In one of the base's corridors —
Silence. Complete silence.
Only the faint beeping of machines reached from somewhere beyond — and even that had long dissolved into background noise. The aliens were absorbed in their work. No one was in this direction.
The metallic walls carried a cold, sterile shine — reflecting dim strips of artificial light that flickered occasionally, as if the base itself was breathing. The air felt heavier here, almost pressurized, humming faintly with unseen energy systems running deep within the structure
Rana stood against one wall — eyes closed — the gadget in his hand. Thinking. Building a plan. How to create a distraction. How to move the guards away. How to remove the chip.
His fingers tightened slightly around the device, knuckles whitening for a brief second — the only physical sign of the storm inside him. But something refused to settle.
Xyolithian's words — still there.
"You have made a very serious mistake."
Was it truly a mistake? Or was I right? Or —
Then —
A presence.
Rana felt it before he saw it.
Someone was there. Close. Very close.
He stepped back reflexively — then stopped.
It was Xyolithian.
Those same eyes. That same faint glow — barely there, but unmistakable. He stood against the wall's shadow — completely still. As though he had been there for a long time. As though he had been waiting.
Rana's jaw tightened.
This —
How —
The guards —
"I have been looking for you," Xyolithian said quietly — his voice so low that even the air could not have carried it. "For quite some time."
"How are you free?" Rana said — the words coming out in shock.
He had almost called out — but something stopped him. He pulled himself back. Inside there was anger, confusion, questions — but none of it could come out at once.
Xyolithian took one step forward.
"I know — you hate me. And perhaps you have every right to."
"Who freed you?" Rana asked.
"How am I free?" Xyolithian said. "No one can imprison me — because I am Xyolithian. Not a normal alien. Not a human. No cage holds me for long." A pause. "But first — listen to one thing. Just one."
Rana said nothing. But he stayed.
Xyolithian looked directly into his eyes.
"That box —" he said — slowly, deliberately — "— it belonged to Zaneath."
Silence.
From around the corner, alien soldiers were passing. Xyolithian stepped silently behind the wall.
"Zaneath's — what?" Rana's voice was low. But something had shifted inside him.
Xyolithian stepped back out. "That box. It holds the power of a weapon. A powerful weapon."
Rana went still with shock. "A weapon?"
"Yes." Xyolithian's tone was flat. Informational. There was no time for anything else. "Not files. No documents. No codes."
"Then what?" Rana asked.
"Zaneath placed many things inside that box — for you. Alongside files, there was something else. The weapon itself — Zaneath built it. For you. Only for you."
Rana's hand moved automatically toward his pocket — where the box had been —
But the box was not there.
He had given the box to Leader.
"Zaneath —" Rana began — stopped — began again. "Zaneath built it for me?"
Something inside Rana was slowly breaking.
"And Leader —"
"Leader knew," Xyolithian said directly. "He always knew."
Everything — piece by piece — was arriving in a horrible clarity.
"And Ryvok —" Rana's voice was trembling now. "Ryvok's sacrifice — it was for that box. And the box —"
"Was Zaneath's — meant for you," Xyolithian completed. "And now it is in Leader's hands."
Rana stood there — completely still.
Something inside him could not be expressed in words. That pain — the kind that arrives when everything becomes clear at once — and clarity is the last thing you wanted — because once it arrives, reality changes. Permanently.
Ryvok.
The box.
Leader.
Zaneath.
Everything was connected. Everything was one chain. And I — I was the weakest link in that chain.
Rana closed his eyes — one second — then opened them.
"You —" he looked at Xyolithian. "You are lying. You are trying to manipulate me. I will not let that box reach your hands."
Xyolithian's heartbeat quickened.
"I am not lying. That Leader — that liar — he is the one manipulating you. And you are so blinded by trust that you cannot see his method. I tried to tell you. Again and again. Every time — Leader appeared between us. And when I came directly — the soldiers came." A pause. "I approached it the wrong way. That was my fault too."
"I have heard enough of your lies—more than enough to last a lifetime. I won't stand here and listen to another word of deception. Not anymore.
All that remains now is one thing… revenge.
Against you. Against the one you serve. Against every single one of you who thought you could manipulate the truth and walk away untouched." Rana said.
"Enough, Rana—stop saying that. Not another word.
Now listen to me… and listen carefully. What I'm about to say is important, and you need to hear every part of it without interrupting." Xyolithian said.
Rana said nothing.
But this silence felt different. Not like the earlier silences — where anger lived. This time — something else. Something being processed.
And then —
Footsteps.
Both heard them at the same moment.
Rana looked at Xyolithian. Xyolithian looked at Rana.
The footsteps grew louder — and then —
Leader.
From the other end of the corridor. Three soldiers with him — armored, positioned.
He stopped. Looked at Rana. Looked at Xyolithian.
One second of complete silence.
Then something entered Leader's eyes that Rana had never seen there before. No warmth. No concern. Something else entirely. Cold. Calculated.
"Interesting," Leader said quietly.
The soldiers advanced.
"Stop." Rana said — directly. Firmly.
The soldiers paused — looked toward Leader.
Leader raised a hand — wait.
Then he moved toward Rana, each step quick and deliberate, as if time itself were running out.
"Rana." His voice was still calm, measured. "What is this?"
"You already know," Rana said.
"You know him?" Rana asked Leader
"Yes." Leader did not hesitate. "And you know too — so why are you asking,I know him well," Leader said. "He is a master of manipulation. Getting people tangled in his version of things — that is what he does best. I am certain he has told you something — about me, about Zaneath, about the truth. But Rana — do not fall for it. He will go to any length to get his hands on that box."
Rana went quiet for a moment.
Who is telling the truth and who is lying.
But he remembered — Leader had saved his life more than once. Had guided him through every difficulty. Had been there when no one else had been.
"Rana — do not trust him," Xyolithian said firmly.
Rana considered — then spoke.
"Xyolithian — you have lied to me every time. Half-truths. Twisted realities. You have manipulated me at every turn. And that is why — I cannot trust you."
Leader looked at Rana for a long moment. Then smiled — as though he believed Rana was standing on his side.
He stepped forward and gave a cold order.
"Soldiers — arrest Xyolithian immediately."
As the soldiers moved forward, Rana's voice cut through the corridor.
"Stop!"
Everything froze for one moment.
Rana looked directly at Leader.
"I need to speak with him. Now. Privately."
Something shifted in Leader's expression — a flash of unease crossed his eyes.
"Rana — what are you saying? I cannot allow this."
The tension in the corridor thickened.
Rana drew a slow breath — then spoke, calm but firm.
"If you trust me — then do not stop me."
Leader went quiet. But the unease on his face was now visible — as though Rana's decision was moving beyond his control.
What followed was rapid:
Leader "Rana, no. You will not talk to it."
Xyolithian "I also have something to tell you, Rana."
Rana "I want to talk to it in private. Trust me."
Leader"That's not going to happen. I only care about your safety."
Xyolithian"Rana, you don't need his permission to talk to me."
Leader "Rana is my responsibility. I will decide what you do and what you don't. I will keep you safe."
Rana "Leader, don't stop me. It'll only take two minutes. I need to talk to it about my father, Zaneath."
Leader"Whatever you have to say, say it here."
Xyolithian "Rana, I have something important to tell you."
Rana "Leader… trust me."
Leader"Rana, don't force me… to take your life like I did Zaneath."
The corridor went completely silent.
"What did you just say?" Rana's voice dropped to almost nothing.
"Leader — what did you just say?"
"There it is, Rana," Xyolithian said quietly. "Truth has a way of surfacing."
"Leader — answer me. What did you do to Zaneath? Why are you silent?"
Leader's mind worked behind his composed expression — perhaps I have said something I should not have said yet.
"Or perhaps," Xyolithian said, "it is the truth you have been concealing from everyone — for all these years."
"Leader — what is the truth? Did you kill my father? Have you been lying to me all this time?"
Rana was no longer thinking clearly. Anger and shock had fused into something that had no name. His heart was telling him to act. His mind had gone completely quiet.
Leader smiled.
"Since it has come to this — perhaps there is no further point in concealing it."
"What do you mean?"
That smile. The one Rana had seen so many times before. The one that had always appeared warm. Caring. Safe.
But this time —
This time Rana knew exactly what that smile was.
"You have ruined my entire plan, Rana." Leader's voice now carried nothing warm — nothing caring — nothing that resembled who Rana had believed him to be. For the first time. Completely. "Because of you — I now have to take one more life. And perhaps yours as well. Along with Xyolithian's."
Something inside Rana — that had been holding itself together through everything — broke.
"Why."
One word. Carrying the weight of everything inside it.
"Why did you do this?" His voice was trembling — not from anger — from something far deeper. "I trusted you. Completely. When there was no one — you were there. When nothing made sense — you explained it. I believed —" he stopped — his throat closing — "I believed you were Zaneath's friend. That you came to honour his promise."
Leader said nothing.
"Zaneath trusted you," Rana said — looking directly into Leader's eyes. "And you —"
"Do not speak of Zaneath," Leader said — and in that one name, something complicated lived.
"Why shouldn't I? He was my father. And you —"
"I needed access to the files," Leader said flatly. "To complete my purpose."
Then — cold, unhurried —
"Guards — take them both."
Two soldiers stepped forward. A stun weapon activated. An electric flash split through the corridor.
"Leader! This is not over —" Rana shouted.
But the shock moved through him like lightning. His voice died mid-sentence. Darkness descended.
When his eyes opened — the room was dim. Metal walls. Cold silence pressing in from every direction.
Leader stood before them.
His face was entirely different now — no warmth remaining in his eyes. Only dangerous, cold calculation. A villain's smile settled across his face as he walked slowly forward.
"Rana… my mistake was telling you too much truth." He paused. "But now — you must die."
The Raxorian Leader continued —
"Your father trusted me until his very last moment as well. And I repaid that trust —" he paused — "— just as I am about to repay yours."
He laughed.
Then turned to the guards.
"Finish them."
And he walked away toward the base — unhurried, composed — as though Rana and Xyolithian were nothing more than a task that needed to be completed.
When Leader said "Finish them," something inside Rana didn't just break — it collapsed completely.
For a split second, it felt unreal. Like his mind refused to accept what he had just heard. This was the same person he had trusted, followed, believed in. And now, that same voice was ordering his death — as if his life meant nothing.Memories flashed — every moment Leader had helped him, guided him, stood beside him. And now those same memories twisted into something unbearable.
For the first time, Rana didn't feel confused.
His hands trembled slightly, but he didn't move. He just stood there… empty… and betrayed beyond repair.