"What is she doing?!" General Vega yelled over the roaring sound of the magic. "She is extending the operational window," Oliver stated cleanly. He stared at her glowing back. "But she is burning her core energy. Her physical projection is degrading."Oliver walked up behind Lira. He stood close to the bright, hot shield. He looked at her arms. The bright silver light of her dress was slowly turning transparent again. Her fingers were fading into mist. She was sacrificing her own existence to hold the darkness back. "Your energy reserves are dropping," Oliver said to her. His voice was completely flat, but his human gray eye watched her intently. "If you continue this output, your consciousness will be permanently deleted."Lira turned her head slightly. She smiled a very sad, warm smile at the terrifying, half-metal Commander. "I know, Oliver," Lira whispered. "But the people need time to board the ship. The Ark needs time to warm its engines. I will buy you that time.""Your kno

The lasers did not burn them. The bright plasma passed straight through the smoky bodies of the monsters. The true Wraithborn were ethereal. They were not solid. A shadowy monster flew right through a blue laser. It swept its smoky claws across a human soldier’s chest. The soldier did not bleed. He simply froze, his eyes wide in terror, and collapsed to the floor. The monster had ripped the warmth and life straight out of his body. "Our guns don't work!" Davis panicked, backing away. "They are ghosts!""Energy weapons are ineffective against non-solid matter," Oliver observed calmly. He stood at the bottom of the ramp, placing his body between the civilians and the approaching shadows. "Get everyone inside," Oliver told Miller. "Close the doors when the last civilian crosses the line.""Commander, you can't fight ghosts!" Miller cried. Oliver did not reply. He raised his right arm. He understood the nature of the enemy. Standard human science could not touch them. But Oliver was

Billy ripped the battery pack out of his plasma rifle. He held the glowing blue battery in his bare hand. "Boss! Tell them to close their eyes!" Billy screamed. "Close your eyes!" Oliver ordered. The squad shut their eyes tight. Billy took his heavy combat knife and smashed it against the side of the battery. The battery overloaded. It exploded in a blinding, brilliant flash of pure white light. It was a perfect flashbang. The intense, sudden light burned the shadows. The Wraithborn shrieked in terrible pain. Dozens of the smoky monsters evaporated instantly in the bright flash. The squad opened their eyes. The front line of the enemy was completely gone. "Good work, Specialist," Oliver noted. But the dark tunnel was endless. Hundreds more shadows poured out, replacing the dead ones. They swarmed over the white stone docks. Rax roared and swung his massive bone sword. The giant weapon sliced through the air, carrying the heavy magic of the deep earth. The blade cut three shado

The silver Ark and the heavy metal barges fell through the burning air. Thick, black water from the underground river rained down with them. The heat at the bottom of the abyss was absolute. The metal hull of the Ark groaned and popped as the temperature skyrocketed. Commander Oliver stood at the front window of the falling ship. He stared straight down. Waiting directly beneath the waterfall was a colossal monster. It was built of blinding, white-hot plasma. Thick, rusted black chains wrapped tightly around its glowing body, holding the burning energy together. The beast raised its massive hands to catch the falling fleet. It wanted to crush the ships into tiny pieces of melted scrap. "We are going to hit it!" Billy screamed. He gripped his pilot’s chair. His knuckles were totally white. "Boss, it is too big! We cannot steer away!"Oliver did not blink. He observed the giant creature. His mind processed the threat with cold, flawless speed. He looked at the white plasma. He looke

Oliver drew his knife. He walked toward the monsters. The boat shook violently, but his balance was flawless. The first monster lunged. Oliver sidestepped, grabbed its neck with his black metal right hand, and crushed its throat. He threw the dying beast into the rushing river. He ducked under the swinging claws of the second monster. He kicked its knee, snapping the joint, and stabbed it in the chest. The last two monsters attacked together. Oliver did not back away. He fed a tiny spark of dark magic into his metal fist. He punched the third monster so hard its head shattered into dust. He spun around and drove his knife into the final monster's skull. The roof was clear. But the danger was not over. The barge was still swinging outward. The sharp, jagged black rocks of the canyon wall were only twenty feet away. Ten feet. "Pull the cable!" Oliver shouted into his radio. On the Ark, Rax pulled the steel cable with all his massive strength. But the water was too fast. The heavy