Page 44 of Stars in Aura

With every strike, shot, and calculated pivot executed with surgical precision, his body reacted before thought could catch up.

However, the obsidian warriors weren’t just strong but lightning fast.

His nanoids swept them, and the data he got back had him arching his brows under his visor.

Fokk, their weapons were ancient, over millions of years old.

Their armor, too, was archaic yet impervious to the energy rounds he sent their way.

Hell, their age didn’t make them any less effective.

His replicant abilities were his only advantage.

He used them to the max, peeling off numerous versions of himself in battle until surrounded by a small squad of his holo-cloned self.

He ducked, narrowly avoiding a vicious downward strike from one of the celestial beings.

The force of it split the jungle floor where he stood a second before.

The ground trembled beneath his boots as he twisted up, slammed his rifle’s reinforced stock into the enemy’s throat, and spun to unload two rounds into its core.

Nothing.

The warrior did not flinch, its molten-gold eyes fixing on him in eerie silence.

Fokkin’ hell.

It moved faster than anything of its size should, lunging at him with unnatural speed. Ki’Remi rolled out of the way, switching to his combat blade, guessing it was the only weapon with enough density and ferocity to penetrate their armor.

He came up behind the enemy, his energized dagger flashing.

It slid between the armor’s plates at the base of the neck.

The combatant jerked, stiffened, and then collapsed with a heavy thud.

Ki’Remi huffed in relief.

He’d worked out their weakness.

No time to gloat. A second ancient combatant was already on him.

A vicious fist slammed into his ribs, sending him airborne.

He crashed against the wreckage of the downed med cruiser, metal screeching beneath the impact.

His vision blurred.

His HUD screamed critical damage warnings across his neural node.

He fought through the pain, staggered to his feet, and braced for the next attack.

Then, everything changed.

A golden blast of raw power split the battlefield.

Ki’Remi’s head snapped toward the source.

Issa.

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