Triple X System

The maintenance level still smelled of scorched synth-marble and blood.

Troy didn’t wait for Kyle to wipe his mouth. Two of the royal guard dropped down through the hole in the floor, grabbed Kyle’s arms, and hauled him up. Not rough, but not gentle either.

"Enough." Troy said again, voice flat. "Both of you. Cleaning up. Now."

Koyuki stepped back, adjusting her torn coat with a sigh, the teal glow in her cuffs already dead. She didn’t look at Kyle. She didn’t need to. The point was made.

Kyle flexed his jaw, tasting copper. He wanted to keep going. But Troy’s word was law in this hall, and he knew better than to test it twice in one day.

---

Two hours later. War Room, Royal Citadel

The long obsidian table gleamed under cold white light. Holograms of orbital scans and terrain maps hovered above it, rotating slowly.

Fourteen generals sat around it. No empty seats.

Commander Wheeler and Commander Ona. Both stood behind Troy at the head of the table. Wheeler, short and broad, arms crossed, scar running down his left cheek. Ona, Troy’s right hand, lean and sharp-eyed, orange hair pulled back tight. She hadn’t blinked since Kyle walked in.

Kyle stood off to the side, arms crossed, still in his torn jacket. His healing was fast, but the bruises hadn’t faded yet.

Troy sat down. The room went silent.

"Let’s start." Troy said. "Kyle. Sit."

Kyle didn’t move. "Where’s Lumia?"

The temperature in the room dropped ten degrees.

Troy’s eyes didn’t leave him. "None of your business."

Kyle’s jaw tightened. "She was with me when I got dragged here. If you took her~"

"She’s not dead." Ona cut in, voice cold. "If she was, you’d know. Sit down, demon. This isn’t a negotiation."

Kyle stared at her for a long second. Then he pulled out a chair and sat.

Troy nodded once. "Good. Now we talk about Kraken."

The hologram above the table shifted. A planet appeared. Heart-shaped, deep red, swirling with black storms.

"Planet Kraken."

Reze stepped forward. She hadn’t spoken since the meeting started, but the moment she moved, every general straightened. Brilliant and lead scientist of the kingdom. Muted teal scholar’s coat, wide sleeves, circuit patterns along the cuffs. Reading lenses folded into her collar. She looked like a professor who’d just stepped out of a battlefield lab.

"Planet Kraken." Reze began, voice calm, clinical. "Atmosphere is 78% corrosive sulfur compounds, 12% unknown particulates, 10% breathable only with filtration. Air is lethal to unmodified humans in under four minutes."

She tapped the hologram. The planet split open, showing layers of crust.

"Kraken’s core emits dark energy. Constant output. Anyone who stays on the surface longer than fourteen days without specialized shielding begins mutating. First stage: aggression, enhanced strength, loss of higher cognitive function. Second stage: physical transformation. Claws, bone plating, loss of humanoid structure. Third stage: what we call ’devilish transformation.’ No longer human. No longer controllable. We lost three battalions testing that."

Mei Kusakabe exhaled through her nose. "Charming."

Reze ignored her. "Our objective is simple. Locate and extract three resources."

"First is Krakite alloy. A self-repairing metal found in the planet’s mantle. We need it to rebuild the outer walls and reinforce the citadel after the Dargon’s attack." The image on the screen shifted into a visual feed of the krakite alloy.

It looked like a dull gunmetal grey with crimson veins running through it, like dried blood under stone. Under a light, the veins pulse faintly. That’s the residual dark energy trapped in the lattice.

"Second is Void Silica." The screen shifted once more to another image.

Looking at it, Kyle could see it was translucent, smoky black shards that look like shattered glass.

When mana flows through it, the interior lights up with faint violet fractures,

like lightning trapped in glass.

"And why exactly do we need Void silica? We already have some and it’s not like we’re in dire need with the addition of both new awakener and double ability users." Takumi asked with disinterest in his tone.

"We need it to stabilize mana conduits. Rebuilding mana farms and stabilizing the citadel’s core reactor. Fabricating Aegis-V suit cores for dark energy shielding. Dampening mana fluctuations in conduits to prevent surges that burn out generators and mages. Filtering low-level dark energy bleed to slow corruption and mutation" She paused, eyes locked onto the cocky male.

"Or would you rather cause an outbreak of unknown energy into the kingdom?" She questioned with a wide smile, that spoke otherwise.

"So they matter together because Krakite is the skeleton and armor. Void Silica is the nervous system?" Troy chipped in, earning a nod from Reze.

"Krakite rebuilds the physical infrastructure with self-repairing, corrosion-resistant,

mana-conductive plating. Void Silica makes that infrastructure function by stabilizing

mana flow, filtering dark energy, and powering the Aegis-V suits.

Get both, and the kingdom can start producing mana again in under 3 months.

Fail, and the lockdown becomes permanent. And the awakeners in get culled." She let out a sly smile directed to Kyle, gripping the tab firmly in her hand.

"Third is Luminara plant." Her eyes flicked to Kyle.

"Luminara is a glass-like clover flower. Bioluminescent. Grows only in Kraken’s deepest caverns, where dark energy is strongest. Properties are unknown, but preliminary scans show it emits a resonance that neutralizes corrupted cellular decay. In plain terms: it heals what nothing else can."

Kyle sat forward. "Falcon."

Reze nodded. "Your friend. The fox woman. Her condition is beyond our current medical tech. Luminara is the only thing on record that might reverse it. If it exists."

Kyle leaned back, arms crossing again. "So I get the plant. You get the alloy and silica."

Troy’s mouth twitched. "Correct."

Yumi Watanabe frowned. "And what stops him from taking the plant and running?"

Kyle looked at her. "Nothing. Except I don’t run from a fight I can win."

Yumi didn’t look convinced.

Reze continued before it escalated. "Which brings us to the suits."

A new hologram appeared. Sleek, matte black bodysuits with teal luminescent lines running along the joints and spine. Helmets with polarized visors.

"Aegis-V suits. Designed specifically for Kraken’s environment. Multi-layer filtration, thermal regulation, and dark energy shielding. Powered by mana stones." A proud smirk lingered on her face, highlighting her egotistic nature.

She then paused. Her expression didn’t change, but her voice went flat.

"Mana stones are low. The Dargon’s invasion drained 80% of our reserves. Each suit has enough charge for seventy-two hours of continuous operation. After that, the shielding fails. You have three days on the surface. No more."

Takumi Hoshino whistled low. "Seventy-two hours. On a planet that mutates you in fourteen days. Tight."

"Which is why we’re not sending a battalion." Reze said. "We’re sending a strike team. Eight people. Minimal footprint, maximum efficiency."

"Koyuki Shiraishi – lead extraction. Her suit’s thrusters make her the fastest in low-gravity, high-corrosion environments." Reze gestured to which Koyuki gave a slight nod.

The cocky scientist gaze then shifted to Kyle, with a light frown etched at the corner of her lips. Still haven’t forgotten the crime he committed against her creation.

"Kyle Connor – security and retrieval. His strength and durability are needed for the caverns."

"Cold, weren’t we bonding a while back?" Kyle teased but only received a death glare from Reze.

"Takumi Hoshino." She continued. "Field engineer. If the suits fail, he fixes them." She said, nodding towards takumi whom replied back with a slight chuckle.

"Mei Kusakabe, data and navigation."

"Ryoma Tachibana, command and negotiation. In case we find survivors."

"Daiki Aoyama, medical."

"Hayato Saito, perimeter security."

"Sakura Nakahara, logistics and resource handling."

The rest of the generals were assigned to hold the kingdom and prep for extraction.

"Any questions?" Reze asked.

"Yeah~" Kyle said. "Mana stones are low. What happens if one of us runs out mid-mission?"

Reze met his gaze. "You die. Or you mutate. Your choice."

The room went quiet.

Troy spoke up. "Which is why the mission is non-negotiable. The Dargon’s attack destroyed our mana farms. Without Krakite alloy and Void Silica, we can’t rebuild them. Without Luminara, your friend dies. We all lose if this fails."

Koyuki tapped her fingers on the table. "What about the lockdown?"

Troy’s expression darkened. "Two weeks. Since the Dragon’s attack, the kingdom’s been on full lockdown. No one in or out. The surviving awakeners are being held in Sector 9."

"Control tactics?" Mei asked.

Ona answered this time. "Suppression collars. Mana dampeners. Mandatory curfew. Any awakener showing signs of instability is sedated and moved to containment. It’s working. For now."

Yumi nodded slowly. "And if it stops working?"

"Then we cull them." Wheeler said from behind Troy. First time he’d spoken. His voice was like gravel.

Kyle’s eyes snapped to him. "You touch Falcon, I’ll kill you."

Wheeler just smiled.

Troy raised a hand. "Enough. The lockdown stays until we secure more mana. Once we have the Krakite alloy, we can rebuild the farms. Until then, control is priority."

The briefing went on for another hour. Supply routes, drop points, emergency protocols. Reze went over suit limitations again. Mana drain increased with movement, combat, and exposure to dark energy. One suit could last five days if the wearer stayed still. Two days if they fought.

Kyle listened. He didn’t interrupt again.

When Reze finished, Troy leaned back.

"Anything else?"

Kyle stood up.

"I want to see my parents."

The room went silent again.

Troy studied him for a long moment. Then he nodded to Ona.

"Take him."

Ona didn’t hesitate. She stood, gestured to Kyle. "Follow me."

They left the war room in silence. Wheeler stayed behind, watching Kyle’s back like he was waiting for him to run.

---

Underground Facility. Sector 0.

The elevator dropped for two minutes straight. No windows. Just cold metal and the sound of cables humming.

When the doors opened, the air was different. Cleaner. Sterile.

Ona led him down a white corridor lined with reinforced doors. Each one had a small glass panel. Behind them, people lay in beds, hooked to machines, faces pale.

"Awakeners." Ona said. "Too unstable for Sector 9. Too valuable to kill."

Kyle didn’t respond. He was looking for two names.

Ona stopped at the last door.

"Room 14."

She opened it.

Inside, two people lay in light comas. Machines beeped softly. IV lines ran into their arms. Oxygen masks covered their faces.

Kyle’s mother. His father.

Both older than he remembered. Wrinkles deeper. Hair grayer. But alive.

"They were lucky to make it out alive after such deadly attack." Ona said quietly. "Three days after the Dargon’s attack. We stabilized them. They’ve been responding to treatment for the last week."

Kyle stepped forward, hands shaking. He reached out, but didn’t touch the glass.

"They’re in a light coma," Ona continued. "They can hear you. Sometimes their vitals spike when we play recordings of your voice."

Kyle swallowed hard. "Will they wake up?"

"With the right treatment? Yes." Ona’s voice softened, just slightly. "Luminara would help. That’s why Troy’s letting you go to Kraken. Not because he trusts you."

Kyle looked at her. "Because he needs me."

"Because he needs the plant." She corrected. "Don’t confuse the two."

Kyle nodded. He didn’t say anything for a long time. Just stood there, watching his parents breathe.

Finally, he spoke.

"How long do they have?"

Ona hesitated. "Two months. Maybe three. Without Luminara."

Kyle closed his eyes.

"Then I’m not failing."

He turned and walked out.

Ona followed.

Behind them, in Room 14, a machine beeped once. A finger twitched under the blanket.

---

Back in the war room, Troy was still sitting at the head of the table.

"Mission launches in forty-eight hours." He motioned. "Get ready."

None of the generals argued.

Outside, the kingdom remained locked down. And on the edge of the galaxy, a red heart-shaped planet waited.

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