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A pair of Ssisigan warrior guards entered the warehouse, eyes scanning the shadows.

Ki’Remi pressed himself against a wall, melding his presence into the background as their boots echoed over the polished obsidian floors.

‘The battle-gods are restless,’ one muttered, voice carrying the weight of unease. ‘Ssigard is lost.’

‘Who will take his place?’ the other replied. ‘Those loyal to Sulfiqar do not yet realize the extent of the coming retribution.’

The Sableman clenched his jaw.

So, the battle deities were stirring, jostling for power. The issue was who would be the victims of their unrest.

One of the guards hesitated, his gaze sweeping the location where Ki’Remi stood, stealthed.

His instincts prickled, sensing something beyond perception.

In milliseconds, he raised his weapon, aimed and fired.

The power blast cut through the space inches from Ki’Remi’s head.

He cursed and moved, flitting through the shadows, dodging their aim with inhuman reflexes.

Go, Mirage urged him.I’ll send a flood of metanoids to erase your sigil and instead ID you as a local Sedevan dissenter.

He raced for the exit.

The enraged celestial sentinels blasted again, their shots carving through crates, sending sparks showering through the dim area.

However, he was faster.

With a burst of thruster energy, he shot upward, twisting midair, maneuvering between towering war mechs before vanishing into the rafters.

Once outside, he raced skyward, rocketing out of the armory’s perimeter.

He didn’t stop ascending, streaking fast and far beyond the divine sentries’ watchful eyes and reach.

Not until the floating spires of Sivania were distant gleams in the dark did he pause, crouching on a darkened rooftop.

‘Got it all?’ he rasped.

Mirage’s drawled into his node a second later, crisp and laced with satisfaction.

‘I did,’ she purred. ‘You’ve outdone yourself, Sable. The data I mined and stripped is substantial.I’m scanning now to determine the threat level.’

Ki’Remi took a series of flying leaps, landing on the terrace of his and Issa’s temporary chambers.

His meta armor peeled from his body like a liquid shadow.

As soon as the night’s cool air hit his skin, he stretched, his muscles stiff, his mind still racing.

‘How bad?’ he muttered.

Mirage exhaled. ‘Oh, darling. It’s worse than bad. The Sacrans aren’t just sitting on a treasure trove of firepower. They’re planning a freakin’ monumental assault.’

Ki’Remi’s lips pressed into a thin line.

For the first time in years, since the nuclear wars on Earth and the fall of human civilization, his spirit suffused with an existentialist dread.

‘Against whom, though? Is this a civil war or one that will spill out into Pegasi?’