In all the times I've fought the aliens, for some reason… it never once occurred to me that they had a home just like us.
Until recently, I didn't even really see them as living things. Just…
Enemies.
Is that all they are?
Just… enemies?
Why do we have to fight?
What a stupid question, eh? I'm sure that question's been asked every time a war starts. Maybe it's just one of those. Unless the way they looked at me with anger meant something.
What would Tom say?
We have to fight them because they did it first. No, wait, it'd be more like. We go'ah innit, wo'ah bo'ohw, cuz uvvawise we'll die ye div. Innit, bruv.
ARE YOU GOING TO WASTE ALL DAY, SITTING HERE?
OR ARE YOU GOING TO DO SOMETHING, GEORGE?
"God? Is that you? Where have you–?"
LOOK UP.
My eyes drifted up.
And they were right. The sky was falling.
Or rather, the chaos that I caused was falling from the sky.
It was like a light show. Small pieces of debris cut through the mist like shooting stars. The ones that didn't burn up already crashed down into the dried-up soil.
The ground rumbled. Small rocks rattled. Overhead, a cruiser, engulfed in flames, glided down, crash landing in the distance. It shook the whole planet. A giant fireball blossomed from its carcass as it crashed, tearing through the mist. Dust scattered across the planes, around the black towers that stood—unmoved.
I lifted myself up to my feet carefully. Aching flared up across my body, causing me to stumble slightly. I guess my landing wasn't exactly clean either. It made me shudder to think about what would've happened to my body if I didn't have this power; would I be red paste along these dry desert sands? Maybe I really am invincible.
As I gazed across the horizon, all that was lining it were city lights. Their towers stretched up into the sky like a thousand metal soldiers, lined up with discipline.
Turning around, I noticed a familiar structure stretching up into the heavens. It must've been the tower that led up to the orbital base. I followed it upwards, but it just disappeared into the mist. Even as I squinted, I couldn't see the top. But what I did see were more fiery ships falling, signalling my time to go.
"Well, I guess it can't hurt to check out the city, right?"
Dust particles fluttered, tickling my skin as I walked through the dry wasteland. Chunks of dead rock and soil tore from the ground, lifted by my aura. The air was cold, despite the desert-like appearance of the surface. The sun must've barely reached me through the dense mist that enveloped the world.
Each step sank a fraction into the powdery earth. Dust puffed around my feet and drifted away on a wind too weak to be called a breeze. The ground may have once been something else. Soil. Mud. Maybe even grass. Now it crumbled beneath me like old ash. This whole plane could've once been a forest for all I know, full of all sorts of wildlife. Birds tweeting. Rabbits rustling through fallen leaves. Now the only sounds were the distant mechanical thuds echoing across the plain and the soft crunch of my footsteps.
Ahead, one of the black towers drove itself into the earth with slow, relentless force. The stench of burned metal and oil burrowed up my nose, clawing at my throat—or maybe that was the dust. Each inhale felt like I was swallowing a snail; the mist was that dense.
THUD.
A moment later, the vibration reached me.
THUD.
Another followed from somewhere farther away. Hundreds of them dotted the wasteland, stretching toward every horizon, stopping at the citylines. They rose like enormous needles stabbed into the skin of the world, surrounded by rings of fractured dust and tangled machinery. What the hell were they extracting so desperately? Whatever moisture, oil, or minerals had once been buried beneath this place seemed long exhausted. Yet the towers continued their work with the blind persistence of machines that had forgotten their purpose centuries ago.
A network of black pipes crossed my path. Some were thick enough to drive a truck through. Others branched away into smaller conduits that vanished into the haze. I stepped over one and laid a hand against its surface. The metal was warm. Something moved through them. I felt a faint vibration beneath my palm, like the distant pulse of blood through veins.
The orange sun hung low beside me, its light barely strong enough to cast shadows. The lavender sky deepened as the hours passed, becoming richer and darker, while the city lights ahead grew brighter. At first, they looked like stars scattered along the horizon. Then they became windows. Towers. Streets. Entire districts emerging from the dust. The city seemed impossibly vast, a shimmering island of illumination floating above the wasteland.
More ships and larger chunks of debris fell from the sky, groaning before collapsing upon impact.
I kept my eyes fixed on those lights.
The distance played tricks on me. Sometimes the city looked close enough to reach within an hour. Then another ridge of barren ground would reveal itself, and the skyline would retreat once more into the violet mist. Yet with every few meters, the details sharpened. I could make out immense structures climbing into the sky, their silhouettes disappearing into low clouds stained purple, and amongst them all, the orbital shipyard piercing the heavens.
Somewhere within those towers were people.
My legs were growing tired. Wanting to fully embrace the new world around me, I took my time, walking amongst the dust haze. But fatigue was chasing me. And it was winning.
My body became lighter as I ascended slowly. Some rocks and dust followed me for a moment, falling as I ascended beyond their reach.
The thick haze smacked me as I glided forward. My eyes caught dust particles. How do people live in this? Maybe there's something I can do about this. With my power.
I focused all my energy into my core. Warm energy, not the raging inferno that I use for harm. And blasted it outward. The mist evaporated around me as the wave of energy expanded.
Suddenly, the violet skies cleared up. The sun felt warm against my skin. I could see the world around me much more clearly now. I lifted myself up towards the clouds.
"Whoa."
For as far as the eye could see, the planet was covered almost entirely head to toe in a dense concrete jungle. Towers reached to the skies. Massive motorways carved through the cities. Vehicles hovered just above them, zooming from one side to another. There was a platform covered with aliens, each holding a bag and wearing formal clothing. Some were standing, chatting with others, content plastered across their faces. Then a giant train, passing through rings levitating in thin air, stopped at the platform. People exchanged from the train to the platform, then those on the platform filled the train, disappearing as it departed into whatever routine their day holds.
Dotted across the cities were patches of purple grass and trees, with playgrounds saturated with children who ran free. They climbed up and down strange shapes; one looked like a slug made of five spheres that reached up into the trees. Another was a replica of one of the destroyers—the same ones that sat mangled above the atmosphere. Parents chatted on benches. One bench stood empty, and a single bouquet of flowers rested upon it. I swallowed. Elsewhere, there were also concentrated patches of water, like small lakes, scattered throughout. People swam and splashed water on each other. Boats sailed across them, some filled with four or so people who rowed together in sync. But among the cities, there were also other wasteland outcrops, just like the one I found myself in.
It seemed as though the people and the industry shared a symbiotic relationship, as if the planet were built to fuel their militaristic ambitions. And yet people still live peacefully. Living their days together in harmony. Just like on Earth.
I didn't know what to say. Was this really an alien planet? Or was it just Earth in another reality?
THIS IS OURELIETH.
THE LAND OF THE CALENARIANS.
The Calenarians?
A RACE WHO WILL SACRIFICE ANYTHING FOR THEIR SURVIVAL.
EVEN THEIR OWN PLANET.
I didn't say another word in response. Instead, I looked ahead as something caught my eye. Light reflected in the air off in the distance. It was like the sun reflecting off a phone screen into my eyes. Like a dome was covering something. Covering me. The wasteland outcrop.
I guess that's how they limit the effects of pollution.
I darted over to the edge of the outcrop. The world warped slightly as I readjusted my view. There is definitely some kind of dome. But wait, if there is a dome, how did the ships and debris pass through without breaking it?
I pressed my hand into it. Initially, it felt soft, like an inflatable beach ball or an air mattress. It was also warm to the touch and vibrated subtly. But then I plunged my hand deeper, the dome offering little resistance. Eventually, my hand passed straight. My human hand. The purple aura that enveloped my whole body stopped at my wrist, where my hand passed through. My hand on the other side was pink and fleshy. As I pushed my hand further, more of my arm was exposed.
It must be the dome's defensive barrier. Maybe it was filled with enzymes or something that caught my energy, stopping it from passing through.
I pulled my hand back. Violet energy quickly wrapped around my flesh.
This planet gets weirder and weirder. Nevertheless, it was clear that I couldn't pass through without losing my energy. I needed to find another way through.
I heard a mechanical hiss in the distance, followed by the sound of a vehicle engine. It sounded heavy, like a lorry or a tank. I turned to the source of the sound. There was a large metal gate, bout five stories tall or so. Through the dome, I saw that a tunnel expanded beyond the gate. An airlock?
Four lorries, hovering just above the floor, entered the wasteland as a convoy.
Should I go now? What if I get caught in the airlock? No. I need to find another way. I could sneak onto the lorries, but how would I? Look at me. If there was still mist, I probably could. But I got rid of the mist.
Unless…
I gazed at the black towers for a few seconds. Every time they pounded into the ground, clouds of mist shot up into the air. There was already quite a bit of mist that had formed since I cleared it all. Maybe there's a way I can create more. The ground is very volatile—I noticed that since I started walking, the slightest bit of force lifts the dust.
I probably didn't have long, so I moved. Just above the ground, I zoomed across the plains, outlining the dome. A giant trail of dust followed me. I continued, moving faster and faster, closing in closer to the centre with each cycle around the dome in a giant spiral. Within minutes, the dome thickened with dust. The alien workers, clad head to toe in thick protective gear and masks, looked around in confusion.
I landed a few meters away from the convoy—took a deep breath, and unveiled my aura. Charging full sprint at the convoy, my eyes stung as the dust clung to them, far more than they did in my other form.
The engines roared to life. I slid underneath, gripping onto whatever I could underneath. I clung tightly to the bottom, my back hovering just above the ground. The engines were burning my flesh, so I quickly cloaked myself in violet.
Hopefully, they don't see me.
The lorries hovered over the dry dirt, each one stopping at a farm of towers. I watched they hopped out of the cockpits, the boots clamping against the soil, spitting up dust as they landed. The workers chatted to each other, their words muffled under their masks. They meandered alongside the lorry, then away from it, dragging along a thick cable, towards the towers.
All the pipes fed into a giant metal structure. Whatever these towers were pulling from the ground ended up there. They attached the cable to a nozzle, which released a hatch beside it, revealing a valve. One of the workers grabbed the valve immediately. The other lingered for a moment, rolling their shoulder beneath the protective suit. The first groaned something through their mask as it waved its hands animatedly, probably telling them to hurry up. The second ignored them, taking another second to massage the ache away before finally grabbing the valve as well. The two combined their efforts to twist the valve. Within a second, glowing golden energy streamed down the cable.
What is that? It looked almost mystical.
Eventually, the structure dried up. After twisting the valve shut and freeing the tube from the nozzle, the workers turned. I switched off the power. Dragging the tube back to the lorry, they chuckled over something, then returned to the cockpit. As soon as the door shut, I switched back into my violet form. The lorry turned around, returning to the entrance, where it met with the other lorries that were behind it before.
The giant gate groaned. It hissed as it slowly opened. Bright white light leaked through the haze as the chamber inside revealed itself. The lorry moved forward, and soon it was fully immersed in the chamber. The door hissed shut, and the whole chamber inhaled. The dust dissipated within seconds, sucked into the chamber's walls.
The chamber was illuminated by bold white lights from above. I could only see a small part of the chamber from underneath the vehicle. But from what I could see, there were pristine white walls and floors, segmented with large tiles. Between each tile were small holes, presumably for ventilation to remove dust.
I could hear muffled chatter from inside the cockpit. It was less joyful than before. It must've been some sort of procedure to get through the airlock. But once the procedure was done, the next door hissed open, and natural light began to peep through.
The air that embraced me was refreshing, like a crisp glass of ice water in the roasting summer sun. The air was warmer here, like I was feeling the sun, rather than a reflection of it. I could see people walking on the pavement on either side of the road. People standing outside buildings smoking on small pipes, then walking back inside.
I made it.
The first human to cross the new frontier.
This wasn't just the moon.
This was a new planet, another civilisation.
I let go of the lorry, falling to the road below. The other lorries passed over me, the heat of their engines gracing my skin. Then once they had passed, I rose to my feet.
I heard a gasp the moment I stood.
I looked at them. I assumed it was a woman. The tendrils on their head flowed down their back, and their wide eyes were a crystal blue tapestry. She stood dead still, staring at me.
Others froze when they saw me.
Kids pointed.
Parents covered their eyes, holding them close as they dragged them away.
My heart ached. This wasn't like on Earth, where the soldiers cheered when they saw me, and civilians looked at me with hope in their eyes.
This was fear.
Dread.
I was these people's Boogeyman.
They looked at me as though I were a giant meteorite falling from the sky.
Those who didn't stare ran. Some dropped to their knees and prayed.
What did I do?
Was it another vessel?
This Ultrua'is maybe?
I dashed away as fast as I could.
I need to get out of here.
I want to go home.
I weaved between cars, vans, buildings, people. Going nowhere. Just moving. I couldn't stay still.
Then I stopped. I was in a giant square. There was one thing that caught my eye—so much so that it brought me to a stop. It was a square. In the middle of the city. There was a giant wall—a mural. And on it, were names. I couldn't read the names, they were written in letters and characters that were alien to me. But I understood. Below the mural, were flowers, each one fresh.
A man stood with his family. I could only see his back. He gazed up at the mural, the tendrils on his head fluttered in the gentle breeze. His wife stood beside him, head rested on his shoulder. On the other side, was his child, maybe about eight years old, holding his hand. The other was in a crutch. Holding himself up because his one leg wasn't enough. The other leg was gone.
The man wore a military uniform.
Suddenly, the man turned around, chatting to the woman beside him with a smile on his face.
Then he saw me, and his face lost all colour.
His smile faded.
The kid didn't understand, it just looked at me for a second then looked back at their father.
But the father understood.
He dropped to his knee in a second, abandoning his crutch.
He lowered his head to the ground, arms in placed in front of it.
He cried out frantically in words I couldn't understand.
The woman crouched down beside him, one hand on his back, staring at me with fury in her eyes.
Tears welled up in my eyes.
I did this to him.
I did these to all of them.
Men, women, fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, sons, daughters.
Now names on a mural.
No.
I can't do this.
I want to go home.
NO!
THIS ISN'T FAIR.
THIS ISN'T WHAT I WANTED AT ALL.
WHY COULDN'T THEY HAVE JUST BEEN EVIL?
WHY COULDN'T THEY BE NOTHING MORE THAN MINDLESS SOLDIERS WHO WANTED TO DESTROY EARTH FOR NOTHING MORE THAN BECAUSE THEY WANTED TO?
THIS ISN'T FAIR.
WHY ME.
I HAVE TO GO HOME—!
Everything suddenly froze to a halt.
YOU'VE GOT A JOB TO COMPLETE.
No…
You can't be…
No…
I can't.
YOU HAVE TO.
B-but…
They're…
They're just people!
AND YET THEY TRIED TO KILL YOURS.
THEY TRIED TO DESTROY YOUR WORLD.
Wwhat?
No.
They had nothing to do with this.
YOU'RE RIGHT.
THEY DID NOT CHOOSE THIS.
NOR DID THE SOLDIERS WHO CAME TO YOUR PLANET, WHO SLAUGHTERED INNOCENT MEN, WOMEN AND CHILDREN.
AND YET THEY STILL DID IT.
BECAUSE THEY FEAR YOU.
THEY FEAR WHAT YOU ARE–
WHAT YOU CAN DO.
SO THEY WILL NOT STOP UNTIL YOU ARE DESTROYED.
THEY WILL SACRIFICE ANYTHING FOR THEIR OWN.
EVEN IF THAT MEANS ERASING AN ENTIRE SPECIES.
WHAT ABOUT YOU?
WOULD YOU ERASE AN ENTIRE SPECIES TO SAVE KRISTA?
YOUR MOTHER?
YOUR FATHER?
SISTER?
I swallowed. Would I… kill these people? No—erase an entire civilisation to save them?
I…
I can't…
That's not right.
IF YOU DON'T—
THEY WILL COME BACK.
But there has to be another way—
NO, GEORGE.
HOW LONG DO YOU THINK I'VE WATCHED SPECIES GROW AND FALL.
IT'S NOT THAT SIMPLE.
IF A RACE FINDS A THREAT THAT CAN ENDANGER THEIR SPECIES, THEY DESTROY IT.
THE ONES WHO DON'T, FALL.
But there has to be—
With these powers, nothing can beat us.
SO YOU'LL FIGHT THEM.
AGAIN,
AND AGAIN,
AND AGAIN.
HOW MANY WILL DIE IN THIS INFINITE WAR?
WHAT IF THEY KILL EVERYONE YOU LOVE?
BY THEN, YOU'LL WISH YOU'D HAVE KILLED THEM.
But I'm not going to kill them.
So they don't have to fear me. As long as we communicate, we can find a way to cooperate.
UNFORTUNATELY,
ULTRUA'IS GOT TO THEM FIRST.
What do you mean, Ultrua'is got to them first? What's that got to do with anything?
A BEING WHO CAN MANIPULATE MINDS, SHOWING THEM ANY REALITY IT WANTS THEM TO SEE, HAS ALREADY HAD ITS WAY WITH THEM.
WHATEVER YOU TRY TO COMMUNICATE, WON'T WORK.
BECAUSE THEY'VE SEEN THE FUTURE.
The future? So… what? I'm going to kill these people anyway? How can that be right? If I don't kill them here, I'll kill them anyway? That's wrong.
YOU MISUNDERSTAND.
WHETHER YOU DO IT OR NOT IS IRRELEVANT SO LONG AS THEY THINK YOU WILL, OR EVEN CAN.
THEY WILL—
TRY
AND TRY
AGAIN
AND AGAIN
TO DESTROY YOU.
I looked up, noticing a cruiser, engulfed in flames, falling to the city.
No.
I don't care about—
Fate,
Ultrua'is
Or any of this bullshit you say.
I'm gonna find a way.
Time continued. The man's cries were heard again. People began walking just like before. The people around me continued to stare.
But I paid them no mind.
I had one goal.
Send them a message.
"This war is over."
IT IS NOT.
"Yes."
"It is."
I launched myself up above the city line.
The cruiser came crashing down, leaving behind it a trail of black smoke and hellfire.
How do I stop it? Should I grab it? No. I'm too small in comparison; even if I were strong enough to stop it, I couldn't stop the whole thing. It would probably break into more pieces and keep falling.
So far, I've been able to use this power to create energy blasts. But not just destructive, I managed to dissipate the dust without destroying any structures around me. Furthermore, aboard the capital ship, I controlled the entire thing remotely through this power.
What if I can do the same here?
I threw my hands up, fingers splayed.
The ship continued falling. Chunks of debris flew off.
Energy drifted from my fingertips, reaching out towards the ship's giant carcass.
My aura wrapped around the bow of the ship. It slowed down.
Yes!
It's working.
I pushed my energy further, wrapping it around the hull of the ship. My arms felt like they were tearing. It was as though I was holding the entire ship's weight in my two arms, like the energy wrapped around the ship was an extended limb.
The ship slowed to a halt.
Suspended in midair.
I panted a broken, breathless laugh.
No.
This isn't over yet. What am I gonna do, just leave it floating here?
I looked around. Cities, everywhere. Their infrastructure isn't making this easy. Wait, what about the patches that aren't cities? In the distance, there was a shallow body of water. If I place it there, it should be good, right?
Dammit, no time to worry about that.
Carefully, I moved the ship. I didn't know how much longer I could hold it, my arms felt like they were going to burst. I grit my teeth, fighting through the pain. It wasn't just the weight; it was like balancing a plate on a stick. The slightest move shifted the balance of the entire ship.
Just a little further.
I hope they're watching below.
I wonder what kind of faces they're making?
If only we could just find a way to talk this through. I'm sure there are so many incredible people here. We could work together, build a new future—a peaceful future—for us all to enjoy.
We don't have to fight.
I'll use this power to make sure no one has to fight again. Yes. I think this was why I turned my back on Harry. Why I turned my back on my old life. This was the chance that God gave me. And whether that's what they intended or not, I'm gonna take it. We won't suffer any more.
And neither will they.
The patch of water sat right below me. I gently caressed it down. It took all my power to ensure all of it landed safely. Just keeping the stern up was more of a struggle than I've ever had to endure before this power.
The ship was stable, resting on the surface.
I breathed the largest sigh of relief I have ever had in my entire life.
Within a few seconds after it landed, hatches began to open on the sides, and aliens began to climb up onto the hull.
So they were still alive in there?
They must've been so afraid as they watched me tear through the entire fleet. To then fall to their deaths on the planet they were fighting so desperately to save.
An alien looked up at me, one hand protecting its eyes from the sun, the other up in the air.
I waved back.
The alien smiled.
My breath cut short.
I smiled back.
This isn't over. This is just the first step.
I turned to the heavens and ascended. Honestly, if I had to erase an entire species to save everyone I loved, I probably would. But I don't have to. I will find another way to end this. I'll fight and fight and fight, even it takes everything I have just to show them I don't mean them harm. I'll do it. We can cooperate; we just need to find a way to communicate.
VERY WELL.
I HOPE IT BRINGS YOU PEACE.