Altopereh rose from the explosion like a resurrected demon, ripping free of the shattered crust in a pillar of black fire. Its wings snapped open, blasting away the debris with a shockwave that shook the upper atmosphere. In a single motion, it shot upward—tearing through the clouds, breaching the stratosphere, and then slamming into orbit with a thunderous stop that made nearby satellites tremble.
There, suspended above Antia, the monster hovered.
The cracked armor plates across its body no longer bled sparks and coolant. Instead, a thick black hue oozed out from every fracture like liquid shadow, gathering, spreading, flowing over the metal limbs and reforming them. What had been broken moments earlier now looked reforged—yet twisted, unnatural, almost alive.
Its eyes burned like paired suns—two twin embers, identical to the ones glowing on its true monstrous face deep within Youri's subconscious.
Altopereh slowly raised one hand.
Then extended a single finger toward the planet.
The copper sky over Antia fractured—shattering like a dome of brittle glass.Black gunk spilled through the cracks, waterfalls of void-liquid pouring down from orbit, flooding the atmosphere, raining into the basins, choking the land in crawling darkness.
Every soldier, every pilot, every ship watching from the surface or orbit froze in place. No one had ever seen a god-orbiton reshape an entire sky.
Perciosa and Sirius were the first to regain their senses.
With desperate fury they attacked — Perciosa unleashing a storm of serrated plasma slashes, Sirius hurling a barricade of missiles that streaked like burning comets.
Each projectile hit Altopereh dead on.
Each plasma wave collided with perfect precision.
None even made a mark.
Anemone trembled. For the first time in her life, she was speechless—her mind struggling to process the colossal silhouette in front of her.
"Ane! Stay sharp!" Maximilian roared. "You know how fast he—"
Too late.
Altopereh disappeared in a blur of shadow.
It reappeared behind Perciosa—a whisper of a voice bleeding through space:
"To think mighty beings like this… caged under armor like animals."
A slow, chilling laugh followed.
"Perhaps I'll set them free."
Its arm pierced through Perciosa's torso—straight through the core plating, straight through the internal stabilizer frame.
"ANE!!!" Maximilian screamed as Perciosa convulsed, then fell.
The orbiton plummeted from orbit like a broken star, crashing into the rising sea of black gunk below.
Maximilian didn't stop to breathe. He launched Sirius at Altopereh with everything he had, weapons blazing. Behind him, chunks of dislodged orbital debris, meteors, broken satellites, and even Terrian ships ripped free from gravity—drawn by Sirius's inertia field.
He hurled all of it at Altopereh.
The entire barrage collided—
—and dissolved like dust against the black hue.
Altopereh vanished again.
This time it appeared directly in front of Sirius. The sudden proximity made Maximilian's heart drop. Altopereh's voice rumbled with cosmic certainty:
"You still don't understand. It's not about objects around you…"
Its arm drew back.
"…it's about every piece of matter in existence."
The hand thrust forward, piercing directly into Sirius's cockpit.
The shock launched Sirius downward—falling, falling—toward Antia.
Altopereh didn't chase. It simply stood still, hovering in space as the black hue consumed its entire body. Plates bulged and dissolved. Lines of liquid shadow crawled from its joints like veins, forming its ancient, original shape.
Then it spread its arms wide.
And released a roar.
Not sound—a vibration so powerful it rattled the bones of every living creature. The roar echoed through the void, across orbit, through ships, across the planet. Alarms fried. Sensors overloaded. Pilots dropped in their seats from the pressure.
Back aboard the Morphius, Mikhail collapsed to his knees. The sight of Altopereh's transformation overloaded his mind.
"This is… this is a dream," he said, voice cracking. "A nightmare… it must be…"
Then he broke into laughter—shaking, unstable, terrified.
Emilia stormed across the bridge. She grabbed him by the collar and slapped him hard across the face.
"Get yourself together! This is not the time to break. There is a monster out there—and we are going to kill it."
Her words cut through the hysteria like a blade. Mikhail blinked, steadied his breath, wiped his face, and slowly stood.
"Thank you… sister," he whispered. "I needed that."
Then his voice became iron.
"All ships prepare for battle. Surround that monster. Fire all cannons!"
The eighty-eight remaining ships reformed into a net-like formation, converging on Altopereh from every angle and unleashing an unending barrage.
For a moment, space became a storm of light.
But then—
Altopereh vanished.
"Where did it go!?" Mikhail barked.
They received their answer instantly.
Above them, Altopereh hovered—hand extended, fist slowly closing.
A sphere of pure blackness swallowed half the fleet in an instant. Ships dissolved silently inside it, erased like they never existed. The remaining ships, including the Morphius, stared at the void ahead in horror.
Altopereh descended to face the survivors.
It raised its hand again—
And Mikhail closed his eyes, accepting death.
A spiral beam tore through space, slamming into Altopereh's torso and knocking it back. A crimson flare followed. Then a streak of burning light.
Perciosa—what was left of her—shot upward.
Anemone stood inside her cockpit, blood pouring from her scalp, one eye swollen shut, the other glowing red from sync overload. Her breathing was ragged, but her will was unbroken.
"You son of a bitch," she screamed. "I'M TAKING YOU TO HELL WITH ME!"
Altopereh chuckled darkly.
"Hell? Child… Hell is a place I built."
Tendrils erupted from its back, whipping toward Perciosa. Anemone dodged—barely—moving at velocities a human body should never withstand.
In sync mode, Perciosa turned into a streak of silver fire, weaving through tendrils, breaking sound and light barriers simultaneously.
Altopereh lunged.
Anemone lunged back.
Perciosa grappled Altopereh, wings locking around its torso. Her jaws opened and she unleashed a sonic beam, point-blank to Altopereh's head. The black hue was blown apart, exposing metal.
"GAMMA FEATHERS — FIRE!"
From every wing plate, hundreds of crimson darts erupted, striking Altopereh's exposed head in a single overwhelming cascade.
The explosion illuminated the entire planet.
Anemone staggered back, chest heaving. She aimed at the smoking silhouette.
"Please… please let that have taken the head off…"
The smoke cleared.
The head was intact.
Only lightly scratched.
And the hue slowly crawled back across it, reforming the armor.
"Saicrons made a damn good alloy," Altopereh said. "It'll take far, far more than that to even dent it."
Perciosa lunged again—this time folding wings inward, forming a blazing sphere. Her armor heated, glowing white-hot as she entered Celestial Body, transforming into a meteor of pure thermal and beam energy.
She collided with Altopereh at supervelocity—
—and was instantly swallowed by black tar.
Held. Crushed. Smothered.
Anemone screamed, feeling her orbiton compress like a soda can.
"Max! Fucking DO SOMETHING! I KNOW YOU'RE STILL ALIVE!"
On the surface far below, Sirius lay among the rocks, alarms shrieking. Maximilian was barely conscious—missing his left arm and leg, bleeding out. Anemone's voice broke through the static, begging.
With effort, he opened one eye.
"Damn… I really am dying…"
He knew Sirius was almost gone too.
"Hey… Sirius…" he coughed. "What would you take this time?"
Sirius's voice echoed coldly in his head.
"Another five years of your life… but it seems you don't have that much left."
Maximilian laughed weakly. "Damn… you're pricey…"
Then he whispered:
"I'll give you all my memories… and the rest of my organs. In exchange—be free. You probably got another ten minutes before I'm gone. Kill that monster."
Sirius paused.
Then chuckled.
"You really hate losing, don't you?"
Max just smiled. "…I do."
"Deal."
Sirius's core unlocked.
Flesh-like tendrils erupted, engulfing the orbiton.
Steam hissed from the ground, heat waves distorting the air. The metal frame swallowed, reshaped, transformed. A towering humanoid emerged—six enormous muscular arms, each spiraled with glowing turquoise veins. Its skin turned dark and reptilian, tail thrashing. Two massive square golden horns curved forward like ancient war crowns.
Yellow eyes opened, burning with primitive intelligence.
Sirius had taken its true form.