š STARLOST
Episode 7 ā "The Moment Time Broke"
The street is silent.
Cracked asphalt.
Shattered streetlights.
Smoke slowly drifting through the air.
In the center of it allā
Nova and the Hunter stand facing each other.
Aira watches from a few meters away, her heart racing.
For the first time since Nova arrived on Earthā¦
His power is fully awake.
The air around him bends slightly, like reality itself is struggling to stay stable.
The Hunter observes him calmly.
"Energy output exceeds predicted levels."
Nova's voice is quiet.
"Leave this planet."
The Hunter does not respond.
Insteadā
He attacks.
---
The Hunter moves first.
A blur of black armor crossing the street in a single instant.
Nova reacts.
For a momentā
Time itself slows.
Rain droplets in the air stop falling.
Pieces of dust freeze between seconds.
Nova moves through that still world.
He blocks the Hunter's strike.
The impact cracks the ground beneath them.
But something is wrong.
The Hunter is still moving.
Not frozen.
Nova's eyes widen.
"You adaptedā¦"
The Hunter's voice is calm.
"Temporal resistance installed."
He strikes again.
Nova is thrown across the street.
Concrete explodes where he lands.
Aira screams,
"NOVA!"
Nova pushes himself up, breathing heavily.
His power is strongā¦
But unstable.
Every time he uses it, the air tears slightly around him.
Reality bending.
---
The Hunter walks forward slowly.
"No escape path detected."
Nova wipes blood from his lip.
"I'm not running."
For the first timeā
The Hunter tilts his head.
"Then you will be eliminated."
He raises his arm again.
Energy gathers, brighter than before.
Aira suddenly runs forward.
"WAIT!"
Both aliens look at her.
She stands between them now.
Nova's voice becomes sharp.
"Aira! Move!"
But she doesn't.
She looks directly at the Hunter.
"You said he's an anomaly, right?"
The Hunter says nothing.
"Then maybe you're wrong."
The Hunter scans her silently.
"Human logic irrelevant."
Aira shakes her head.
"Noā¦ you just don't understand it."
She points at Nova.
"He didn't run here to hide."
"He ran here because he didn't want anyone to get hurt."
The Hunter's glowing eyes flicker slightly.
Processing.
Nova whispers quietly,
"Airaā¦ stop."
But she continues.
"You aliens think everything is a mission."
"But humans?"
She smiles slightly.
"We protect people."
For a momentā
Everything is quiet again.
Then the Hunter lowers his arm slightly.
"Human emotional interference detected."
"Analysis incomplete."
Nova looks surprised.
The Hunter turns away slightly.
"Engagement postponed."
He activates something on his arm.
A beam of light surrounds him.
Before disappearing, he says one final sentence.
"Further observation required."
And thenā
He's gone.
Vanished into the night sky.
---
Silence returns to the broken street.
Nova walks toward Aira slowly.
"You should not have done that."
Aira shrugs.
"Wellā¦ it worked."
Nova studies her face.
"You risked your life."
She smiles.
"You've been doing that since the day you landed."
Nova looks up at the sky again.
But now something else is there.
Movement.
Lights.
More ships entering orbit.
His voice becomes quiet again.
"He was only testing me."
Aira's smile fades.
"And now?"
Nova answers honestly.
"Now the real operation begins."
---
Far above Earthā
Inside the alien vesselā
The Hunter appears inside a chamber of light.
The commander watches him.
"You retreated."
The Hunter responds calmly.
"Unexpected variables detected."
"Human interaction affecting anomaly behavior."
The commander looks down at Earth.
"Then remove the variable."
A new order appears on the command screen.
TARGET UPDATE:
PRIMARY ā NOVA
SECONDARY ā HUMAN SUBJECT: AIRA
The commander speaks quietly.
"If the human is the keyā¦"
"Then eliminate her."
And far belowā
Aira has no idea she has just become the next target.