Ra stumbled back, clutching his head as the overwhelming pain surged through him.
His knees buckled, and he fell to the cold stone floor. The images flooding his mind beca sharper—red landscapes, and towering structures of steel and glass.
Draven rushed to his side. "What’s happening? Talk to !"
Ra’s fingers dug into the floor as if grounding himself against the pain raging in his head.
His lips parted, but no sound ca out. Desperation took over, and he had no choice but to sever the connection.
Ra slumped forward, gasping for air as the weight lifted, but the toll on his mind lingered.
Then, he sat up slowly, wiping at the blood on his face. His body trembled, but he forced himself to steady his breathing.
"I saw it," he whispered, his voice hoarse.
"Saw what?" Draven asked, kneeling beside him.
"The coordinates... and sothing else. Sothing wrong."
Draven’s brow furrowed, his concern deepening. "Wrong how?"
Ra hesitated, the fear from the vision lingering like a shadow in his mind.
"It wasn’t just a location. It felt like... sothing was watching . Waiting."
"Perhaps that artifact is affecting you more than we anticipated," Draven suggested cautiously. "We should—"
"No," Ra interrupted, forcing himself to his feet. "This isn’t just a side effect. This is a warning."
Draven stood as well, his gaze fixed on his grandson. "Then what do you plan to do?"
Ra wiped the last traces of blood from his face and t his grandfather’s eyes.
"We continue. But we proceed with caution. If the portal device is reacting, then we’re close. We can’t afford to stop now. I’ll find a way to make it work."
"Okay." Draven nodded reluctantly.
—
—
—
Back on Mars.
"That’s a good sign," Reign was satisfied with the test.
The portal was more functional than before, though it still wasn’t ready for direct travel .
This ti, he had only tested the connection between his artifact and the one he had left behind in his other body.
To his relief—and slight amazent—it worked. The link had been established for a brief mont, a small but important progress.
’Now I just need to make more energy crystals,’ he murmured, his thoughts trailing off. He had already started producing them by condensing his energy into solid gems.
The idea ca from crystallized negative energy. And since his cores had the ability to regenerate energy, the process was sustainable.
All he needed to do was create and stockpile enough of these crystals, and he would be ready.
’I miss that world,’ he muttered, a faint grin forming on his lips. ’I wonder what happened to it while I’ve been stuck here. I hope the devils haven’t won yet. But even if they have... I’ll just kill them.’
The grin turned darker, a hint of sadistic smile flashing in his eyes.
Years of isolation on Mars had twisted him further, eroding the remnants of his little morality.
He had taken to eating people, not out of necessity, but for the sheer thrill of it.
The Martians, desperate to survive, were forced to enact strict laws to ensure their population could reproduce fast enough to outpace his appetite.
’If I’d known I’d be stuck here this long,’ he muttered with a bitter chuckle, ’I would’ve taken my ti destroying Earth.’
Alas, it was too late for regret now.
Shaking off the thought, he turned toward the scientists.
Instantly, they straightened up. Fear hung heavy in the air, each of them fully aware that even the slightest misstep could land them on his dinner nu.
The only reason they endured his tyranny was the promise he had made—that once the portal was complete, he would leave this place for good and never return.
His departure would finally give humanity on Mars the chance to rebuild, free from the nightmare of his presence.
"I’m going to make more energy crystals," he instructed.
"While I’m doing that, I want all of you to recalibrate the portal again. Make it more stable and capable of handling higher output."
The scientists all nodded quickly, not daring to question him. They watched in silence as he took off, flying back toward the city.
There, the humans lived in constant fear whenever he was around.
Why?
Because, he would choose his next al while strolling through the place like a psychopath. He was impartial—young or old, n or won, it didn’t matter. If he decided to eat, he would do so on the spot, without hesitation or remorse.
Mid-flight, he began contemplating his life over the past years. He already realize that sothing changed , especially his cruelty.
But he didn’t care to dig deeper into it.
The increase in his tendency to be evil seed so irrelevant that he brushed it off as a sign of his maturing. To him, it was just another part of his inevitable character developnt after gaining more power.
Lost in thought, he finally reached the city. The giant tal door slowly creaked open to welco him.
As for the citizens, they quickly retreated into their hos, none daring to step out onto the streets while he flew overhead.
’Oh, so it’s another ga of hide and seek,’ he muttered with a grin. ’These humans really love playing this ga, don’t they?’
He raised his finger, pointing it randomly at different spots as he silently counted in his head.
The number was 69. When he finished counting, the place his finger landed on would be the unlucky winner in his twisted ga.
"That one," he muttered before he swooped into the building.
What greeted him was a beautiful girl, no older than 19.
All the Martians were attractive, as they had been carefully selected from Earth, but to him, their appearance ant nothing.
They were all just food, waiting to be consud like snacks.
"Please, don’t!" she pleaded, covering her face in a desperate attempt to protect herself.
But he ignored her, his steps slow as he walked closer.
"No!" She raised her hand, and a burst of fla erupted toward his face.
He dismissed it without a second thought, then grabbed her head and lifted her off the floor.
"An ability user...Yummy!" he murmured with a twisted grin.
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