Anthony and Adrian made sure Cosmic received a proper burial before anything else. Despite the destruction surrounding them and the chaos that had only recently settled, they took their time digging the grave with their own hands. Neither of them spoke much during the process, but the weight of what had happened pressed heavily on both of their shoulders. Once they gently lowered Cosmic into the ground, they stood in silence, mourning not just the loss of a powerful ally but a friend who had fought beside them until the very end.
After remaining there for a while, they eventually turned back toward the ruined military base. The once formidable structure was now little more than fractured walls, scattered debris, and smoke-stained metal. They expected to see Riley somewhere nearby, perhaps waiting for them or searching through what remained of the base.
However, she was nowhere in sight.
Anthony glanced around before looking at Adrian with a faint smirk. "Where is your girlfriend?" he asked casually, though the tension in his voice betrayed the situation.
"She's not my girlfriend!" Adrian shot back immediately, his face flushing slightly despite everything that had happened.
Anthony let out a small laugh and patted Adrian's shoulder. "Sure she's not."
The humor was forced, and both of them understood that. It was easier to joke than to fully process the grief and uncertainty closing in around them.
As the minutes passed and Riley still did not appear, their expressions shifted from mild confusion to genuine concern. They began searching more thoroughly, scanning every visible section of the destroyed base. Adrian's eyes caught something lying on the ground not far from where they stood.
A folded note.
He quickly walked over and picked it up, unfolding it with tense hands. His eyes moved across the words written clearly on the page:
"The girl is with me, she is with me in my secret planet. Come get her if you can. The space coordinates are: X - 1023 Y - 550 Z - 1003."
Adrian's grip tightened around the paper as anger surged through him. His breathing became heavier, and his jaw clenched.
"Who could it be?" Anthony asked, his tone now serious.
"I think I know who it is," Adrian replied, struggling to contain the fury rising inside him. "It must be Lucius."
Anthony nodded slowly, immediately understanding the severity of the situation. "Alright, then we get a spaceship from here and head to that planet."
Since they were already inside the remains of a military base, they began searching for any ship that might still be functional. After carefully navigating through collapsed hallways and damaged hangars, they found a spaceship that appeared mostly intact despite the surrounding destruction.
They climbed inside, and Anthony quickly located the manual. After reviewing the controls and systems, he managed to start the ship. The engines roared to life, vibrating through the metallic frame. Adrian entered the coordinates exactly as written in the note, and once confirmed, the ship automatically launched upward.
Within moments, they were soaring past the clouds and into the darkness of space. The ruined battlefield shrank beneath them until it vanished entirely from view.
As the ship entered autopilot mode and began its long journey toward the designated coordinates, Anthony placed his hand on Adrian's shoulder. "You should get some rest," he said calmly. "I will too."
Adrian shook his head slightly. "I think I should go to the training room. I need to prepare for whatever comes our way."
Anthony considered this for a second before nodding in agreement. "You're right. I should train too."
With that decision made, both of them headed toward the ship's training facilities.
Anthony immediately began an intense workout routine, pushing his body to extreme limits. He performed one thousand push-ups, one thousand sit-ups, and one thousand squats in under ten seconds. His movements were so fast that they blurred, and the force behind each repetition caused the metal floor beneath him to tremble slightly.
Adrian stared at him in disbelief before attempting to replicate the same routine. He failed almost instantly, collapsing halfway through the first set.
"Are you even human?!" Adrian exclaimed, shocked by what he had just witnessed.
Anthony stood up as if he had barely exerted any effort. "This is nothing," he replied casually.
Determined not to fall too far behind, Adrian adjusted his goal and completed one hundred push-ups, one hundred sit-ups, and one hundred squats in under ten seconds, which he managed to accomplish through sheer effort and focus.
After finishing his physical training, Adrian shifted his attention to his portal abilities. He practiced opening portals at different angles and distances, stepping through them repeatedly while maintaining control over their stability. He experimented with precision, attempting to refine both speed and accuracy in anticipation of the confrontation ahead.
They continued this rigorous routine every day for an entire week as the spaceship traveled through space. Each day pushed their limits further, and each night they rested only enough to recover before beginning again.
Eventually, the ship announced their arrival.
The so-called "secret planet" came into view through the front display window. As they descended and exited the ship, both of them were left stunned by what they saw.
The planet resembled Earth B in its advanced, futuristic design, with towering structures stretching toward the sky. However, the sky itself was a deep red, casting an unnatural glow over everything. The oceans were not filled with water but with lava, flowing slowly and radiating intense heat across the surface. There were no moving vehicles, no visible inhabitants, and no signs of ordinary life.
It looked like a twisted, cursed version of Earth B.
They moved forward cautiously, scanning their surroundings.
Then they froze.
Lucius stood ahead of them, completely calm, with Riley positioned in front of him. He held a knife to her throat, the blade resting just close enough to make the threat unmistakable. Riley remained still, unable to move without risking injury.
Surrounding Lucius were thousands of clones.
Some of them looked exactly like Adrian.
Others looked like Anthony.
Several bore the appearance of Cosmic.
A few even resembled Kenji.
The sight was overwhelming and disorienting, as if every possible version of their allies and themselves had been gathered into a single army.
"What the hell is going on?!" Adrian said, instinctively taking a step back as he tried to process what he was seeing.
Lucius smiled calmly at them.
"Welcome to my planet," he said.