The sleek white medical room was quiet as Elara turned the small mechanical cube over and over in her palm. Sylas watched her from the floating medical bed that hovered a foot off the ground, his back slightly raised, bandages wrapping most of his upper torso. Tubes of pale blue light fed into the bed's frame.
"…Does it look familiar?" He asked.
Elara's red eyes narrowed as she studied the cube one last time. She shook her head.
"No."
Sylas blinked..
His brows scrunched together, disbelief cracking through his false composed expression.
"…No?" He repeated, quieter.
"You're sure?"
"Yes." She looked up at him.
"I've never seen it before."
Sylas's mouth parted slightly. His hands clenched into the white sheets beneath him.
"…No way." He muttered under his breath.
He swallowed, then tried again.
"What about my brother Theron?" He asked quickly.
"He graduated with you and Talon at the Ashen Star Traveler Academy."
Elara's answer came without hesitation this time.
"I don't remember him."
Sylas's eyes widened, trembling as if her words took the focus out of them.
"…That's not possible." He muttered.
Before Elara could respond, a sharp voice cut through the air.
"Do you remember me, you domesticated overgrown bird?"
Elara stiffened. The voice hadn't come from Sylas. It came from the golden straight sword resting against his bed.
"How could you forget our battles? The times I showed you who truly could fly the highest?" Atlas continued smugly.
Elara's eyes widened just a fraction.
"…A celestial guardian?" She murmured.
She looked down to the sword at her hip.
"Ignis. Do you recognize that artifact?" She asked.
For a moment, there was only silence. Then, a deep, feminine voice answered from her blade.
"No. But this foolish pet carries an essence that feels… familiar." Ignis paused.
"Who are you? And who is the elven boy?"
Nara, standing stiffly near the wall, stared back and forth between the two swords in stunned disbelief.
"…Two talking swords… Am I seeing and hearing things?"
Atlas hummed with pride.
"I am Atlas. An A-ranked celestial guardian, bound to the boy before you—Sylas of the Keldon elf race."
Elara's ears perked.
"…Keldon?" She repeated, turning fully toward Sylas.
"You're a Keldon?"
Sylas let out a dry, humorless breath.
"Half." He corrected.
"My mother... my real mother was of Keldon blood. One of the four core elf races. And my father was from one of our low worlds. A subrace she fell in love with in secret."
His hands curled tighter into the sheets.
"When the truth came out, she was stripped of her crown. Shunned and casted to the side."
The room seemed to grow heavier as he spoke.
"Her final request to the man who she betrayed, her former husband and the current head of the Keldons, was that I be allowed to live a normal life among my siblings. Their children."
A bitter smile flickered across his face.
"He hated the idea. And who could blame him, I wasn't his blood. I was the result of a false spark of love. The only reason he agreed… was because of my brother, Theron."
He swallowed hard.
"He begged for me, his baby sibling who couldn't even stand on two feet at the time for two full cycles of nightfall until her request was accepted. The night I was taken into the royal family…" He continued quietly, his hands trembling slightly.
"…my mother took her own life."
The room went silent. Nara dropped her gaze to the ground, a look of pity washing over her face.
"As for my father? There hasn't been a single trace of him since the day her pregnancy was discovered. Not a person even knew his name, even her."
The weight of his words settled heavily in the room. Elara watched him closely now as he fought the tears threatening to spill. He exhaled shakily and went on.
"That same brother, Theron, was your classmate. Yours and Talon's." His eyes lifted to meet hers.
"He was one of the Twelve Cosmic Disasters. Just like you two."
He look towards the cube in her grip.
"That device was made by him. With help from you, Talon, and two other classmates."
Elara's eyes flicked to the cube.
"He was always terrible with technology." Sylas added with a faint, broken chuckle.
"He kept it as a reminder. Of all of you."
His voice softened.
"He gave it to me before I set to leave for the academy. Said… no matter how strong you become, you're always stronger with those you trust at your back."
He stared at her face desperately.
"You remember him, right? You have to."
Elara closed her eyes. Slowly… she shook her head.
"There were never twelve. Only eleven." She said quietly.
Sylas froze.
"…What?"
He turned his sword next to him.
"Atlas. How is this even possible? Not even his classmates or the celestial guardian you battled remember him."
"I do not know. But it likely relates to my former bond with Theron before I was passed down to you." Atlas mentioned.
He paused for a moment before adding.
"Yet my memories of him are fragmented and seem to be worsening with time. As if something or someone is trying to stop me from remembering."
Elara's ears twitched.
"That sounds familiar…"
Her mind flashed to Elysia's words about Aqua and Jorak and their essence flow inside their heads.
Atlas spoke again.
"Theron is not forgotten by all though."
Elara looked up.
"Your crewmate, Kaito. That boy houses a powerful celestial guardian. One without a visible cosmic seal. It's likely to be a S-ranked, possibly even being on the same level as you Ignis."
Ignis stirred at Elara's side.
"Possibly on my level? Nonsense."
Atlas continued.
"Whatever dwells within him knows of Theron. She also spoke of a man reborn who seeks to ravage this universe and make it his own, the same one who took him."
Ignis's voice rumbled thoughtfully.
"…Is that so?"
Elara's eyes narrowed slightly.
"I was briefed on what occurred during the final exams by the exam organizer, but not on that." She glanced away.
"She told me the guardian the examinees were intended to battle was killed by another guardian that wasn't from the well. And that the same guardian underwent some form of transformation while battling Kaito."
Nara spoke up quietly.
"That's just the beginning of it." She said.
"After Kaito and Finn defeated it, Kaito absorbed it and then used its crystal abilities on Sylas."
Elara drifted into her thoughts for a short moment.
"Why wouldn't they tell me that? And they won't even release the exam footage. That's never happened before. Are they trying to hide what happened?"
Sylas laughed over her thoughts.
"They called me crazy." He began.
"For searching for someone everyone insists never existed. But he's real. My brother is real."
Tears finally slipped free, rolling down his face.
"I don't know what's inside Kaito… but its words only prove it further."
He clenched his fists.
"Whoever took him—whatever he is—I will find him. And I will make him give my brother back."
Sylas looked at Elara, eyes blazing through the tears.
"Please…Let me join your crew."
Silence stretched as Elara studied him for a long moment. Then she nodded.
A short moment later in the same room, Elara stood by the small viewport as Nara and Sylas spoke to one another near the bed. The mostly shattered moon loomed outside as the mechanical cube rested in her hand.
"…Just what are you really…" She murmured, eyes narrowing slightly.
"…Kaito?"
Kaito stood with Finn, Elysia, Kaeline, Valentina, Zeek, and Rikona as they finished discussing the plan to meet near Starfall City and rescue Aqua.
Valentina crossed her arms and snorted, shaking her head subtly.
"Why do your plans always have to be absolutely insane? I really wonder what's going on in that head of yours." She said, glancing at Kaito sideways,
Kaito scratched the back of his head, grinning.
"Yeah… I get that a lot."
Elysia laughed softly, hands clasped in front of her chest.
"Oh, they are." She agreed cheerfully.
"But that's what makes them exciting. Nothing ever goes the way you expect with you, Kaito dear."
Zeek stretched his long arms.
"Unexpected pays the best. Or kills you. Fifty-fifty." He said lazily.
One of the short green workers approached, gesturing politely.
"Licensed travelers Zeek, Valentina, Rikona—this way, please."
Zeek started off first, but Kaito spoke up before they could leave.
"Hey."
They turned back.
"…Thank you." He said, voice steady but sincere.
"I mean it. I wouldn't have even gotten my license without you guys."
Zeek waved it off with a grin.
"Ah, it ain't no thang, baby." He pointed at Kaito with two fingers.
"Same could be said for you. You saved a lot of skin down there."
Valentina nodded.
"Yeah. And thanks for pulling my butt back from drifting off into space." She added, then smirked as she glanced down to Rikona beside her.
"And for breaking Rikona here out of her little shell."
Rikona's ears snapped straight up.
"W–What are you talking about!?" She stammered, face instantly heating.
"Oh, come on. Don't act shy now." Valentina teased.
Rikona opened her mouth to fire back—but Kaito spoke up instead.
"…She's right." He said, looking directly at Rikona.
"You were one of the main reasons we all passed and stayed alive. Because of you, I learned something new about myself. Who am I and what my abilities could be."
His voice softened.
"And because of that, I get to keep chasing my dream as an official star traveler."
He smiled and held out his fist.
"You're amazing, Rikona. And I promise—we're gonna play video games and visit worlds packed with insane tech together."
For a heartbeat, she just stared at him. Then, instead of bumping his fist, she stepped in and wrapped her arms beneath his, pressing her head against his chest. Her white hair brushed beneath his chin as she squeezed him tightly.
Kaito stiffened in surprise. Rikona froze too. Her eyes widened as she realized what she was doing. She yelped softly and jumped back, face burning red.
"I–I'm sorry!" She blurted, looking away.
"…I just—do you really mean that?"
Kaito laughed quietly.
"Of course. I'm not the type to break promises."
She glanced back at him, just for a second, and offered a small, warm smile.
"…Thank you."
Then she turned quickly and hurried off with Zeek and the green worker.
Valentina lingered behind for a moment looking over in Kaeline and Elysia's direction, not on their faces, but a bit lower.
"…Can't wait to see you two again soon." She muttered dreamily as her eyes hopped back and forward between both of the women's breasts.
Kaeline's cheeks blushed slightly as she tugged her red scarf higher to cover the bit of cleavage she had.
Rikona reappeared to grab Valentina by the arm.
"Let's go!" She hissed, dragging her away.
Elysia waved enthusiastically.
"Bye~! We'll keep in touch on the star traveler board! I can't wait to spend more time with my new crewmates!"
A moment later, the three thalorians approached. Luis stepped forward first. He bowed deeply toward Kaito.
"…I owe you an apology… For how I treated you earlier." He said.
Kaito waved his hand and smiled.
"Hey, don't worry about it, it's no big deal." He replied casually.
His smile faded slightly.
"…You heading back to Thaloria?"
Luis nodded.
"Yes. Though we'll make a few stops first. Now that we're licensed, we can move freely through this region of the galaxy. Build strength. Weapons. Allies."
His eyes hardened.
"The Accord won't control us. They'll pay for what they've done to our people."
Kaito blinked.
"…Our people?"
Luis met his gaze and nodded.
"Yes. During that battle, you showed the grit of a true Thalorian." He glanced at his own purple hand as he remembered Kaito's white essence flowing around him and the memories it shared.
"No matter how impossible it seemed, you never gave up."
Kaito interrupted softly.
"When are you heading back?"
Luis hesitated.
"Later this stellar cycle. Maybe after."
"…I'm coming with you."
Luis stared at him.
"You don't need to do that. Many thalorians treated you like yarkle shit and viewed you as something even worse."
Kaito smirked and extended his fist.
"But not all of them, right?"
He met Luis's eyes.
"The Accord already took one of my homeworlds. I don't plan on letting them take any more. Neither do you, right?"
Luis's eyes shone with pride.
"…Na-uh."
Their fists bumped. Moments later, the thalorians were guided away.
As the hangar doors slid closed behind them, a familiar green figure approached. Ari'Va clasped her green six-fingered hands politely.
"Kaito and crewmembers" She chirped.
"Astra would like to speak with you. Privately."