He swung the massive axe in a full-body rotation, generating a prismatic wave of destruction that smashed through the God-King’s shoulder.
The arc of energy was so potent it sheared the top of a distant lunar ridge, sending a cascade of rock into the void.
Idan stepped into the void and drove theCaelum-Sundererthrough the center of the swirling vortex, where he sensed his father’s heart.
The edge met resistance, the dense, pressurized essence of a god, then slid home.
Aureate, viscous blood erupted from the wound, boiling in the emptiness and spraying the astral dust in gruesome gore.
Sulfiqar, the supposed indestructible architect of their misery, collapsed into his humanoid form.
He hit the silt with a heavy, ungraceful thud, his face contorted in a mask of genuine, agonized disbelief as he clutched at the gaping ruin of his chest.
Sulfiqar’s physical appearance flickered like a dying star, hemorrhaging aurous ichor into the lunar sediment.
He surged from the ground, his fractured silhouette igniting with a desperate, violet radiation that scorched the vacuum.
A roar of static erupted across the psionic bands as the God-King turned his gaze toward the distant, shimmering dome over Eden II.
‘You think your puny attempts can end me, the architect of your existence?’
Sulfiqar’s bellow echoed through the emptiness surrounding them. ‘Perhaps if I burn your precious city sanctuary and all you claim to love to the bedrock, you will heed my command. I will cinder your women and turn that den of mortals into a monument of ash!’
He leaped into the sky with his remaining power, reaching the upper thermo-sphere.
With a fling of his arms, he launched a surge of energy at Eden II’s protective dome, his rage morphing into a terminal, genocidal spite.
Still, the force stuttered, and Sulfiqar seemed to stagger as his power bled away. This meant the wave was not as potent as it might have been.
However, the unleashed, massive wavefront of roiling indigo force was still a celestial tsunami with the force to shatter the vault, flatten Eden City, and incinerate every beating heart within.
The two brothers locked eyes and launched themselves into the cockpit of theXáashìi.
Molan’s fingers flew across the haptic interface of the console as the engines roared into life.
Beside him, Idan’s face was a mask of chiseled obsidian, his hands gripping onto the primary weapon systems.
A cold iron band of terror seized Idan’s chest for the woman he loved and her family. Hell, for all Edenites who were at his juncture unaware that a vengeful, rage-filled deity had unleashed the ultimate retribution.
‘Zane! Kainan! Sulfiqar is going after the dome!’ Molan growled as he linked into the Sable network. ‘The lunatic is launching a terminal-level energy wave right at you. Given Sulfiqar’s injuries, it’s moving slower than usual, but you’ll need to intercept the pulse or the city is gone!’
The brothers pushed the skiff to its absolute threshold, the hull groaning as they hit the maximum speeds in a friction-heated blur.
Idan kept his eyes on the sensor display as the violet wall of vigor roiled closer to the metropolis.
He poured every ounce of his own Sacran reserve into the ship’s thrusters and sent a silent prayer to the dark heavens.
Hoping to reach his woman and save Eden II before the God-King’s tantrum erased this world.
The twin suns of Alpheratz dominated the midday sky, burning through the atmosphere until the glass skyscrapers of Eden II resembled glowing neon bars.
Down in the Central City District, the streets buzzed with the usual lunchtime hustle; people crowded the plazas, the street cafes did a brisk service, and the ice cream carts were almost selling out.
Sheba stood in the lobby of the Joint Pegasi Hospital Administration Complex at One Seven One Liberty Avenue, smoothing her blazer and checking her hair.
Her thoughts strayed to Idan, wondering how he was doing, meeting his father on the desert sands beyond the metropolis.
She whispered a quick prayer for he and Molan’s safety, calling on the guardian spirit of Dunia to watch over them.
