Page 70 of Stars in Nova

The sharp, staccato sound of explosions in the distance cut through Samira’s words.

The ground trembled, the vibration traveling up through Samira’s boots.

Sharin’s tools rattled on the bench, and the mask’s glow dimmed momentarily as the energy in the room shifted.

Samira raced to a monitor and turned it on, swiping through screens. ‘The Corilians are retaliating.Fokk, we knew they might, just not this soon. They’ve broken through the first level of shields in the upper tunnels. They’re moving in.’

She pressed a button, and klaxons began to sound throughout Thalassi’s underground caves.

In between the alarms, she shouted into the mic. ‘All units, get armed and ready for battle.’

Whirling away from the console, she sprinted for the door and came to a sliding halt. ‘Damn,’ she growled, turning around,eyes falling on the Rider. ‘What the hell am I going to do with you?’

Kisan folded his arms over his chest and shrugged his shoulders, smirking. ‘You tell me.’

She huffed in exasperation. ‘You can either stay here or fight with us.’

He narrowed his eyes at her. ‘Didn’t you say it’s not my struggle?’

‘Fokk, Sable, I don’t have time for word wars. Make up your mind.’

His eyes gleamed. ‘A Rider never turns down a chance to beat the shit out of the enemy.’

‘So you’re coming?’

He arched a brow. ‘Fokkyeah.’

Kisan straightened and reached for the mask still glowing on the table surface. ‘Bring it on.’

Samira glanced at him, torn. ‘You intend to use that?’

He met her gaze, his voice firm. ‘Naam, every advantage we can get, ay?’

Kisan lifted the spinel device and placed it over his face.

The device latched onto him, its embedded screws burrowing into the hidden implants in his skull.

The hiss of metal meeting flesh filled the room, followed by his sharp intake of breath.

His entire body tensed as the artifact tightened into place, its circuits sparking against his skin.

Samira reached out, her fingers brushing his arm. ‘Kisan—’

‘I’m fine,’ he bit out, his voice strained but steady.

The unusual veil completed its integration, and the Rider’s physique radiated with a new, unsettling power.

The kinetic spinel visor glowed, its intricate facets shifting between opaque black and translucent green as it synchronized with his bio-life force.

The air around him seemed to thrum, vibrating with an unseen force as if the mask were alive and feeding off his essence.

Metal tendrils extended from its edges, locking into the neural implants beneath his skull.

He shuddered, his jaw tightening against the sharp, intrusive sensation. The hiss of machinery and the whir of spinning energy filled the chamber.

Then, his face began to transform.

A series of vibrational oscillations distorted his features, rendering them both unfamiliar and terrifying.

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