(( Close To The Universe Center )) The celestial platform glowed beneath Gustav like a breathing star. Strange cosmic veins pulsed across it as the ritual continued with the five sacred items connected by threads of glowing light. Gustav hung suspended, unconscious, floating in a state between time and reality. His body glowed with golden-white cracks as universe-level information funneled into him endlessly. Sersi sat cross-legged beside Ria, while Endric sat a few meters away, monitoring the symbols. Sersi exhaled slowly. "It's already been nearly two weeks… how far do you think he has gone?" Endric didn't look away from the floating sigils. "The ritual isn't even halfway done." Ria's eyes widened slightly. "Halfway? It feels like he's been up there for ages." Endric's expression tightened. "Gustav is reliving everything… every memory of his Outworldly days. Every step of his power. Every moment where he wasn't himself. He is reconciling fragments of who he was—pieces that were lost, buried, or altered." Sersi frowned softly. "That sounds painful." "It is," Endric answered. "But necessary. Only after accepting all parts of himself can he reclaim his full outworldly strength." Ria hugged his knees lightly. "You said… it could take three weeks?" "At least." Endric corrected gently. "Four weeks at most." Sersi leaned back, gazing at the swirling cosmic expanse around them. "He's doing all that… while we're just sitting here." Endric finally turned to them. "We're not just sitting here. We're holding guard over the most important ritual in the universe right now. If anything interrupts this, everything collapses." Ria nodded softly. Sersi sighed. "I know. I just… I miss him." Endric gave a rare faint smile. "We all do." They turned their eyes upward again to Gustav who was glowing, floating and merging deeper into the universe itself. ... ... On the fifth day, a small ship drifted silently toward the speck of steel floating at the edge of a distant star system. A lone station shaped like a ring and completely mechanical, stood out. Unlike the other Gustavo Alliance stations they had infiltrated, this one emitted no biological signature. No heartbeats. No breathing forms. No fluctuating biometrics. It was a graveyard of machines commanded by a single living being. The domain of the 16th Commander, blood relative of one of the Gustavo Alliance leaders. Inside the ship, Falco, E.E, and Aildris watched through the transparent screen as the station grew bigger with every passing second. Aildris finally exhaled. "There it is." E.E nodded slowly. "The only station run entirely by droids. No staff. No guards with flesh. Just metal, sensors, automated turrets and…" he paused. Falco raised a brow. "And a woman who probably knows more about the leaders than anyone else below them." "Yeah," E.E replied. "Her being related by blood is our best shot." Falco leaned back. "We get her fast. Quiet. No alarms. If one thing goes wrong here, this entire station could broadcast an alert across galaxies." Aildris closed his eyes for a moment and inhaled. "Angy is holding things down at the 42nd station. We can't afford mistakes. We finish this mission, and the leaders of the Gustavo Alliance are next." The three nodded to each other with unspoken resolve. They were ready. The ship wasn't allowed to dock. The station had automated scanners that verified DNA, authorization codes, and robotic signatures. Everything organic was detected instantly. So instead, they floated toward the station in heavy, metallic space suits, crafted to mimic the structure of the combat droids used within the 16th commander's station. The suits had black exterior plating, mechanical joints, no visible eyes, Reinforced torso. It was built not for simulating mechanical posture and movement. Aildris tested the arm movement. "Feels stiff." "It's supposed to," E.E replied. "These things move with minimal fluidity. Too smooth and we'll stand out." Falco kicked at the magnetic boots and muttered, "I hate pretending to be a robot." "Well," E.E shrugged, "we can't walk in as ourselves. This place is too monitored." Falco's gaze remained set on the bright circle of the station ahead. "Let's move." They pushed away from the ship, drifting in silence. Their suits absorbed the freezing void of space. Gravity-less, weightless, silent. The massive station floated before them like a fortress carved from the bones of dead stars. And then— BEEP-BEEP-BEEP— Aildris stiffened. "We're close enough for the proximity alarms to pick us up." E.E raised an arm and whispered, "Then we skip the alarms." He snapped his fingers. A vortex tore open in the vacuum of space and the three drifted into it just as the station's scanners activated. They rematerialized inside the outer chamber of the station, bypassing the alarm trigger entirely. E.E exhaled in relief. "No spatial distortions here. Good." Falco landed with a heavy metallic thud. "So we're in." Aildris scanned the mechanized corridors, conveyor belts transporting crates, drones flying overhead in neat, synchronized lines. "All machines. Not a single organic presence. Just like the records said." Now all they had to do was find her. They took their time, moving with slow motion, mimicking droid behavior. Every step had to match the pace and rhythm of the station bots. Every turn of the head. Every shift of the arm. Every pause at a scanning beam. Falco grumbled internally the entire time. He could break the station in half if he wanted to. Being forced to move like a defective toaster pissed him off. But they endured, navigating deeper into the station. Rooms flashed by, storage units, power cores, workshop bays, charging hubs. Everything run by machines. "This is like a city for droids," E.E whispered. "More like a kingdom," Aildris responded. "She commands everything here." They reached an inner sector where doors were heavily reinforced and scanners thicker. The environment changed drastically... "This is her area," Aildris said quietly. E.E nodded. "Then let's finish this." They approached the doors. Their suits clanked softly as they stepped into a circular chamber leading to the commander's private quarters. A holographic map Falco had memorized flickered in his mind. "This is it. Behind that wall is her chamber." Aildris pressed his glove to the metallic floor. "Everything is still functioning normally. She hasn't noticed us." E.E crouched slightly, preparing to strike. "We hit hard and fast. Grab her before she realizes what's going on." Falco nodded. "It's been smooth so far. Let's hope—" But before he could finish… Everything suddenly froze. Their suits locked in place. Their limbs stopped obeying their commands. A strange pressure crushed their muscles. Their consciousness wavered as an unseen force bound them in place like invisible chains. A woman's voice echoed behind them. "I've been expecting you three." The air rippled as the metal wall behind them became transparent, revealing the silhouette of a tall woman in white armor adorned with neon lines. Her hair flowed like liquid silver and her eyes which were like calm gold pools, stared into the back of their robot suits. Then she stepped inside the corridor, moving very silently on the metal floor. With a gentle wave of her hand, the fake robotic suits shattered into metallic fragments, stripping the trio down to their normal forms. E.E staggered free, gasping. Aildris coughed as his body regained sensation. Falco broke the bind partially through sheer force, cracking the invisible pressure around him. The woman tilted her head at him. "Fascinating. You truly are the son of the Shadow Deity." Falco's eyes narrowed. She moved closer unhurried, like she was walking through a garden rather than facing three intruders who could destroy planets. "Aildris," she said softly. "E.E." "And the mighty Falco…" Her silver eyes shimmered. "…I have looked into your futures countless times." E.E's heart skipped. "Precognition. That's how you—" "Yes," she said, not letting him finish. "It is how I sensed your presence before your ship even crossed my star system. I saw every step you would take once you arrived. I saw you mimic machines. I saw you infiltrate my station. I saw the exact moment you planned to strike." Her voice dropped lower. "And I have seen what comes after." Falco, forcefully freed himself and lunged forward but she raised a single finger. "Stop." Falco froze mid-step as his body locked in place. Aildris snapped sharply, "Let him go!" She smiled faintly. "You misunderstand me. I am not trying to fight you." She walked right past Falco, gently touching his shoulder as though calming a beast. "I know what you seek. And I know why you have come." E.E swallowed harshly. "Then you know this ends one of two ways. You help us… or we make you." Her expression softened to an almost sorrowful look. "You still aren't listening." She raised both hands in surrender. "I am not your enemy." ... ...