A violent tremor shook The Cathedral. The muffled sound of an explosion from the observation chamber was followed by a rumble that traveled through the steel floor, reaching Isabella even in the heart of the ship’s machinery. Control panels flickered in panic, energy currents surged wildly up and down, and secondary sirens began to shriek. Warnings of critical system damage far beyond her expectations.“Damn it, Damang! If you’re going to blow up a room, at least control it a little!” Isabella muttered, pushing the stolen exoskeleton’s levers to move faster. She was descending a slippery service staircase toward the deepest part of the reactor core. The groaning steel around her was the familiar song of destruction. Even though she was wrapped in rough armor that was slightly too large for her. An anti-fragmentation steel suit once belonging to an Inquisition field soldier that she had secretly hacked and modified during her time in Long Baram. Cold sweat still dripped down her temple

Damang felt the pulse of the Earth's Heart burning through every scale on his body. Green flames enveloped his Mandau, no longer mere embers, but blazing fury. The duel on the hull of The Cathedral had reached its climax. Valerius' mighty Seraphim Rex armor had been split in two. Damang’s final strike shattered the laser shields on the robot’s six wings, destroying its protection and exposing Valerius inside. The golden armor now looked like a carcass of metal, gaping open in the thin air.Valerius did not fall. Instead, he floated, hurled away by the raw force of Damang’s slash. Several fiber-optic cables resembling electronic veins dangled from his body. But what was horrifying was the crack spreading across his cheek like shattered glass.“You think this is over, Child of the Forest?” Valerius coughed, thick blood spraying from his broken mouth. His armor hissed and flickered, trying hopelessly to repair itself. The chest section hung open, revealing intricate circuits and a mass o

A warm breeze drifted gently, brushing against Sali’s cheeks, now lined with the marks of age.Three months had passed since the day of destruction. Three months since the horrifying night when the Baram River boiled and froze at the same time, leaving behind the terrifying question of whether Damang had survived, or instead transformed into a monster that would destroy them all.Yet the will of the Heart of the Earth proved stronger than any darkness. The black cocoon that had once looked terrifying that night slowly melted away and was absorbed by the soil, leaving behind a miracle that still made Sali whisper prayers of gratitude to this day. Life, unlike what the Inquisition had expected, had found its own way...A warm breeze drifted gently, brushing against Sali’s cheeks, now lined with the marks of age. Three months had passed since the day of destruction. Three months since The Cathedral turned to ashes in the sky, since the falling star illuminated the suffering earth. Now, t

Silver sap dripped from the fissure carved into the gigantic ulin tree, shimmering beneath the moonlight as it spread like lifeblood flowing from a primordial wound. From within, the vertical crack widened further, radiating an ever-strengthening electric blue glow. The tree trembled violently, no longer with the passive vibrations of the earth, but with a rhythmic pulse, like the heartbeat of a colossal being awakening from a long hibernation.Slowly, those two blue points of light appeared. Damang’s eyes scanned the surroundings, as if adapting once more to physical reality after ten years of becoming one with the roots of the earth. Ancient awareness, memories of centuries of forest life, were now being forcibly pulled back, fused once again into a form he had long abandoned. A human form.A strand of Rajah, glowing emerald green across his back, felt as though it was being pulled tightly from every fiber of the tree. Not a comfortable thread, but a network of vital cables reconnec

From the once-blue sky came a roaring sound familiar to both progress and destruction. A futuristic dark-gray helicopter, bearing no visible logo or flag, swept low above the treetops before slamming onto the village field with a landing that shook the earth.A narrow stairway unfolded. Two figures emerged.The first was a middle-aged woman wearing a dark modern batik suit with a transparent cloak draped over it. Her face appeared friendly, but her eyes were cold and disciplined. She was the Minister of National Resources, an envoy from the central government, carrying the same forced smile often seen on television.The second...The figure stepped out of the helicopter. Marcus Thorne. The cruel cousin of Elias Thorne. The CEO of Aethelgard whom Damang had expected to come here.Marcus did not bother offering a friendly smile. He observed the ruined Long Baram with a satisfied gaze. A mixture of disgust and arrogance lingered on his face, as if saying, This is the price of your stupid