The wasteland of Darkmoon Star stretched out forever, or at least it felt that way. A bruised sky hung over miles of burned earth, the scars of old battles etched into the ground like reminders no one asked for. Dust curled around two massive machines trudging across the plains. One was the Reaper Unit, tall and dark and sharp-edged enough to make the earth vibrate. The other was the Bear Warrior Unit, broader and heavier, almost lumbering, like a steel creature that didn’t care what got in its way.Inside the Reaper, Kael Ardyn had both hands on the controls. The only light on his face came from the shifting holograms around him. Big Bear’s voice rumbled through the comms while he maneuvered his mech beside Kael, the engine growling like an angry beast. In the small cargo cabin built into the Reaper’s chest, the Dissection Woman sat curled up with a stone statue held tightly to her chest. Her expression, usually unreadable, now seemed worn down, as if exhaustion had carved faint shad

Big Bear’s mech shuddered with excitement, almost like it could feel the thrill itself. “We did it! There really is a Queen Bug at that spot. Vice-Captain Kael… you’re insane!”Kael Ardyn couldn’t help but grin. He’d trusted the War God System from the start, but seeing the coordinates come alive in reality was something else entirely. It made his chest tighten with exhilaration.A voice cut into his mind, calm, almost teasing in its certainty. Lyndric Fayne, the War God System agent.“Congratulations, Host. Lone Hero mission, initial completion unlocked. One-third of the Queen Bugs in the first large Voidspawn nest have been eliminated. You have seventy-two cosmic hours to continue tracking the remaining Queen Bugs and increase mission completion, or submit now to claim your reward.”Kael’s pulse jumped. The coordinates were ridiculously precise. The Queen Bug practically fell into his hands. Kill it, finish the mission, grab the reward. Easier than anything he’d faced since getting

The missile swarm skimmed the ocean, leaving brief ripples in its wake, before plunging into the rolling waves with a sharp hiss. Moments later, the sea erupted in deafening blasts. Water exploded upward, glowing with flashes of fiery light beneath the surface. Boom. Boom. The waves churned violently, and dozens of amphibious Voidspawn were shredded by the explosions. Green blood clouded the water, swirling like ink caught in a current.Beneath the surface, the Dissection Woman moved with feral precision. Her berserk form made every motion almost too fast to track. Muscles rippled, limbs twisted, and she flowed through the water like a living predator. Voidspawn attacked from every direction, claws slashing, jaws snapping, yet she evaded, dodging and weaving with lethal efficiency. One grabbed her leg, and she twisted, biting hard into its throat. Fangs sank deep, blood gushed, and her wounds healed almost instantly. Each kill made her stronger. Each drop of blood she absorbe

Kael Ardyn felt it first as a sharp, white-hot pain stabbing through his skull. It wasn’t just a headache or a surge of energy—it felt as if someone had thrust a jagged bolt of lightning into his brain and then twisted it. He gasped, clutching the side of the Reaper-5’s cockpit, breathing shallowly as the sensation surged, stretched, and then settled into something deeper, heavier, and infinitely older.The battlefield outside flickered in clarity. Colors became sharper. Shadows of the dying sun reflected on the waves and wreckage. The hum of the Reaper-5 thrummed like a heartbeat, steady and unnatural.And then it came: that cold, almost mechanical presence he had encountered before. He knew it. Not consciously, not like a thought, but somewhere deeper—in the places in the brain where instinct and memory tangled.It reminded him of the first time he had unlocked the Mental Command Technique. That same rush of knowledge. Symbols and glyphs of bone and blood etched themselves into his

After vomiting, the Bear clambered back into the compartment of his Bear Warrior mech. The metallic scent of his armor mixed with the sharp tang of Spiritwine in the air. He grabbed a small, battered bowl, scratched and dented from years of use, and poured himself a hefty portion from the wine sack lying on the floor. Without thinking, he returned to the little makeshift table where Kael Ardyn and the Ripper Woman were sitting. Tilting the bowl, he swallowed long, greedy gulps, his throat stretching with each swallow.This time, the Bear ignored the meat entirely. He only drank. Beside him, the Ripper Woman moved deliberately, slower, savoring each bite. Her recent berserk transformation had left her having eaten an absurd number of Voidspawn insects, and her stomach, still digesting the unusual meal, refused anything heavy. Instead, she nibbled at her braised meat, each bite measured, almost ceremonious, as if it were priceless.Kael, meanwhile, paid it no mind. Chunk