Lord of Annihilation

Inside the Greystone Valley in the planet of Pectorn.

Two humanoid beings, one male and the other female walked through the stone-covered path, between the valley.

Their facial features resembled that of humans, with a pair of sharp brows, a tall nose bridge, and a shaped chin. In fact, they could be considered to be very good-looking considering human aesthetic standards.

However, what made them different from humans, was their scaly, golden-colored skin, and snake-like eyes. If one looked closely at the top of their head, now would notice a small white halo, floating above their golden hair.

These two belonged to the race of {Bertar}. One of the most prosperous and widely spread races in the Universe and a branch of the {Heavenly Sovereings}.

The Bertarians were born with a natural affinity to Light and Astral Element. They were one of the higher races(Grade 5) among the [Good] faction with a widely-renowned reputation.

Walking through the stony path, the female Bertarian suddenly crouched down and picked a white petalled flower.

"Brother, look! Won't this be a nice present for Lord Father?", she turned around to face the male Bertarian and asked excitedly.

Seeing the flower in her hand, the male Bertarian shook his head and sighed.

"That won't do Kara. We need to find something that's more valuable and would be worthy of our Lord Father's status. How could a random flower do as a present?" he explained with a light smile.

"But-! Isn't a present supposed to an object that is given to showcase the giver's love? Look at this flower, it looks so pretty. I'm sure Lord Father would love it!" Kara retorted innocently.

Seeing his younger sister behave like this, the male Bertarian gave a bitter smile. He then nodded his head: "Alright. We make this flower a part of your gift. It's time to find mine!"

He clenched his fist in resolution and started to walk forward. The younger girl carefully placed the flower inside her satchel and hopped behind her brother.

"Say, brother. Why are we looking for a present in the wilderness, instead of getting one from a shop in the city?" she asked while blinking her large, beautiful eyes.

The male Bertarian replied without looking back: "It's because I want to be this present a surprise for Lord Father. If I buy something from the city, it would be all too easy for him to learn about it, as the Governor of the City."

He then quickly turned around and continued with an impassionate voice.

"Also! Isn't it the spirit of a great man to be adventurous! Lord Father, always tells me to become an excellent man. How can I miss such an ideal opportunity to show him that?" 

He then pointed his finger at his sister and said with utmost seriousness.

"Remember Kara. You must not mention the gift to anyone! Not even Mother. I want this to be a surprise for Lord Father. Promise?" he stretched his pinky.

Kara similarly stretched her finger and hooked it with her brothers. With a cheery voice, she promised: "I promise!"

"Haha! That's good." the male Bertarian laughed in satisfaction.

"Now, if we continue through his valley, we will reach..." just as he was about to continue, he was interrupted by the sound of an object tearing through the air.

The duo immediately looked up and traced the sound in the air. With their superior vision, they were immediately able to spot a black metallic object falling in the air.

"This--!" Kara's eyes widened in shock.

The boy was also surprised, but immediately laughed in excitement.

"HAHA! It's an object from the Beyond! My luck is too good!" he exclaimed.

Although the Bertarian occupied a vast majority of the Universe, their race was simply too spread out and scattered. Most Bertarians who are not part of their colonized worlds, often lack support and technology. To compare in Earth standards, some Bertarian civilizations are like metropolitan cities, while others are like small undeveloped villages.

The undeveloped races refer to outer space as the Beyond.

Travel to other planets, especially from ones such as Pectorn which lied on the very fringe of the Universe, was usually impossible. This was because of the lack of advanced technology. Unless one possessed a strength of Stage 4 which allowed one to move through space, travel between planets was usually impossible.

Of course, there also existed special methods such as mankind's Spaceships or teleportation runes, and many more. Each developed race have their unique methods for interstellar travel.

"According to my calculation, that object will crash approximately 20km to the West. Let's go!" the male Bertarian rapidly deduced. Once he got the approximate destination, he ran at his full-speed.

"Ah! Kiren, wait for me!" Kara exclaimed, before chasing behind him.

In less than a second, the figures of both the siblings disappeared from the valley. Silence returned.

-----------------

Kiren, the male Bertarian continued to run without pause. While running, he observed the rapidly approaching figure of his younger sister from the corner of his eyes. Seeing her speed, he was slightly astonished.

'Such speed! Looks like Kara is not far from completing her advancement into Stage 2. At this rate, she will only require another 6 months to catch up to my progress.' 

Determination flashed through his eyes as he clenched his fists: 'I need to work harder!'

'But first...' he raised his head and looked at the newly formed crater.

Just a few minutes earlier, the immensely large metallic object from the Beyond had crashed onto the planet. The degree of intensity with which the ground shook, had almost put Kiren who was a Low-Level Stage 2, off his balance.

'My luck is simply excellent. All objects from the beyond have immense value. In fact, I might even earn the praise of Lord Father!' thinking about the honor and praise he would receive from his father, Kiren's eyebrows curved in expectation.

Approaching the edge of the crater, he slowed down his speed and stopped. Being the son of the City's Governor, Kiren was trained from a young age. As such, when approaching the unknown he was not rash and was quite cautious.

'This is?...a metallic box?' he thought as his eyes analyzed the metallic 'box' lying in the center of the crater.

"*Huff*, *Huff*. I...finally..caught up to you. You are too fast brother!" Kara complained as she panted.

Regaining her breath, she then raised her head and looked at the crater.

"Wow. What is that? It has created such a large crater." she exclaimed in surprise.

"I don't know. But we shall find out." Kiren said as he jumped into the crater. He had already spread his soul power into the surroundings to create a detection field.

Maintaining vigilance, he carefully approached the body of the metallic object.

'Bright Vision' he spoke within his mind. Instantly, soul power moved to his eyes and his golden eyes shone with a bright white light.

The scene in front of his eyes became much more clearer and detailed. To put it into perspective, it was similar to a 144p video, enhanced into a 1080p video. The colors were brighter and the smaller details were much more clearer.

"Woah! This is really big... and hot." Kara expressed.

"Quiet!" Kiren suddenly instructed. His tone was serious. His gaze sharpened, as he felt movement in his detection field.

At the side of the red-hot metallic object, he detected movement. An indent on its surface traced the edges of what seemed to be a door. Under his careful observation, Kiren noticed the metallic door opening.

"Quick! Get behind me!" Kiren instructed his younger sister. The little girl's face turned pale as she too noticed the movement and quickly obeyed her brother's instruction.

'What could it be?' countless questions sprung up in the sibling's minds.

Under their watchful gaze, the surface of the metallic object suddenly cracked and a door burst open. A humanoid figure stumbled out and fell into a coughing fit.

'This?!' the eyes of both the siblings widened in shock.

---------------

Olivia, who had just made her way out of the ship coughed out some blood. During the crash, she had sustained some amount of internal injury.

'That was close! We almost died!' her heart palpitated with fear. Wiping the blood off her mouth, she continued.

'So this is what Reyna felt like, huh?' she suddenly remembered her conversation with Renya, when the latter described her experience of falling from the sky.

'Looks like Lucius has an affinity to falling out of the sky.' a small smile formed on her face, before freezing: 'Wait... Lucius?! Is he alright!' she immediately summoned her strength and stumbled her way towards the ship.

"Lucius!!" Olivia screamed with her loudest voice. Her voice was hoarse and her lungs hurt, however, she didn't care.'Is he safe?' this was the only thought within her mind.

There was no response.

'Dammit!' she cursed. Olivia then tried to recall the details of the crash.

After the warning from the ship's AI, Olivia immediately understood the situation and acted. She carried Lucius, who was only partly-conscious due to his hunger state, along with her to the control room.

After placing him in one of the seats in the control room and securing him to his seat, Olivia was about to sit in her own seat, when the spaceship intently tremored and Olivia lost her footing. Tumbling through the body of this ship, she was sent quite the distance away from the control room, before she managed to regain her balance.

However, by this time the ship had already started its freefall and hence prevented Olivia from being able to move about and return to the control room. She had to grip on the metal pipes around her and brace for impact.

Right now, Olivia anxiously rummaged through the remains of the ship to find Lucius.

'Please be safe! Please be safe!' she continuously prayed within her heart. Although Olivia understood that Lucius was stronger than her, the worry never left her heart.

It was at this moment that she heard a foreign voice, in a language she did not recognize.

『Speak! Who are you?』

"Who's that?!" Olivia was shocked.