The escape pod was designed for four passengers. Seven beings were currently crammed inside, and the life support system was complaining loudly about it.
"This is a terrible plan," Dr. Senna muttered, pressing uncomfortably against a bulkhead as the pod rocketed away from Sanctuary Prime. Through the viewport, the station was barely visible through the crossfire of a dozen competing fleets.
"You have a better one?" Princess Lyra occupied most of the pilot seat, her bulk making maneuvering a challenge. "We're in a glorified tin can trying to avoid detection by half the military powers in this sector. Forgive me if my piloting isn't up to standard."
Commander Seris maintained her dignified composure despite being wedged between two of Lyra's warriors. "The Crystal Dominion maintains a safe house on Station Meridian. If we can reach it before…"
The pod's proximity alarms shrieked. Something massive had just locked onto them.
**[ALERT: TARGETING SYSTEMS DETECTED]**
**[SOURCE: SOLAR EMPRESS FLAGSHIP]**
**[WEAPONS LOCK IMMINENT]**
"They found us," one of Lyra's warriors growled. "How? This pod is running stealth protocols…"
"They're tracking him." Seris pointed at Ethan. "His energy signature after the Voidborne kill is like a beacon. Every cultivator with spiritual sense within ten light-years can feel it."
Ethan's stomach dropped. "You're saying I'm leading them right to us?"
"Essentially, yes."
A communication channel forced itself open, and Empress Kara's face filled the pod's small display screen. She was stunning in the way that supernovas were stunning. Her skin was the color of gold, her eyes literally burning with inner fire, and her hair moved like living flames.
"How delightfully resourceful," she purred, her voice rich with amusement. "The human managed to escape with not one but two potential rivals. Tell me, Seris, are you and the Fenris Princess planning to share? How modern of you."
"Empress Kara." Seris's voice remained level despite their situation. "The human is under Coalition protection. Your interference constitutes an act of…"
"The Coalition has no power here." Kara's smile was predatory. "Sanctuary Prime is burning. Your precious neutral ground is ash. This sector now operates under the law of strength, and I have the strongest fleet present." She leaned closer to the camera, her gaze finding Ethan despite the cramped quarters.
"Human, you have ten seconds to surrender yourself to my custody. And if you refuse, I'll vaporize that pod and pick through the debris for your remains. I only need you alive. Your companions are optional."
**[SYSTEM ANALYSIS: THREAT CREDIBLE]**
**[EMPRESS KARA - POWER LEVEL: PEAK CORE FORMATION]**
**[VICTORY PROBABILITY: 0.001%]**
"She's bluffing," Lyra said, but her tone suggested she didn't believe it. "If she destroys the pod, she risks killing you. Your body might not survive…"
"I've killed for less," Kara interrupted. "Six seconds, human."
Ethan's mind raced. The system had gotten him into this mess by making him a beacon. Maybe it could get him out. He focused on the interface, searching for options.
**[ABILITY AVAILABLE: ENERGY SUPPRESSION]**
**[WARNING: WILL REDUCE COMBAT EFFECTIVENESS BY 80%]**
**[DURATION: LIMITED]**
Not perfect, but it might buy them time. "I can suppress my signature and hide us from spiritual tracking."
"How?" Seris asked quickly.
"Does it matter? Do it!" Lyra yanked the pod into a hard turn, and something—probably one of Kara's warning shots—streaked past them close enough to make the hull groan.
Ethan triggered the ability. The energy that had been coursing through his body since the Foundation breakthrough suddenly dampened, pulled inward and compressed into a tiny core. It felt like trying to contain a star in a bottle, but the system guided him through the process.
The change was immediate. The targeting lock on their pod wavered, then lost acquisition.
"Impossible," Kara's voice held genuine surprise. "He's gone. How did a Foundation Realm novice manage spiritual concealment?"
"The Immortal Path system," Seris murmured, her silver eyes gleaming with renewed interest.
"The ancient protocols include techniques lost for millennia. He's accessing abilities that shouldn't be possible at his level."
On screen, Empress Kara's expression had shifted from amused confidence to something sharper. "Find him," she commanded someone off-screen. "Deploy spiritual tracking arrays. He can't hide forever."
The communication cut out.
Lyra immediately changed course, diving toward the debris field of a destroyed ship. "We've got maybe thirty minutes before her sensors adapt. Where are we running to?"
"Station Meridian is compromised now," Seris said. "Kara will have ships waiting there. We need somewhere unexpected."
"The Frontier Zones," Dr. Senna suggested. "The unclaimed territories. Harder to track, less traffic, more places to hide."
"Also more dangerous," one of Lyra's warriors pointed out. "Pirates, rogue cultivators, unstable spatial anomalies…"
"Safer than here," Ethan said. The energy suppression was already giving him a headache, like trying to hold his breath indefinitely. "How long until we reach the frontier?"
"Three hours if we push the pod's engines past safety limits," Lyra calculated. "Which we're definitely doing."
The pod shuddered as she maxed the thrust. Warning lights flickered across the console, but they were accelerating away from the battle at Sanctuary Prime.
Ethan's system timer showed 22:14:09 remaining. Three hours of travel, plus however long they needed to stay hidden after that. The math was tight.
"When we reach the frontier," Seris said carefully, "my offer of alliance stands. The Crystal Dominion can provide resources, training facilities, and political protection."
"In exchange for what?" Ethan wasn't naive enough to think she was doing this out of kindness.
"Your presence at the Dominion court. Not as a prisoner," she added quickly, seeing his expression. "As an honored guest.
You would have freedom of movement, access to ancient cultivation texts, and the pick of suitable partners should you choose to…"
"She means they'd parade you around like a prize stud," Lyra interrupted bluntly. "Dress it up however you want, Seris, but your Empress wants the same thing Kara does. His genetics and his power."
"And your pack is different?" Seris's voice could have frozen stars. "You literally challenged other species for the right to court him."
"At least I'm honest about it!" Lyra's claws extended unconsciously. "We value strength and directness. We wouldn't cage him in silk and lies…"
"Both of you, stop." Dr. Senna's voice echoed and stopped the building argument. "You're treating him like an object while sitting three feet away from him. Maybe try asking what he wants?"
Silence fell in the cramped pod. Everyone turned to look at Ethan.
He took a breath, trying to organize thoughts that had been in chaos since Earth burned. "I want to survive the next twenty-two hours and see what this system gives me. After that?"
He looked at each of them in turn. "I want to be strong enough that no one can force me into anything. Not breeding programs, not political marriages, not wars I didn't start either."
"A reasonable goal," Seris acknowledged. "But strength takes time to cultivate. Years, even decades to reach levels that matter."
"Then I'll find a way to speed it up." Ethan met her silver gaze steadily. "I went from mortal to Foundation Realm in hours. I channeled three different cultivation types simultaneously. Whatever this system is, it's not bound by normal rules."
**[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: QUEST PROGRESS DETECTED]**
**[HOST DETERMINATION: HIGH]**
**[BONUS OBJECTIVE AVAILABLE: REACH CORE FORMATION BEFORE QUEST COMPLETION]**
**[REWARD: ADVANCED TECHNIQUE UNLOCK]**
Ethan's attention snapped to the new message. Core Formation? That was supposed to take years of dedicated cultivation. His system was offering it as a bonus objective for a twenty-four hour quest?
"What is it?" Lyra had noticed his distracted expression. "The system again?"
"It's offering me Core Formation," Ethan said slowly. "If I can achieve it before the quest timer runs out."
The pod went absolutely silent. Even the engines seemed to quiet.
"That's not possible," Seris finally said. "Foundation to Core Formation requires perfect energy compression, spiritual awakening, and the formation of your core's unique pattern. It takes years of meditation and care…"
"He killed a Voidborne with three hours of cultivation experience," Senna pointed out. "Maybe we need to stop assuming normal rules apply."
Princess Lyra's expression had transformed into something intense. "If you reach Core Formation in the next twenty-two hours, you'd be the fastest cultivation advancement in recorded history. You'd also be strong enough to actually defend yourself against most threats."
"Most threats?" Ethan caught the qualifier.
"Empress Kara is Peak Core Formation, one step from Soul Realm. Commander Seris is High Core Formation. I'm Mid Core Formation." Lyra's honesty was brutal.
"Even if you break through, you'd be Low Core Formation. Powerful by most standards, but against the people hunting you?" She shook her head. "You'd survive longer. Not indefinitely."
"It's still better than being mortal in a galaxy that wants to own me."
"True enough."
The pod's sensors pinged. Lyra frowned at the display. "We've got company. Three ships, vector suggests they're not from any of the fleets at Sanctuary. Maybe pirates sensing opportunity in the chaos."
**[ANALYSIS: OPPORTUNISTIC RAIDERS]**
**[THREAT LEVEL: MODERATE]**
**[RECOMMENDATION: ENGAGE OR EVADE]**
"Can we outrun them?" Ethan asked.
"In this overloaded pod? Not likely." Lyra's fingers moved across the controls. "We could try hiding in the asteroid field ahead, but our energy signature—even suppressed might give us away."
"Or," one of her warriors suggested with a feral grin, "we could handle three pirates easily. Let them board, kill them and take their ship. Better than running in a pod that's held together with prayers."
Seris nodded slowly. "Not a terrible plan. A proper ship would have better stealth systems, faster engines, and actual weapons."
"It would also mean combat," Senna protested. "Ethan just learned he's a cosmic beacon for anyone with spiritual sense. Using his power would announce our location."
"Only if I release the suppression," Ethan said, an idea forming. "What if I stayed hidden while you three handled the raiders? Then we could take their ship without broadcasting our position."
Lyra's grin was all teeth. "I like how you think, human. Stay in the background, let the experienced warriors handle the fighting." She cracked her knuckles, and Ethan heard bones pop. "It's been too long since I had a proper fight."
The raider ships were closing fast, their weapons powering up. One of them hailed the pod.
"Unidentified vessel, you're drifting in our claimed territory," a rough voice announced. "Surrender your cargo and passengers for inspection. Resistance will be met with lethal force."
"Lethal force," Lyra repeated mockingly. "I'm terrified." She switched off the suppression on her own power, letting it radiate outward. "Come and try, little pirates. Let me show you what real strength looks like."
The raiders paused, clearly sensing her Core Formation cultivation. Then, perhaps driven by greed or stupidity, they accelerated toward the pod anyway.
"Some people," Seris sighed, her own power beginning to manifest, "have to learn lessons the hard way."
Ethan settled back as much as the cramped space allowed, maintaining his energy suppression. His timer read 22:03:47.
Just over twenty-two hours to survive, reach Core Formation, and figure out how to be the last human alive without becoming the galaxy's most valuable prisoner.
The raider ships opened fire, and Princess Lyra's laugh was the last thing Ethan heard before the pod's airlock explosively decompressed and three very angry cultivators went hunting.