The emergency sirens roared across Nova-7.

Red warning lights flashed through every corridor as security drones rushed toward Sector 47-C.

Aiden struggled to his feet, his breathing uneven. The strange blue energy that had entered his body moments earlier had disappeared, but his chest still felt warm.

“What… was that?”

He looked around.

The ancient chamber was empty.

The floating crystal had vanished.

Even the mysterious symbols covering the walls had faded as if they had never existed.

Only silence remained.

Then his communicator crackled.

“Aiden! Answer me!”

It was Noah.

“Aiden, where are you? The entire station is in lockdown!”

“I’m in Sector 47-C.”

There was a long pause.

“What? That’s impossible! That sector has been sealed for decades.”

“I know, but—”

A deafening explosion interrupted him.

The entire corridor shook violently.

Dust fell from the ceiling.

A computerized voice echoed throughout the station.

“Security Alert. Unauthorized individual detected. All personnel are ordered to remain where they are.”

Noah’s voice became urgent.

“They’re looking for someone.”

Another announcement followed.

“Target Identified: Aiden Vale.”

Noah fell silent.

“Aiden…”

“…what did you do?”

“I honestly don’t know.”

---

At the station’s central command center, dozens of officers stared at the giant holographic display.

Every security camera on Nova-7 was now focused on one person.

Aiden Vale.

Commander Helena Ross folded her arms.

“A maintenance technician triggered an Omega-Level Alert?”

“It doesn’t make sense.”

An intelligence officer stepped forward.

“Ma’am, an encrypted transmission just arrived.”

“From where?”

The officer hesitated.

“…The Imperial Fleet.”

The room fell silent.

Everyone knew the stories.

The Imperium ruled the outer galaxy through fear.

Entire planets surrendered the moment their fleets appeared.

Commander Ross looked at the incoming message.

A single sentence appeared on the screen.

“Do not interfere. The boy belongs to us.”

Her face hardened.

“I don’t care who sent it.”

“This is Human Territory.”

“Prepare every defense ship.”

---

Meanwhile…

Aiden ran through the maintenance tunnels.

The station had become a maze of flashing alarms and sealed doors.

Behind him, armed security drones closed in rapidly.

“Noah!”

“I’m almost at Dock 12,” Noah replied through the communicator.

“Hurry!”

A laser blast struck the wall beside Aiden.

Metal exploded into sparks.

Three combat drones entered the corridor.

Their mechanical eyes glowed crimson.

“Target acquired.”

Without warning, they opened fire.

Aiden dove behind a support beam.

Blue energy bolts tore through the hallway.

He searched desperately for another exit.

There wasn’t one.

The drones advanced slowly.

“Target will be captured alive.”

Aiden grabbed a loose metal pipe from the floor.

He knew it wouldn’t help.

Against military drones…

He had no chance.

Then…

The warmth inside his chest returned.

A strange blue light spread across his hands.

The metal pipe began glowing.

“What?”

One drone fired again.

Instinct took over.

Aiden swung the pipe.

The blue energy extended far beyond the metal, forming a blade of pure light.

The laser blast split in half.

The drone froze.

Aiden stared in disbelief.

“I did that?”

The remaining drones attacked together.

This time, Aiden moved without thinking.

His body reacted on instinct.

He slipped beneath the first drone’s attack and cut through its armored legs.

The machine crashed to the floor.

The second drone fired from above.

Aiden jumped onto the wall, pushed himself into the air, and slashed downward.

The glowing blade sliced the drone cleanly in two.

The last machine hesitated.

For a brief second…

It almost looked afraid.

Then it turned and fled.

Aiden lowered the glowing weapon.

The blue light slowly faded.

The metal pipe returned to normal.

His heartbeat echoed in the silent corridor.

“What is happening to me?”

---

Dock 12 was in chaos.

Passengers rushed toward evacuation shuttles.

Military personnel secured every entrance.

Noah stood beside an old cargo ship.

“You actually made it.”

Before Aiden could answer, explosions shook the docking bay.

The massive station doors slowly opened.

Everyone looked toward space.

Hundreds of enormous black warships emerged from hyperspace.

Each vessel was marked with the silver crest of the Imperium.

The largest battleship was nearly the size of a city.

Its engines glowed like miniature suns.

People stared in horror.

“No…”

“The Imperium…”

“They’re here.”

A cold voice echoed through every speaker aboard Nova-7.

“This is Grand Admiral Kael Draven of the Imperial Fleet.”

“Surrender Aiden Vale.”

“No harm will come to the station.”

Commander Ross immediately activated the station-wide broadcast.

“Nova-7 does not negotiate with invaders.”

The Admiral smiled aboard his flagship.

“So be it.”

He raised one hand.

The Imperial fleet fired.

Hundreds of plasma cannons illuminated space.

Nova-7’s defensive shields activated just before impact.

The collision shook the entire station.

Windows shattered.

Power systems failed across multiple sectors.

The battle for Nova-7 had begun.

Noah grabbed Aiden’s arm.

“We have to leave. Right now!”

They ran toward the cargo ship.

Just as they reached the boarding ramp…

A lone figure landed between them and the ship.

The man wore a long silver coat that fluttered in the vacuum shield’s artificial wind.

His white hair reflected the flashing emergency lights.

He carried no visible weapon.

Yet every soldier nearby instinctively stepped back.

The stranger looked directly at Aiden.

“So…”

“The Starborn Core really chose you.”

Aiden narrowed his eyes.

“Who are you?”

The man smiled faintly.

“My name is Orion.”

“I was your mother’s partner.”

Aiden froze.

Before he could ask another question…

Orion looked toward the sky where the Imperial flagship slowly approached the station.

His smile disappeared.

“We’re out of time.”

“They’ve found you.”

The massive battleship’s main cannon began charging.

A brilliant sphere of blue-white energy formed at its center.

Commander Ross’s voice echoed across every communication channel.

“All personnel evacuate immediately!”

“The station cannot survive another direct hit!”

Orion turned toward Aiden.

“If you want the truth about your mother…”

“Come with me.”

Behind them…

The cannon fired.