Page 125 of Stars in Aura

The doors sealed behind them with a quiet hiss.

She turned to face him, arms crossed, primed for whatever argument he was about to launch.

‘What’s this Sanopic Jar that celestial warlock spoke of?’ he growled.

She exhaled, lifting her hands to her earrings, small, inconspicuous orbs, nothing more than simple adornments.

Except they weren’t.

She touched them, and the atmosphere around them warped.

The jewelry shivered, elevating from her lobes.

Spiraling toward each other, they collided midair in a burst of golden energy.

They twisted, stretched, reshaped.

Until they became a vessel.

It hovered before them, a tiny but infinite receptacle filled with an incandescent swirl more lucent than any nebula, ions, and atoms swirling in endless, hypnotic motion.

A mass of souls, the most ancient and transcendent, thrummed within.

Ki’Remi advanced, his fingers twitching at his sides, eyes locked onto the artifact.

‘This is what you stole from the repository?’

‘The same. Some spirits inside have existed since before this universe’s birth.’

He huffed. ‘Can’t you give it back and call this quits?’

A bitter laugh slipped from her lips. ‘Not without securing my father’s life.’

The silence between them stretched thick, heavy, unrelenting.

Then, he uttered what she feared.

He stepped closer, his voice calm, absolute.

‘I’m coming with you.’

She jolted. ‘Nada, you’re not.’

‘I didn’t ask, Issa.’

Her jaw tightened. ‘You can’t help me. While you’re a meta, you’re one man and don’t have what it takes to fight the dominance of gods.’

The Rider exhaled in a controlled heave of his chest.

‘Is that right?’

His eyes narrowed, then glazed over as if lost in thought.

Without warning, his physique snapped as if lightning arced through it.

His head arched back, revealing his sinewed nape.

His silver eyes flashed to white hot, the blinding light taking over his eyeballs.

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