation Realms (Quick Reminder)
Foundation Realm (Layers 1–9): Body forging, no external Qi.
Circuit Awakening Realm (Early–Peak): First Qi loop, internal bursts.
Core Condensation Realm (Early–Peak): External Qi release, short flight.
Stellar Circuit Realm (1–9 Stars): True flight, Qi armor, energy projection.
Nebula Dominion Realm and higher: Domain control, galaxy-level power, etc
Power Scale Reminder
Lian Yu: Stellar Circuit Star 1.
Elara Voss: Core Condensation Middle
Keep it as reminders
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