lThey managed to reach the forest after a quarter of the army had fallen. They had succeeded in securing the women, children, and elderly, allowing them to escape into the woods ahead of them.

Margoth's army charged after them, raining down bullets and projectiles. The tanks advanced and bombarded the forest violently, burning the trees. The aircraft followed, showering the forest with fire and shells, turning it into a wasteland. The forest became like a piece of burning hell.

The Astra thought they were surrounded, that death had come for them from every direction. But they did not despair. They began to hunt the Enix soldiers from between the trees, taking cover behind them. Some of the Astra gracefully climbed the trees and leaped onto two aircraft that were hovering directly above the forest. They broke inside, killed the crew, and then jumped into the midst of Margoth's soldiers, detonating themselves in self-sacrificing attacks the Enix had never seen before.

The tanks continued to shell the forest, killing and injuring many. The dead and wounded fell one after another, and the Astra rushed to carry the injured to the rear. Omar killed dozens of Enix soldiers thanks to his advanced suit, but he felt they would soon fall.

The Astra continued to retreat deeper into the forest under the heavy bombardment until their situation became dire and half their army was lost. However, this strategy allowed them to inflict heavy losses on the Enix. They turned the forest to their advantage, making its plants attack the Enix, its trees surround and crush them, and its ground open up beneath them, swallowing them like the mouth of a whale. The Enix soldiers were terrified and rushed to retreat from the forest, but Margoth, who was walking behind them, swore he would kill anyone who fell back. They advanced, forced against their will.

The Astra soldiers planted mines in the forest and retreated further. A few minutes later, they heard a symphony of explosions as the mines detonated among the Enix. But the shelling from the aircraft and tanks did not stop, and the Astra soldiers continued to fall before the brutal attacks. Omar looked for Jarin and found him controlling the forest, using it to kill the Enix and strike terror into their hearts.

"We have to retreat through the forest, escape, regroup, and establish a new headquarters to try again," Omar said to him. "If this battle continues, we will lose everything we have."

Jarin, his body completely covered in wood, looked at him with sorrow and despair. "That is indeed what we must do."

Omar shouted to the soldiers, "Retreat! Save yourselves!" The soldiers began to run through the trees as bullets flew around them, hitting some.

Omar stayed at the rear to ensure all his soldiers had withdrawn. He asked Jarin to go ahead and lead the men to the second resistance headquarters they had agreed upon in case the Enix found their current location. Jarin nodded and set off, leading the soldiers through the forest and securing their rear.

When Margoth noticed they were retreating, he became enraged and swore he would not let them escape. He raised his five swords into the air, spinning them like circular saws, and aimed them toward the forest. They shot forward, cutting down trees in an unpredictable spiral path that no one could dodge. The trees fell, and Omar recognized the sound well. Panic seized him, and he screamed as he ran, "Run for your lives! Margoth is coming!"

The Astra ran at full speed with Omar behind them, the swords chasing them, trees being cut down and falling behind them, the sound of the blades growing closer.

After a minute of flight, the swords reached them, cutting and killing. Omar leaped to the right, narrowly avoiding two swords that were about to strike him. Dozens fell from their relentless blows. Omar remained on the ground, watching, unable to move until the swords moved away. But then he saw something that froze the blood in his veins: the swords were withdrawing, turning, and surrounding him from every side. He got to his feet and raised his hands in the air, bewildered, not knowing how the swords had noticed him. A minute later, Margoth emerged from between the trees with his soldiers.

"You've cost us a lot to catch you," he said, clapping mockingly. "Of course, you're wondering how my swords found you. It's simple: I see through my swords and control them as I wish. I saw you in your distinctive suit... But I must admit, you are cunning and intelligent. My revered master, Gladious, as usual, chose well when he picked humans to fight his wars. You possess intelligence and a high spirit in battle from the many wars you've fought amongst yourselves."

"Even if you catch me, the resistance will not end, and you will never achieve your goal."

"We shall see about that."

Margoth ordered his soldiers to advance and comb the forest for Minora. He sent some soldiers to the city so the people of Atlantis could see their valiant hero being dragged and humiliated to his prison to face his punishment. Meanwhile, he continued to sweep the forest himself with a small group of his soldiers to find his target this time and end this nuisance.

After several hours of Margoth's swords combing the forest, they found Minora trying to escape with her friends. They had reached a dead end and were forced to turn back quickly to take another path, but they were surrounded by the Enix from all sides. Minora hugged Aikan tightly, and he began to cry. She realized she couldn't use her power in this situation, or the Enix would kill her son, her flesh and blood, and her friends. She surrendered, tears streaming down her face.

Margoth advanced toward her, smiling from under his silver mask. "If you had come with us from the beginning, my lady, you wouldn't have suffered all these heavy losses... How selfish of you. To protect your own life, your people paid with thousands of souls! It seems you possess hideous flaws hidden behind the mask of false morality you have adopted."

Margoth looked at the child in her arms and stared intently. "Is this your child? From the silver hair, he must be yours. That means he's from the royal family! This is more wonderful than I expected... Rejoice, my lady. It seems someone else will sacrifice his life for you... We were going to take you as a bargaining chip against Gaia and make you the leader of the Astra in the war against him. When he fell, we would have put you on the throne to serve our interests, but you would have been a nuisance with your convictions and private thoughts. This child, however, is a blank slate. We can plant whatever we want in him and ensure his lifelong loyalty."

"You won't touch a hair on his head as long as I breathe!" Minora screamed, clutching her son even tighter.

Margoth smiled and signaled his soldiers. They shot her with tranquilizer darts. Minora felt the drug spreading through her and cried out with heart-wrenching agony, "I will never leave my son! I will find him even if you take him beyond the stars!"

As Minora sank into a deep sleep and fell to the ground, still holding Aikan, Margoth gestured to her companions. "You may take her with you. Our work here is done."

Margoth stepped forward and took the crying Aikan from her arms. He patted him on the back. "Shh. Don't be afraid. You will be in the hands of the great Gladious and will have the honor of serving him."

Margoth carried Aikan and headed for the city.

As for Omar, he was dragged in chains to the city for the people of Atlantis to see, hoping it would fill them with despair and weaken their will to resist. The soldiers pushed him through the city as the people watched, their tears never-ending. But what happened was more astonishing than the Enix could have imagined. The people of Atlantis began to clap in unison, cheering and hailing this valiant alien hero who had defended them bravely to the last moment. Omar looked at them, a strange happiness filling him despite his failure. The Enix raised their weapons and fired into the air to quiet the applause, but the Astra did not stop for a moment. They raised their hands, saluting him and throwing beautiful flowers on him, as if he had returned victorious from battle, not defeated.

Jarin and the resistance escaped into the forests. Minora, learning that her husband had been captured, joined them. Her sorrow doubled, and she swore to get her husband and her child back, the fire of vengeance igniting within her for the first time in her life. The resistance continued, but it was weaker after losing its leader and many soldiers. Still, it cost the colonization more soldiers and losses, now led by Jarin and Minora.

Omar remained in his prison, alone for a time only God knew, waiting to see what they would do to him.

Margoth returned to Gladious with Aikan. Gladious praised him for bringing the boy who could change the course of this long battle. The first thing they did was place him in a device that slightly accelerated his growth process, so they could instill their desired ideas in him, shape him, and present him to the people of Atlantis as the savior they must follow. In this way, they would tighten their grip on the planet of Atlantis and its people. But Gladious had another, perhaps more useful, trump card: Yassin, or that's what they had named him when they captured him for a specific purpose.

Years of slow-developing conflicts passed until Gladious ordered Keno to get his remaining comrades out of the towers. He went to them and brought them out without their knowledge, despite some obstacles that made him release them at different times. Gladious then ordered him to watch Yassin closely, to accompany him and protect him because he was their trump card. But Keno lost Yassin during a fight with a robot that self-destructed, causing Keno to lose his trail. He didn't know if he was dead or had just gone far away, as he couldn't find a body. This enraged Gladious, who ordered him to search everywhere. Keno set out to find him, found Noor on his way, and events continued until Gaia gathered his army for the final battle.

***

Leonis, Youssef, and Akira emerged from the gate, shock on their faces from what they had learned. They saw Gaia standing before them, a smile never leaving his face. Leonis, his limbs trembling, approached him. "Is what I read true?"

Gaia ran a hand through his hair. "Yes, unfortunately."

"But how?"

"I was also surprised when I read about all this in the past," Gaia said. "But you'll get used to it after a while and start moving to change the universe."

Youssef interjected, his body barely able to support him. "But this means the old universe is collapsing, and on its ruins, a crueler one is being built."

Gaia cracked his neck, a charming look on his face. "Yes, and that's what we must stop. That's why I did everything I did—to stop the new world from being built, so that I can create it in the special way of the Lunix, not the way of the Zurix and their followers."

Akira's face darkened with the cosmic madness surrounding him. "But how will you do that?"

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