"He... He claims he has a way to gather more information about the Torank weapon," Moth’s revelation hit the room like a bomb. The mont the words left his mouth, the entire hall fell into a heavy, deafening silence.
Even the air seed to thicken with shock. "He’s demanding a eting. He wants to finalise the arrangent to move his core forces and his people into our territory for security while he deals with the aftermath."
"He didn’t give up," the Grand Elder chuckled, the sound deep and dry, like stone grinding on stone. He couldn’t contain his amusent. "This kid... For so reason, he makes my blood boil with excitent! Perhaps he truly is the missing piece we have all been looking for. Send the reply... Tell him to co."
"Co?" Moth paused, his voice pitching higher in confusion, as if he had just heard sothing utterly absurd. "Co where, exactly?"
"Where else?" The Grand Elder was clearly enjoying Moth’s startled expression. "Here!"
"Here? But..." Moth gestured frantically to the environnt around them. This was the Hescos’ special holand—a sanctuary planet. It was the only place in the entire universe where their race could exist in their natural state, the only place where they didn’t need to wear their specialised pressurised suits.
"This is our sanctum. I doubt a human can handle the toxicity or the atmospheric pressure of our world. He’d be crushed or poisoned before he stepped off the ramp. Besides, the security protocols alone..."
"Don’t worry so much," the Grand Elder interrupted Moth’s panicked words with a dismissive wave. "If he is even half the man I take him for, he won’t be wasted by our world. Let him co. Let us see if he has the ttle to visit us here and endure our harsh environnt. If he survives the atmosphere, then we will know he is the real deal."
Moth stared at the ssage interface, his jaw tight. He didn’t know how to reply to the Grand Elder’s casual dismissal of the danger. In his eyes, the old man was treating this entire affair as so sort of sport or a dark joke.
Moth had been the one to champion Hye, to argue for his potential, but he didn’t want to watch him wither and dissolve. A human body, no matter how reinforced by system stats, was a fragile thing when compared to the toxic, crushing reality of the Hescos’ birthplace.
The Hescos weren’t the strongest race in the known universe by accident. Their core strength, the legacy of their original families and elite mbers, was forged in a world where raw power was rely the entry fee for survival. Most of the universe believed the Hescos wore their iconic, high-tech suits to shield themselves from hostile environnts or to augnt their combat capabilities.
The truth was the exact opposite.
They wore those suits to restrain and control themselves. The suits were dampeners, designed to contain and regulate the imnse, violent physical strength their bodies developed just to keep from being crushed by the atmospheric pressure and gravity of their ho.
It was a known fact—at least among the upper echelons—that any outsider who hadn’t been born and raised in that crucible simply wouldn’t endure it. Their bones would snap, their lungs would seize, and their nervous systems would short-circuit under the sheer chemical toxicity of the air.
Yet, the Grand Elder saw this as the ultimate litmus test. He wanted to see if Hye possessed the taphysical weight to stand on the grandest stage of the universe—the elite level where only monsters road.
On the other side of the sector, Hye was walking briskly toward the landing pad outside his palace, Olana trailing just a step behind him. He suddenly ca to a dead stop, his eyes narrowing at his interface.
[You want to co to this place?!] Hye sent back, his confusion evident. [Moth, I’m looking at the navigational maps. There is nothing there at all. The maps show a complete void—empty space!]
[It is our race’s holand!] The response ca back with a weight that seed to transcend the text. [The Elder Council has convened. They want to et with you in person to discuss your assessnt of the Torank weapon and our shared analysis. This is not a simple request nor a visit.]
"Tsk," Hye clicked his tongue. He had held a flicker of hope that the Hescos, with their vast knowledge and ancient technology, might have already unmasked the secrets of that hexagonal nightmare. From Moth’s tone, it was clear: they were just as blind as he was. They were spooked.
[I’m coming,] Hye replied, his mind already calculating the journey and its risks. [About the expedition... I need to arrange several things here before I commit to a long-term departure.]
[Do not worry about the schedule,] Moth replied. [We have decided to postpone the expedition for several weeks. We will not move until we have more intelligence on that weapon and a viable thod to counter it.]
"That’s good news," Hye muttered to himself. He turned to Olana, who was watching him with curiosity. [I’m on my way. Send the quickest jump-route. I’ll arrive with Olana.]
[About her...] Moth’s reply was hesitant. [Why don’t you leave her outside our system? This invitation is... Specifically and solely for you.]
Hye frowned. He understood the Hescos’ desire for secrecy. It was their holand, after all; they had every right to curate their guest list.
"What the hell are you talking about?!!!"
The ship had barely cleared the atmosphere, its engines screaming as it aid for the nearest jump-gate, when Hye finally revealed their destination to Olana. Her reaction was instantaneous and violent. She grabbed the back of the pilot’s chair, her knuckles turning white. "Are you joking with ?!!!"
"Why are you reacting like this?!" Hye blinked in genuine surprise. He hadn’t seen Olana this rattled since the battle. "It’s just the Hescos’ holand planet. I assud it was a high privilege, and frankly, after the deal I made them, I think I deserve a tour of the place."
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