Page 33 of Fated to the Alien Chieftain

Thousands of tendrils of every size spring out from above, grasping for us like some ancient god, wanting nothing more than to crush us in its grip like insects. But it can’t break through Krogoth’s defenses as he effortlessly halts and tears them to pieces. My warvisor alerts my senses that the torn metal limbs are breaking away into nanoscopic parts and reforming into new shapes.

“Krogoth, it’s regenerating itself. Send them to the void!” I shout over the noise of snapping whip like strikes of metal. A swirling vortex appears in the epicenter of the twisted metal pipes. They groan and shudder before eventually succumbing to the impossible gravitation forces. Some turn to dust before melting away, but the bulk of the mass is swallowed into the cosmic abyss.

A moment of silence stretches out, but I remain tense, expecting another attack. Krogoth exhales a sigh of relief before descending the steps down to inspect the center of the room.Could that really be the end of it already?

“Defeated so easily?” Krogoth inquires, giving voice to my own concerns.

“Maybe it was some kind of brain machine, not designed to fight?” I offer, hoping it to be true.

I reach out with the powers of Machsin.Oh, no! It’s all around us hungering“Krogoth, get back!” I shout.

But it’s too late.

Impossibly small fragments form together, so infinitely tiny even my warvisor cannot detect them. They build and build almost instantaneously until Krogoth is encased in a crushing, twisted mass of metal ropes.

“ANOMALY!” a garbled tangle of syllables reverberates through the circular room.

I watch in horror as Krogoth cries out in pain, as tiny threads and wires penetrate his flesh, turning his skin an ashen gray color.

“IRREGULARITY!” the non voice vibrates my senses.

My stomach churns, knowing I can’t help the man I love as he is being slowly killed before my eyes. “Krogoth!” I plead, helplessly.

Krogoth’s eyes and hands glow with an intense purple light, as the wires embedded in his skin shudder and jolt, moving backwards, before they stop abruptly, straining intensely, caught between two incredible forces.

“ABNORMALITY!” The voice booms out louder now.

“It’s corrupting me!” Krogoth cries out in agony as the wires dig into him a little further. “Run Pebbles, before it forces me to kill you.”

Tears stream from my eyes at the heartbreaking sight. “I’ll never leave you, Krogoth.” I wipe the tears away, determined to stop this fucking machine.But what can I do?Closing my eyes, I project into Krogoth, sensing his desperate determinationto fight, and his fear. There’s another presence within him that feels nothing, it merely hungers, devouring him.

In the other realm of emotions, I can see Krogoth’s purple light being sucked into the blackness. I desperately project emotions into the horrible black mass, and into Krogoth, trying anything I can. But to my despair, nothing works.Is this all I can do? Watch on helplessly?!I stare at my shaking hands.I would give anything to save him!

“ERASE ABERRATION!” The voice echoes out almost triumphantly.

A desperate need consumes me, akin to the bond Krogoth spoke of. I can feel his pain as it twists my heart, drawing a part of me into him. It’s a thing different from Machsin’s powers. This comes from a raw, more primal place, causing my adrenaline to burn through my veins as more and more of me flows into Krogoth.

Exhausted, I fall to my knees, to see Krogoth’s eyes glow almost blindingly bright with a mix of purple and green colors. The wires buried into his flesh melt away, as does the rest of the metal entangling him.

Krogoth raises his hands above him, creating a huge vortex overhead. “This is the only way,” he whispers. This orb glows with strange colors, much different from before. “I’ll see you soon, Pebbles,” he laughs with joy. He throws his arms wide, and suddenly the vortex grows to an incredible size, swallowing me and everything else into the swirling mass of twisting colors.

Everything grows dark.

My vision is blurry, forcing me to blink back moist eyes. The air is chilling, sending a shiver running through me.Where am I now?As my eyes clear, I find myself standing in the midst of space. A surreal sense of vertigo almost overwhelms me as dizziness makes my head spin.How is this possible?I feelunsteady on my feet wondering why I’m not floating, and how I can breathe.

Cautiously tapping my foot, I’m relieved when I touch something hard, something real beneath me. The floor is some transparent material that I’m able to walk along. The vista is gorgeous, taking my breath away as colorful vibrant nebulas, each swirling with hues of purple, blues and greens, mingle and dance together like a cosmic ballet.

Stars of various colors peek through ethereal clouds in another expanse, casting a soft glow in the cosmic darkness. Glowing curtains of radiant colors stretch across the universe as solar winds interact with a mysterious magnetic field, painting the cosmos with bursts of colorful flashes. Goosebumps ripple across my skin as wonder fills every direction I gaze.

That’s until my nose and head rudely bump into a transparent wall. “Ouch, stupid thing!”I curse, rubbing the pain away. Annoyance gives way to curiosity as I run my hands over the wall, feeling the cold, thick material. The shape appears to be a dome or bubble, curving slightly.Who put this here? And how did I get here?So many questions, but when it comes to these visions, very little ever makes sense.

A slap-like sound echoes behind me, abruptly interrupting my thoughts. I pivot to witness the imposing, naked figure of Krogoth standing triumphantly, hands raised as they were in the last moments before his vortex engulfed me. A smile graces my lips as he sways his head from side to side, a look of confusion etched across his face.

“Where are we?” He asks, his eyes lingering on me as a broad smile, revealing his glimmering fangs, brightens his face. “Gods, such beautiful sights.”

I can’t help but laugh. “Tell me about it!” I boldly stare at his ample, dangling manhood. “You do realize you’re completely naked, Krogoth?” I inquire with a smile.

Krogoth glances down at himself. “That explains the chill,” he says, completely unfazed, as if being naked is the most normal thing. I admire his nonchalant confidence as I look at his hyper-masculine physique, reflecting the hues from the swirling colors outside. They highlight his ripping musculature in a most pleasing way that sends tingles dancing along my skin.

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