PROLOGUE
Before the universe tore them apart
The universe was not created for love.
It was created for expansion, for the collision of stars, for the silent extinction of
entire worlds that no one would remember. Love, on the other hand, was always a
mistake. AAccident. Something that arose in places where it shouldn't exist.
And that's why, when it happened, nobody knew how to stop it.
Long before Elián Rowe set foot in Astra-Khal, long before he uttered the name
Kael without yet knowing what it would mean, history was already written in
invisible layers of time.
The Human Confederation called that planet Containment Zone K-Ω. A
cold name. Aseptic. Perfect for hiding the horror.
Astra-Khal orbited a dying star, bathed in a perpetual light that never quite
became day or night. Its sky was covered with iridescent clouds and celestial
bodies suspended like open wounds. There were no blue oceans or green forests.
Only living stone, organic structures, and a civilization that had learned to survive
without asking permission from the universe.
The Kha'Reth were born there.
For centuries, they had been a warrior species, yes, but also philosophers,
guardians of the planet's biological balance. Their bodies were strong, hybrid,
designed by an evolution that did not separate mind and beast as humans did. For
them, instinct was not a sin. It was memory.
That's what condemned them.
When humanity arrived at Astra-Khal, it didn't see a culture. It saw a threat.
Translated from Spanish to English - www.onlinedoctranslator.com—Too big.
—Too strong.
—Too emotional.
—Too… different.
The first war lasted barely six months.The
second one, three.
After that there were no more wars. Only cages.
The Confederacy did not exterminate them. That would have been too obvious a
crime.In return, he reclassified them.
Subjugated species.
Race with cognitive
limitations.Intelligent beasts.
And with those words, they stole their right to
decide.Kael was born in the last free generation.
He didn't remember the sky without energy barriers, but he remembered his mother's
voice.Grave. Soft. Singing in a language that no one used anymore, while marking
symbols on his chest with natural pigments.
"Your strength is not for destroying," he told her. "It's for protecting what
you love."Kael grew up believing that.
Until the Confederation reached his village.
The memories of that night never left him. The human ships descending like
metallic gods. The sound of sonic weapons. The smell of blood mixed with ozone.
The screams.
Kael had fought. Everyone had.
But instinct was not enough against technology designed to subdue.When he
woke up, he was chained up.
Since then, he learned a brutal
truth:Obedience kept others alive.
Their rebellion condemned them.Years later, Kael became what they wanted him to
be.A contained weapon.
An alpha warrior trained to follow orders, to intimidate, to demonstrate why the
Kha'Reth needed control. His body was modified, reinforced. His mind,Observed.
Never completely broken… but always watched.
What the Confederacy never managed to do was erase
something essential.Kael felt.
I felt too much.
Every death. Every punishment. Every human who looked at him with fear or
disgust. Every scientist who spoke of him as if he didn't understand.
He learned to stay still. To breathe slowly. To not show his fangs. To notto
answer when they called him a beast.
Because survival was a form of resistance.
Elsewhere in the universe, far away from Astra-Khal, Elián Rowe gazed at the
starsfrom the window of an orbital station.
I never wanted to be a hero.
Elián was a quiet man, with gentle gestures and profound thoughts. He had chosen
xenobiology because it allowed him to observe life without needing to dominate it.
He naively believed that knowledge could be a form of peace.
She had lost the people she loved far too soon. She learned to live with silence. To
take refuge in facts, in theories, in worlds that didn't require her to open her heart.
Until he received the assignment.
"It's just a scientific link," they told him. "We need someone empathetic.
Empathetic."
The word made him smile bitterly.
Elian had read the reports about the Kha'Reth. He had studied them with a
An attention bordering on obsession. He didn't see monsters in those images. He saw
eyes.Conscious. Complex languages. Social structures based on deep bonds.
I saw a huge injustice… normalized.
He accepted the mission without saying it aloud, but with a silent
certainty:Something was terribly wrong.
During the trip to Astra-Khal, Elián dreamed.
She didn't remember the dreams when she woke up, only a lingering
feeling. Heat.Presence. A gaze that did not judge, but saw too much.
The day before she arrived, she woke up with a racing heart and a name on her lips
thatI didn't know.
He didn't understand why.
Fate didn't announce its arrival with epic music or obvious signs. Just a crossing of
paths. A weary scientist and a chained beast. Two marked souls.through different
losses, united by a common wound.
When Elián finally crossed the gates of the detention center, he didn't know that
hislife had just been divided in two.
Before Kael.
And after Kael.
And Kael, upon first smelling that distinct aroma—human, yes, but laden with
somethingMoreover, he knew that the universe had just made an unforgivable
mistake.
Because for the first time in years…
Something inside him awoke.
It wasn't a desire at
first.It wasn't anger.
It wasn't hunger.
It was recognition.
And so, without explosions or prophecies, began a story that would bring to its
kneeslaws, empires, and stars.
Because love, when it's born where it shouldn't, doesn't ask for permission.CHAPTER 1
The Breathing Beast
The planet Astra-Khal did not welcome.
There was no clear sky or defined sun, only an immense vault of violet hues.and
deep blues, pierced by a constant light that seemed to come from no particular
point. It was a world suspended in an eternal twilight, as if the universe had
decided to leave it halfway between birth and death.
Elián Rowe watched everything from the hatch of the craft as it slowly descended
toward the surface. His hands rested on the transparent glass, his fingers tense, as
if touching that landscape might give him some answer.
"Landing in thirty seconds," announced the automated
voice.Elián inhaled slowly.
He had spent months preparing for this moment: reports, simulations, biological
analyses, historical records. He knew what Astra-Khal looked like in data. But no
screen had ever managed to convey that oppressive feeling… as if the planet
itself were watching him.
"Remember the rules," the captain said from the front seat. "No physical contact.
No prolonged eye contact. No improvisation."
Elian nodded, though his mind was elsewhere.
Don't improvise.
I had never been good at following orders when morality came into play.
The ship touched down with a slight shudder. From the hatch, the K-7 Containment
Center was visible, a colossal structure of dark metal embedded in the planet's
bedrock. Watchtowers, bluish energy fields, and floating platforms.They surrounded
the complex like a ring of absolute control.
—Welcome to the end of the world—muttered one of the human soldiers escorting
him.
The gate opened.The air in Astra-Khal was denser than Elián had expected. It had a strange, mineral
scent, mixed with something organic, almost animal. It immediately made his skin
crawl. He adjusted the light respirator around his neck, even though it wasn't strictly
necessary.
"Dr. Rowe," said a woman in a gray uniform, approaching. "I'm Commander Hale.
From now on, you're under my jurisdiction."
—Understood —Elián replied politely.
Hale assessed him with a quick, professional glance. His eyes lingered on his face
for barely a second longer than usual, as if trying to decipher whether this scientist
truly belonged there.
"He's here to observe," he continued. "Nothing more. We don't save
souls here." Elián held his gaze.
"I'm here to understand," she replied. "Sometimes that's the first
step." The commander didn't smile.
—That's usually dangerous here.
They passed through a series of armored corridors. Each door closed behind
them.with a heavy, definitive sound. Elián felt the feeling of confinement building
layer upon layer, as if the air itself were becoming narrower.
"The Kha'Reth are moved in shifts," Hale explained as they walked. "Today
You'll see one of the alpha subjects. He's... special.
Special.
Another empty word to justify fear.
They arrived at a large, circular room, surrounded by translucent containment
fields.In the center, a huge figure stood.
Elián stopped dead in his tracks.
It wasn't a cage.
It was a stage.
The Kha'Reth far exceeded human stature. His body was a work of pure strength.Her
body was composed: defined muscles, dark skin with metallic veins that reflected
the light, retracted claws, horns curved back like a wild crown. Her chest moved
slowly with each breath.But what captivated Elián was not his
physique.It was her eyes.
Deep gold.
Conscious.
Painfully alive.
"That's Kael," Hale said. "Alpha warrior. Highly intelligent. Highly dangerous."Kael
didn't move.
He looked like he was carved from stone… until he raised his head.
Their eyes met Elián's. The world
shrank.
There was no immediate threat. There was no roar or aggression. Just a look that
pierced through every layer of Elián's emotional training as if they didn't exist.
He felt a sharp blow to his chest. An erratic heartbeat.
"Keep your distance," the commander ordered. But
Elián had already taken a step forward.
The soldiers tensed their weapons. The energy fields vibrated.
Kael barely inclined his head.
A small gesture.
But deliberate.
"He breathes differently," Kael said.
The voice was deep, resonant, with a resonance that wasn't entirely human. It wasn't
aThe language learned was an adapted one.
Elián felt a chill run down his spine.
"Does he speak our language?" he asked in a low voice.
"More than you should," Hale replied harshly. "Kael, be quiet." Kael did not
obey.Her eyes remained fixed on Elián, as if everything else had ceased to exist.
"You don't smell of fear," he continued. "But your heart is
racing." Elián swallowed.
It was true. Her pulse was racing, but not from terror. It was something more
complex, more intimate.
"My name is Elián," he said, ignoring the warning looks. "I haven't come here to hurt
you."
Kael narrowed his eyes. A glimmer of something ancient crossed his expression.
—Everyone says that.
"Not everyone," Elián replied. "I'm a scientist. I'm here to learn."A low,
harsh laugh escaped from Kael's chest.
"Learn..." he repeated. "Humans always learn after destroying." Elián felt the
weight of those words.
"Not everyone," he insisted. "Some of us want to understand first."
The silence grew thick. Even the soldiers seemed to be holding their
breath.Kael stepped up. The midfield shone brightly.
"Do you know what I am?" he asked.
"I know what they say about you," Elián replied. "But I prefer to see it for myself."
Kael watched him with unsettling attention, as if analyzing every micro-gesture,
every heartbeat.
"You see," she murmured. "You don't
just look." Elián felt something open up
inside him. The commander took a step
forward.
—Enough. Kael, step back.
For an eternal second, Kael didn't move.Then, slowly, he obeyed.
But before doing so, his gaze lingered one last time on Elián.
"Be careful, human," he said softly. "Cages don't always have bars."The energy
fields intensified. The session was over.
As they walked away, Elián felt a strange pressure in his chest. It wasn't relief. It
was an immediate loss, as if something important had been ripped away too soon.
"Don't do that again," Hale said coldly. "That guy isn't your friend."Elian did
not respond.
Because in his mind only one certainty resonated that was impossible to ignore:
Kael was not a beast.
He was someone who had learned to breathe in captivity.
And something, deep inside her, told her that that first encounter had not been an
accident.
It had been a beginning.