The first warning came without an alarm.
It came as a tremor.
A faint vibration beneath the deck of the lead evacuation ship.
Arcturus looked up from his console.
"Did you feel that?"
A technician shook his head.
"No."
Arcturus checked the sensors.
Nothing.
For several seconds, everything remained normal.
Then every sensor on the bridge erupted at once.
Red warnings filled the displays.
The technician stared.
"Sir."
Arcturus stood.
"What?"
"We have contacts."
"How many?"
The technician swallowed.
"Thousands."
Arcturus looked at the tactical display.
Black points were appearing behind the fleet.
More appeared.
Then hundreds more.
Then thousands.
They were coming from the same direction the fleet had traveled.
The Ashen had found them.
Arcturus immediately opened the fleet-wide channel.
"All ships, this is the flagship. We have an incoming hostile force. Maintain formation. Activate defensive screens."
The response was immediate.
Across the fleet, shields came online.
The evacuation fleet consisted of hundreds of vessels.
Military ships.
Civilian transports.
Medical ships.
Supply vessels.
Everything the Empire could spare had been pressed into service.
And now all of them were carrying people who had nowhere else to go.
Arcturus stared at the growing mass of darkness.
"How did they find us?"
Asha answered from the engineering station.
"They followed the dimensional residue."
Arcturus looked toward her.
"The portal?"
"Yes."
"Can they track it?"
"Apparently."
Aurelius's voice came through the command channel.
"How long?"
Asha checked.
"Three minutes."
Aurelius was silent.
Then:
"Prepare the fleet."
Arcturus looked at the display.
"Prepare for what?"
Aurelius's voice was grim.
"To run."
The fleet accelerated.
Hundreds of ships surged forward.
The stars stretched into brilliant lines as the engines pushed toward maximum speed.
The Ashen followed.
They didn't fly like ships.
They moved like a storm.
Massive black shapes emerged from the darkness behind the fleet.
Some resembled enormous insects.
Others looked like skeletal creatures made from shadow.
Still others were little more than clouds of black energy.
They swarmed around one another as they advanced.
Aurelius watched the tactical display.
"They're gaining."
Arcturus nodded.
"By the second."
Asha looked at the energy readings.
"They're adapting to our engines."
"What does that mean?"
"They're learning our acceleration pattern."
Arcturus cursed under his breath.
The first Ashen struck.
A black mass slammed into the shields of a transport.
The ship lurched.
People were thrown against walls.
Emergency lights flashed.
The shields held.
For three seconds.
Then they failed.
The Ashen punched through the hull.
The transport's outer plating warped inward.
Aurelius watched the ship's signal disappear.
"How many?"
Arcturus checked.
"Approximately eight hundred."
Aurelius closed his eyes.
"Keep moving."
Another ship exploded.
Then another.
The fleet scattered slightly.
"Don't break formation!" Arcturus ordered.
A massive Ashen creature swept over the top of the flagship.
Its body was larger than the ship itself.
Weapons fired.
Energy bolts struck it.
The creature barely reacted.
Then something hit it.
A silver blur.
Dinraal.
He slammed into the creature at full speed.
His armor had formed around him again.
The crown remained on his head, while the Silver gauntlet covered his right hand.
His wings were enormous.
He drove his fist through the Ashen's body.
The creature split apart.
Dinraal spun through the debris.
"That one's for the colony."
Another creature came at him.
Dinraal raised his hand.
His gauntlet changed.
A massive cannon formed around his entire forearm.
The barrel was nearly as wide as his body.
He grinned.
"Oh, I like this."
The cannon fired.
A colossal silver beam erupted into space.
It struck the Ashen directly.
The creature disappeared.
The beam continued.
It tore through another.
Then another.
Then a fourth.
Dinraal stared.
"Okay."
He laughed.
"That's definitely new."
Isolde flew past him.
Her armor had formed silver wings behind her.
She was carrying what appeared to be two enormous silver blades.
She slashed through an Ashen creature.
It split apart.
Another attacked from behind.
Isolde turned.
The blade vanished.
A massive silver hammer appeared in her hands.
She swung.
The hammer struck the creature and launched it backward.
It collided with another Ashen.
Both exploded.
Dinraal laughed.
"Show-off."
Isolde looked over.
"You jealous?"
"Maybe."
She grinned.
"Good."
She accelerated.
The armor responded to her thought.
Her body became a streak of silver.
She shot directly into the center of an Ashen formation.
Then stopped.
For half a second, nothing happened.
Dinraal watched.
"Isolde?"
She raised one hand.
Thousands of silver blades appeared around her.
She smiled.
"Scatter."
The blades launched.
They didn't travel in straight lines.
They curved.
They twisted.
They split.
Every blade sought a target.
The Ashen formation was shredded.
Black fragments scattered across the void.
Dinraal stared.
"That's ridiculous."
Isolde laughed.
"Thank you."
"You know I wasn't complimenting you."
"I choose to hear it as one."
She spun.
The armor transformed again.
A massive silver bow appeared.
She drew an arrow.
The arrow became larger.
Then larger.
Then enormous.
She released it.
The projectile split into dozens of smaller arrows.
Each one struck an Ashen.
Another wave disappeared.
Isolde looked at Dinraal.
"How many was that?"
Dinraal checked the tactical display.
"Twenty-three."
She smiled.
"Twenty-four."
"One of them was already damaged."
"It still counted."
"That's cheating."
"There are no rules."
She laughed.
"Keep up."
The battle became a nightmare.
The fleet raced through space while the two Silver warriors fought behind it.
The Ashen poured forward.
Dinraal flew directly into them.
He stopped.
His armor changed.
His wings disappeared.
His body became surrounded by enormous silver plates.
Then cannons formed across his shoulders.
One.
Two.
Four.
Eight.
Sixteen.
The cannons rotated.
Dinraal smiled.
"Let's try something."
The entire battery fired.
Massive beams of Silver energy erupted into space.
The beams swept across the Ashen swarm.
Hundreds vanished.
Dinraal rotated.
The cannons followed his movement.
He turned again.
The beams carved enormous glowing paths through the darkness.
The Ashen tried to surround him.
Dinraal's armor responded.
A shield formed around him.
The shield expanded.
Then became a sphere.
Then the sphere detonated.
A shockwave of Silver energy blasted outward.
The Ashen scattered.
Dinraal looked at his hands.
"That was fun."
Asha's voice came through his communicator.
"Dinraal!"
"What?"
"Your armor just generated a weapon it shouldn't have been capable of generating."
He laughed.
"Apparently it didn't get the memo."
"Try not to destroy the fleet."
"I'll do my best."
A massive Ashen creature suddenly emerged ahead of him.
It was enormous.
Far larger than anything he had encountered.
Its body resembled a living black mountain.
Hundreds of tendrils stretched from it.
Dinraal stopped.
"Well."
The creature roared.
The sound wasn't audible in space.
But somehow Dinraal heard it.
He raised his hand.
The gauntlet transformed.
A sphere appeared.
Then another.
Then another.
Dozens of silver spheres formed around him.
They resembled enormous cannonballs.
Dinraal grinned.
"Oh, you're going to regret coming after us."
He pointed.
The cannonballs launched.
They accelerated.
The first struck the creature.
The second.
The third.
Then all the others.
Each impact exploded with enough force to send shockwaves through the creature's enormous body.
Dinraal continued firing.
The cannonballs became larger.
One was the size of a transport.
It slammed into the Ashen.
The creature bent around the impact.
Dinraal created another.
Then another.
He threw them manually.
The Silver armor amplified his strength.
He hurled one like a baseball.
It crossed thousands of meters instantly.
BOOM.
Another.
BOOM.
Another.
BOOM.
The creature finally began breaking apart.
Dinraal flew directly toward it.
His gauntlet transformed into a massive blade.
He grabbed the edge of the creature.
"You're not getting my family."
He pulled.
The Silver armor amplified the movement.
The enormous Ashen creature split in two.
Dinraal flew between the halves.
They disintegrated behind him.
He turned.
"That worked."
Isolde appeared beside him.
"I saw."
"How many did you get?"
She smiled.
"More than you."
Dinraal laughed.
"You've been keeping count?"
"Of course."
"You are unbelievable."
"Thank you."
"Again, not a compliment."
"Still taking it."
The fleet continued running.
But the Ashen kept coming.
The defensive ships turned to engage.
Imperial fighters launched.
Energy weapons fired.
Missiles streaked through space.
The Ashen tore through them.
One transport lost its engines.
Another suffered a hull breach.
A third began spinning uncontrollably.
Aurelius watched the tactical display.
"We're losing too many ships."
Arcturus nodded.
"We can't outrun them."
Aurelius looked toward the communication panel.
"Dinraal."
His voice came through.
"I'm listening."
"You and Isolde need to fall back."
Dinraal looked behind him.
Thousands of Ashen were still coming.
"No."
Aurelius frowned.
"Dinraal."
"If we fall back, they'll reach the transports."
"You can't stop all of them."
Dinraal looked toward Isolde.
She was fighting an enormous creature.
Her armor had become a pair of massive silver wings.
She spun through the creature.
A ring of blades formed around her.
Then detonated.
The creature vanished.
Dinraal smiled.
"Maybe we don't have to."
Aurelius understood.
"You're going to keep them occupied."
"Yes."
"How long?"
Dinraal looked at the swarm.
"As long as necessary."
Aurelius hesitated.
Then his voice softened.
"Come back."
Dinraal smiled.
"I will."
Isolde returned.
"Ready?"
Dinraal nodded.
"Let's finish this."
They flew directly into the Ashen.
Dinraal transformed his armor into a massive armored form.
His wings became engines.
His gauntlet became a cannon.
Then another cannon formed on his left arm.
Then four more appeared behind him.
He looked like a living warship.
"Let's see what happens if I stop being reasonable."
He fired.
Six beams erupted.
Then twelve.
Then twenty-four.
The beams intersected.
Where they crossed, explosions of Silver energy erupted.
The Ashen swarm disintegrated.
Isolde flew above him.
Her armor transformed.
A halo formed behind her.
Then another.
Then another.
Each halo generated weapons.
Thousands of them.
She smiled.
"Move."
Dinraal dove.
Isolde unleashed everything.
Silver spears rained through space.
Blades.
Arrows.
Bolts.
Explosive spheres.
Chains of energy.
Massive crescent-shaped waves.
The battlefield became a storm of Silver.
Ashen creatures were torn apart by the hundreds.
Some attempted to flee.
Isolde pursued them.
She thought of speed.
The armor obeyed.
She became almost impossible to see.
A flash.
Another.
Another.
Each flash marked another destroyed Ashen.
Dinraal watched.
"She's getting competitive."
He laughed.
Then a huge Ashen creature appeared behind him.
Dinraal turned.
The creature opened its mouth.
A beam of darkness erupted.
Dinraal raised both hands.
A wall appeared.
The beam struck.
The wall held.
Dinraal smiled.
"Nice try."
He thought of a cannon.
The armor created one.
Then he thought bigger.
The cannon expanded.
Then expanded again.
The barrel became enormous.
Dinraal stared.
"That might be excessive."
He fired.
The beam was so large it illuminated the surrounding stars.
It tore through the Ashen creature.
Then continued into the swarm behind it.
Dinraal watched the destruction.
"Definitely excessive."
He smiled.
"But effective."
Isolde suddenly appeared beside him.
"How many?"
Dinraal looked at the tactical readings.
"Three hundred and twelve."
She laughed.
"Four hundred and eighty-six."
Dinraal stared.
"You've destroyed four hundred and eighty-six?"
"Yes."
"Since we started?"
"Yes."
"How?"
She pointed toward the battlefield.
"Creativity."
Dinraal shook his head.
"You know, I'm starting to think you enjoy this."
Isolde smiled.
"Maybe a little."
She raised her hand.
A gigantic silver hammer formed.
She swung.
The hammer struck a massive Ashen creature.
It flew backward.
She changed the hammer into a spear.
Threw it.
The spear became a beam.
The beam became a net.
The net became a sphere.
The sphere collapsed.
The Ashen disappeared.
Dinraal stared.
"That doesn't even make sense."
"Neither does this armor."
"Fair."
Then the Ashen changed tactics.
The swarm stopped attacking the Silver warriors.
Instead, it moved toward the fleet.
Dinraal's smile disappeared.
"No."
He accelerated.
Isolde followed.
The Ashen began wrapping around the transports.
Dinraal opened his arms.
His armor changed.
A massive silver field appeared.
It spread across the fleet.
The Ashen slammed into it.
The field held.
But Dinraal felt the strain.
"Isolde!"
"I've got it!"
She joined her power with his.
The field doubled in strength.
Then tripled.
The Ashen pressed harder.
Dinraal's armor began glowing brighter.
Isolde's bracelets flashed.
Together, they pushed.
The Ashen was forced away.
Dinraal shouted.
"Get away from them!"
A massive shockwave exploded outward.
Thousands of Ashen were thrown backward.
The fleet continued accelerating.
Arcturus watched the distance increase.
"We're pulling away."
Aurelius looked toward the battlefield.
"How far?"
"Enough."
Aurelius opened the channel.
"Dinraal. Isolde. Fall back."
Dinraal looked at Isolde.
She nodded.
"One last attack?"
"One last attack."
They turned toward the remaining Ashen.
Dinraal's armor transformed.
A colossal beam cannon formed over his shoulder.
Isolde's armor created thousands of blades.
Dinraal fired.
Isolde released her blades.
The beam and the blades moved together.
The blades entered the beam.
Each one became charged with Silver energy.
The beam split into thousands of smaller beams.
Every beam struck an Ashen.
The battlefield erupted.
Silver light swallowed the darkness.
When it faded—
nothing remained.
Dinraal hovered in silence.
Isolde floated beside him.
She looked around.
"No more."
Dinraal checked.
"None."
He looked toward the distant fleet.
"Let's go home."
The two flew back toward the ships.
As they approached, their armor began changing.
The enormous wings dissolved.
The weapons disappeared.
The silver plates flowed backward.
The armor condensed into simpler forms.
Dinraal's crown appeared first.
Then his Silver gauntlet.
Isolde's armor dissolved into light.
The bracelets formed around her wrists.
They entered the flagship.
The hangar erupted into cheers.
People crowded the observation areas.
Some survivors recognized them.
"The Silver!"
"The Last Silver!"
"They saved us!"
Dinraal looked uncomfortable.
Isolde, however, smiled.
She raised one hand.
"You're welcome."
Dinraal laughed.
"You really are enjoying this."
"Absolutely."
They walked toward the command deck.
Aurelius was waiting.
He looked at them.
"Are you two all right?"
Dinraal nodded.
"Fine."
Isolde smiled.
"Never better."
Aurelius looked at their equipment.
"The armor?"
"Still here," Dinraal said.
Aurelius nodded.
"Good."
Then Tiamat approached.
She hugged Dinraal.
"You scared me."
Dinraal smiled.
"I'm sorry."
She pulled away.
"I don't want apologies."
She looked at the fleet behind them.
"I want you alive."
Dinraal nodded.
Rhiannon approached Isolde.
She looked her daughter up and down.
"Are you hurt?"
"No."
"Certain?"
"Completely."
Rhiannon sighed with relief.
Then Tiamat glanced at the tactical display.
"How many did you destroy?"
Dinraal looked at Isolde.
She immediately smiled.
"I destroyed five thousand, four hundred and three."
Tiamat blinked.
"Almost fifty-five hundred?"
Isolde nodded proudly.
Rhiannon laughed.
"How many did Dinraal destroy?"
Dinraal looked away.
"Less."
Tiamat smiled.
"How much less?"
"Several."
Isolde interrupted.
"Five thousand and seventy."
Rhiannon stared at her daughter.
"You killed more than Dinraal?"
Isolde's smile became enormous.
"Yes."
Dinraal shook his head.
"She's been keeping score."
"Because I won."
"You were counting damaged targets."
"Still counted."
Tiamat laughed.
Rhiannon put an arm around Isolde.
"I'm proud of you."
Dinraal looked at them.
"You're encouraging her."
"Yes."
"Why?"
Rhiannon smiled.
"Because she's my daughter."
Isolde grinned.
"Exactly."
Dinraal sighed.
"Wonderful."
Aurelius finally laughed.
For a few moments, the war disappeared.
The fleet was damaged.
Thousands of people were still frightened.
They had lost ships.
They had lost lives.
The Ashen were still somewhere behind them.
But they had survived.
And more importantly—
they had proven something.
The Ashen could be stopped.
Not permanently.
Not yet.
But stopped.
Aurelius looked through the observation window.
The stars stretched endlessly ahead.
"We need to reach the new system."
Arcturus nodded.
"Then we need to find it."
Asha brought up the navigational data.
"We have several candidate systems."
Aurelius looked toward Dinraal and Isolde.
"Then let's choose one."
Dinraal glanced at Isolde.
She squeezed his hand.
A new home.
A new civilization.
A future they could build together.
Behind them, the darkness followed.
Ahead of them waited an unknown star system.
And between those two things stood the fleet.
Hundreds of ships.
Hundreds of thousands of survivors.
Humans.
Dragons.
Succubi.
And countless other peoples who had finally begun to understand that survival would require them to stand together.
Dinraal looked at the stars.
"We're going to need a name."
Isolde smiled.
"For the new home?"
"Yes."
She thought for a moment.
"Something that means beginning again."
Dinraal nodded.
"I like that."
Tiamat overheard them.
"So do I."
Rhiannon smiled.
Aurelius turned from the window.
"Then we'll decide when we find it."
The fleet continued into the darkness.
And for the first time, the darkness was behind them.
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!
Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter