231THE RETURN
The hand wasn't a Shadow's.
It was Nicaesa's own anima projection, flickering and strained, making its final act: forcing Dan to safety..into the space rift.
"Go," Nicaesa said, his voice steady despite the chaos. "Don't worry about . If they wanted dead, I would've died years ago."
The space rift pulsed—once, twice—then flared alive as the repaired gateway tore itself back open.Nicaesa's spectral hand swept forward, shoving Dan toward the rising light.
Dan didn't fight it.
He couldn't.
His legs moved, but his tears blurred everything.
"Do NOT co back for !" Nicaesa's voice thundered. It was his final command, echoing like a curse and a blessing all at once.
Dan squeezed his eyes shut as he stepped into the threshold, his whole body trembling.But before he could cross, sothing exploded from the Shadows—a massive, serpentine apparition.
It was an apparition of Wadjet- the alien god of Serpents.
Her spectral serpent form lunged, its colossal body bursting through the portal like a living storm.The serpent's fangs crashed down, shattering the remnants of Nicaesa's projected hand.
Then its jaws opened wide and devoured Dan whole.
"What…what the hell?!" Dan scread as he felt his skin blistering. "This serpent… it's lting my body! And the Twin Suns of Ra… why aren't they healing ?!"
The Shadow of Ra laughed, a harsh, grating sound.
"The blessings of the Twin Suns of Anu are ant for us, not for a half-breed like you!" it snarled.
Dan's body continued to sizzle and lt beneath Wadjet's corrosive serpent power. His flesh regenerated…only to be eaten away again.
"My corrosion can eat away even the twin sun's blessings", Wadjet cried.
Then the realization struck Dan like a hamr.
It wasn't that the Twin Suns weren't healing him.They were.
They simply weren't healing quick enough.
Corrosion wasn't ordinary damage. It devoured flesh, bone, and energy endlessly. Even with the Suns' blessing, every healed patch was imdiately corroded away again.
He was losing ground….fast.
Dan was in a deadly race against ti. Wadjet's corrosive aura was stripping his life away faster than he could rebuild it.
"Go….NOW!" Nicaesa roared.
With the very last shred of his power, Nicaesa manifested another spectral hand.
It shot forward like a streak of white fire, slamming into Dan's back. The force ripped him free from the serpent's jaws and hurled him toward the glowing rift.
"NO!" the Shadows scread, reaching out in fury. But they had nothing left that could stop him…not now.
Dan was flung through the threshold.
And in the next heartbeat, he vanished into the space rift.
----
Dan hadn't even caught his breath—
hadn't even wiped the tears from his eyes—
when sothing massive lunged after him into the space rift.
It was an enormous lion.
Dan's heart lurched.
If it crossed over, it would slaughter everyone on this side. Worse—it would anchor the portal, allowing the alien gods to pour into the human world.
"Close the bloody portal, now!" Dan roared.
He knew exactly what that order ant.
Closing the rift now was a death sentence for Nicaesa. Without the portal, there would be no escape for him—only sacrifice. He would be left behind, offered to the alien gods.
But if the portal stayed open…
The aliens would enter his world and countless others would die.
And even then, Nicaesa might never make it back. He had already used the last of his powers to send Dan through the portal, he might not be able to make it through.
Then Dan weighed the options and made a decision.
"That's what Nicaesa would have wanted," he whispered. "Close the bloody portal."
Lord Nicaesa would never hesitate to give his life to save others. He was a hero…period. He wouldn't hesitate to sacrifice himself for others.
A thunderous ROAR tore through the collapsing dinsion.
A winged lioness descended from the smoke.
Her body was sleek and powerful, golden-tawny fur stretched over coiled muscle, faint silver scars marking her flanks. Massive paws ended in curved ivory claws, silent despite her size.
Her amber eyes burned with unsettling intelligence.
From her shoulders spread enormous wings — layered in burnished gold and dark umber, their undersides pale ivory. The feathers shimred faintly, as if lit from within, and each slow beat stirred the air like a rising storm.
She hovered like a regal, controlled predator born of sky and legend. She was Sekht's true form—the alien goddess herself…. And she charged forward, her colossal paws smashing against the fractured light of the rift.
"GET LOST!" Dan roared back.
A blazing beam erupted from his chest, slamming into Sekht with explosive force.
"ARGHHH!" she shrieked as the blast hurled her backward into the portal.
"I WILL KILL YOU!" Sekht howled.
Dan fired again. Another scorching blast tore into her divine flesh.
Sekht was an S-Rank existence—but here, in the human realm, she was no longer blessed by the power of her ho world.
Dan, on the other hand, felt stronger than ever.
"GO BACK TO HELL!" he shouted, unleashing a cascade of plasma beams that hamred into her body.
Sekht staggered, her eyes wide with disbelief.
"How—how can you be this strong, half-breed?!"
"DIE!" Dan bellowed.
Sirocco's Vengeance answered his fury.
A roaring spiral of wind blades erupted forth, slamming into Sekht and driving her screaming back into the collapsing rift.
"Close the damn portal—NOW!" Dan yelled.
"Yes, sir! It's done!" General Bierra responded.
The rift snapped shut in a burst of blinding light.
And the alien gods were cut off—
at last.
-----
[So ti ago in Silver City]
Liorea hurried through the halls of GenSyn building in Silver City, her footsteps echoing as she burst into the main lobby.
Seated there, like an unexpected storm, …. was a woman in an earthen-hued dress.
Surrounding her were several n and won, each garbed in vibrant, eccentric colors.
Liorea froze the mont she recognized the woman on the sofa.
"Erm… Madam Sienna," she said cautiously. "To what do we owe the pleasure of your visit?"
Sienna was the real leader of Liberty City and a high-ranking mber of the villainous Alliance of Psyche. She had tried repeatedly to pressure Dan Dark into becoming her minion and ruling Liberty City for her.
She was dangerous… yes.
But she's not an imdiate threat today.
She knows about Kail's secret but up till now she's never attempted anything ulterior to harm him.
"I ca to ask a favor," Sienna replied calmly.
Liorea blinked. "A… favor? What exactly do you need from us?"
"I want you to help find my brother. Argent," Sienna said.
Liorea frowned. "Find who? I'm sorry, we don't do missing-person searches."
"I'm not asking you to find him," Sienna corrected. "I'm asking the boy downstairs…Ethan Lace."
Liorea stiffened.
Very few people knew Kail's true identity. Even fewer knew about his Quantum Mind. They had gone to great lengths to keep it hidden, to keep him safe.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Liorea lied.
Sienna smiled knowingly. "Let's call it a trade. You help , and I'll make sure Dan returns safely from the space rift."
Liorea felt dread twist inside her.
Sienna controlled Liberty City and the space rift. Dan's return depended on her cooperation. Without her approval, Dan would be locked out from the portal.
"Isn't the space rift already closed?" a voice cut in.
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