Chapter 61
Sixty-One
As Armienti approached planet One in the beginning of Universe 24, his stomach fastened itself into a hard knot. The stars ended and darkness followed from there on out, consuming his ship in shadows. He shivered, rubbing his hands against his arms. What was he in for? He didn’t remember Universe 24 being this cold.
The brief glacial spell was followed by an intense sweltering heat. Four suns surrounded the gigantic lush green planet. He descended through the rainbow atmosphere at top speed before soaring through the emerald sky and landing in a tangle of jungle weeds.
He sat for a moment in silence, listening to the sound of his own heartbeat. The ship stilled. He had to get this right. There was no room for error.
He only had one chance to succeed or die . Autumn was worth the risk and so much more.
His fingers slid over his harness, unbuckling his restraints. He came to a stand.
He planned to travel to the Palace of Despair and request an audience with the Grand Supreme. It was there he’d make his case for Autumn’s father’s freedom.
Everything would be perfect, or at least he assured himself.
As the door of his vessel opened, he squinted as the rays from the suns shone into his eyes. He didn’t remember planet One being this bright. He didn’t remember any of this. Had he ever been here, or was it a place that’d only existed in his nightmares?
He inhaled, but as soon as the oxygen entered his lungs a wave of sickness wracked his insides. Armienti fell onto his knees and threw up in the mud. The putrid smell of rotting corpses and warm blood filled the air. Displaced whispers of laughter swept through the tangle of swaying trees. Even the foliage mocked him.
He pushed himself to a stand. Not a problem , he assured himself. He went back inside and grabbed his helmet, placing it onto his head, tucking his golden hair away. He regulated the oxygen levels and blocked out the scent of death. Thank goodness.
These disgusting cannibals wouldn’t stop him from completing his mission.
Sweat stained his back and pits as he made his way through the jungle one pace at a time. He stepped over the occasional half-eaten body and decapitated head, but he didn’t let fear stop him. Nothing could stop him.
Autumn was counting on him. The fear of losing her again kept him motivated like no other.
In the distance sat the monstrous palace that nobody dared enter. Those who ventured inside came out different . They were never the same again.
The Palace of Despair was what nightmares were made of. They lived there but never escaped.
When Dante stepped out of Emperor Brumha’s ship, the sun rose in the sky. Pink and golden rays of twilight sparkled over the metropolis ruins. Valdez had done a number on this planet. Her handiwork made his molars clench. He was frustrated he was left to clean up another one of her messes.
Fortunately, it was for the last time.
When he passed through a formation of Zambarian soldiers who cleared the way for him, he spotted Luz standing with her family. Her children rough-housed and played, giggling in the morning light.
Her eyes lit up when she beheld him, and she approached him one graceful step at a time. Her light-gray tunic swept across the rubble ground. The pointed tips of her ears peaked from beneath her dark cascading hair.
“I’m glad to see you’re doing well,” her eyes brightened like two shooting stars. A cordial smile flashed across her green lips. “The gods have been kind.”
“They have,” he admitted, staring down at her a foot below his chin. “But I must be on my way. My wife is counting on me.”
“Wait,” she dug deep inside her pocket and pulled out two blue metal vials of liquid that glittered in her hand. She placed them in his palm.
He scanned the containers. “What are these?”
“It’s what she was after. I discovered them on her person. It’s liquid from our sacred stream—she drained the contents for her own selfish gain.”
“Immortality?” He recalled Valdez’s words to him, his eyes widened with fascination as he examined the bottles.
“No. Instant rejuvenation. You had one life—now you have two.”
Dante placed the containers into the pocket of his Zambarian uniform. “Thank you.”
She bowed and returned to her family. He made a mental note to send reinforcements to help rebuild the planet once this ordeal was done and over with. It was the least he could do.
He stood there for a moment in disbelief he was thinking about helping someone other than himself with no gain involved. What was happening to him? He truly was soft. He must’ve been closer to death than he thought. Or else, Autumn had rubbed off on him.
For better or for worse. His lips curved then flattened. How he missed her.
He took flight, soaring over the ruins. Wind whipped through the strands of his raven hair. A glimmer of obsidian caught his attention in the distance. The arrogant murderess didn’t bother to conceal her own ship. His lips flickered with amusement. What a fool.
Dante descended from the sky feet first, landing on the roof of the vessel. Taking his fist, he struck the top of the angular spacecraft creating a large enough crater to climb through.
He lowered himself inside and scanned his surroundings. All was still and quiet. Valdez’s Zexian crew must’ve made a run for it after her demise. All that remained of them was tattered uniforms and half-melted helmets. Freeze-dried food crumbled across the silver metallic tiles of the floor.
He sauntered through the long hollow stretch of steel. The lights flickered above his head as if her ship was somehow drained of its power. His eyes rolled at the makeshift throne and dais she’d erected. It was so like her to create something that ridiculous to stroke her own ego.
When he went to pass through the room, his navy boot collided with a projector unit on the floor. A hologram swirled before his eyes of Autumn being dragged inside by soldiers and thrown before Valdez’s gilded boots when she was first kidnapped from Surge and transported to Planet First. The fear in her eyes, combined with her weakened state, was more than he could bear. He should’ve known better. He should’ve been there to protect her. But he failed, all because he was scared.
He wouldn’t fail her again.
His blood boiled with rage as he witnessed the abuse she suffered first-hand. A shadow of gold crossed the hologram. Armienti stood in the corner and made nothing but pathetic excuses, trying to weasel his way out of the situation.
When he found him, he was as good as dead. He closed his eyes, envisioning punching him in his pretty face. But more so Dante was frustrated because at one point in time, he behaved like Valdez. He never wanted to act like her again. He turned off the projector, shaking with fury, and continued on his way to the control room. He didn’t have time to waste.
Dante arrived at the cockpit, searching for signs of military secrets and blueprints for weapons. They had to be around here somewhere. He hit gauges, buttons, and switches but to no avail. He swept the room, probing through crevices and pockets in the ceiling. He lifted tiles from the floor, peeking underneath.
Where could the information be? It had to be around here somewhere.
Still furious from his earlier discovery, he slammed his knuckles into the back of the pilot’s seat. The arm bent, colliding with the dashboard and turning on a radar. A drawer opened, and out popped a series of silver crystal data chips. His mouth flickered, then coiled as he palmed what he was looking for, placing the chips in his pocket. It was his lucky day.
Excellent, he rubbed his hands together.
In a heartbeat, his excitement shifted. A wave of pure panic whipped through his body. His eyes widened, limbs going numb. No, no, no, it couldn’t be. Dizziness overtook him. Sweat stained his brow.
A radar flashed displaying vessels shifting from invisible mode, swarming together like insects. Thousands upon thousands of ships gathered in the lower universes, surrounding his home planet. A massive ship, sweeping shadows through the galaxy, led the way.
Universe 13 was under attack. The Grand Supreme had outsmarted him.
“You fell for our little diversion, foolish emperor,” the heat of a blaster scalded his right temple. He turned and stared into the black lifeless eyes of one of Valdez’s Zexian soldiers. His powered wings twitched high on his back as his long bony finger hovered over the trigger. His bald head cocked to the side, neck cracking. “She knew you couldn’t resist a fight. She knew you’d come for her. And she was correct. Long live?—”
“She’s dead, and so are you,” he spat.
The Zexian’s eyes widened. Dante crackled a swirling ball of fire in his palm before he could push the trigger. A radiant stream of light passed through his hand, cutting clear through the soldier’s chest cavity. The blaster melted. He stumbled over his own two feet and landed onto his back, unable to rise.
The soldier wheezed, taking an unsteady breath. “You don’t stand a chance against the Grand Supreme. He’s been undefeated for centuries.”
He sent a second fiery ball his way. The Zexian fell back as the flame ripped through his body.
The Zexian’s entire form shuddered. His white, cracked lips curved into a smile. “By now I’m sure he’s close to achieving immortality. You’re wasting time.”
Dante’s eyes bulged in his skull. “What do you mean?”
The soldier’s mouth continued to move before he succumbed to death, eyes rolling back in his head. His body stilled.
Dante leapt over him and raced out of the room in a frenzy. He had to get back home at once. Everyone he knew and loved faced extermination, and it was all because of his stupidity. If he hadn’t been so hell bent on revenge, he would’ve picked up on the legion traveling through to the lower universes. He could’ve been better prepared.
He could’ve stopped him. How he hoped the Grand Supreme wasn’t immortal, or he was going to have bigger problems than he could ever possibly imagined.