Page 25 of New World

Zoak stepped back into the shadows, a satisfied hum vibrating low in his throat. There was no hurry. If Roan Landais was indeed alive as he suspected, he would come to see Dorane. If Zoak was lucky, Roan would bring the female Ancient with him.

“Perhaps I will rearrange my list to accommodate her first. So many choices. So many trophies,” he chuckled in a rare moment of enjoyment.

Whichever order he decided, when he was finished, the galaxy would never forget his name.

Three days later, the soft hum of the freighter surrounded Mei, a constant drone that had become oddly familiar over the past weeks. She sat on the small cot in the cabin Tiv had claimed for her, fingering the fabric she was sitting on. The room carried the faint hint of stale air and dust, but beneath her was the crisp scent of clean fabric—a small luxury she hadn’t had in far too long.

The cabin was a forgotten space, tucked away in the upper level of the freighter, used only when a paying passenger booked passage, which was rare, given the ship’s battered state. The room had been filled with crates of things the captain didn’t know what to do with but didn’t want to toss—half-functional equipment, odd trinkets from past hauls, and bits of tech too outdated to sell but too valuable to discard.

It had given her a place to be, to exist without constantly looking over her shoulder.

Tiv had helped her, bringing her food during the late-night rotation when no one was around. During those quiet moments, Mei had learned more about the war brewing across the stars.

The fight between the Legion and the Gallant was escalating. There had been battles—entire fleets torn apart in the vacuum of space, planets shifting alliances, outposts vanishing without a trace. And then, the rumor.

A new Ancient Knight had been discovered.

A woman.

One who had stood up to General Landais.

Mei’s fingers had curled into the fabric of the sheets as she processed those words. Landais—the Legion General. The one everyone had feared? Dead? An unknown woman.

Her breath had hitched, the realization striking her like a live wire. They had survived. All of them. Sergi. Julia. Ash. Josh.

The crew of the Gliese wasn’t just alive. They were fighting.

A shuddering breath had left her lips as she sat there, staring at Tiv in disbelief, struggling to breathe past the storm of emotions rising inside her.

Relief. Grief. Hope.

For the first time since she awoke, she understood the purpose of her survival. She needed to find them… and stand beside them in the war they had been drawn into. Her gaze was drawn to the image filling the viewport.

Outside, Cryon II loomed—a colossal, moon-like structure, vast and sprawling, an artificial world suspended in the void. It wasn’t natural, wasn’t a planet formed by time and the cosmos. It was built, piece by piece, a testament to the raw ambition of those who ruled this corner of the galaxy.

Metallic plates formed a patchwork over its surface, interlaced with glowing seams of energy conduits. Docking stations jutted out like skeletal arms cradling incoming ships, each one vanishing into the labyrinthine corridors of the station’s interior.

It was staggering.

She had seen cities before, but this? This was something else.

An entire world, floating in space.

The realization of the difference from Earth was mind blowing. She had always been a survivor, but she had survived in what she had known—a realm bound to Earth, with its rules, its limits. This place had no limits.

For the first time since waking up, she felt small.

Not weak, but small—a single thread in a galaxy-wide tapestry.

The thought was terrifying.

And yet… exhilarating.

Her grip on the edge of the cot tightened. She was about to step into a place she didn’t understand, among people who didn’t know her.

But… the others have found their destiny. I will too.

A shuddering breath slipped from her. Josh, Ash, Sergi… even Julia, sweet, compassionate, nerdy Julia, had fought to stand against the Legion. Mei had thought she was alone, but she wasn’t.

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