Chapter 140 End of Rika Zero 2
As the doors to the dining room swung open with a loud crash, the heavy footsteps of a Ruham echoed across the room, followed by the rapid strides of two human scientists. Their faces were pale with urgency, a stark contrast to the ominous atmosphere that had settled over the room. The air crackled with tension, the weight of something catastrophic looming.
"Commander Asher, we have a massive prob—" The words stuck in the scientist's throat as their eyes fell upon the Commander. He was pinned in a deadly chokehold, barely able to breathe, let alone command. Andre's grip was unrelenting.
"Speak," Commander Asher rasped, the command slipping out between strained breaths.
The scientist hesitated but forced himself to continue, "Sir, Rika Zero… it's collapsing from within. The entire planet—it's fading at an alarming rate."
Commander Asher's eyes widened in disbelief. "What?" His voice wavered, a rare moment of vulnerability. He had expected the worst, but this… this was something beyond even his grim expectations. "How long do we have before it reaches us?" His mind raced through the worst-case scenarios, praying that fate would be merciful. Surely, a planet couldn't fall in mere minutes.
There had to be time to evacuate, to brief the mission team, to salvage something.
But fate was not so kind.
The scientist swallowed hard before delivering the brutal reality. "Fifteen minutes, sir. No more."
The words were a death sentence.
Andre's grip loosened, his hand falling from Asher's neck as he backed away. "You'd better make your decisions quickly, Commander," he warned, his voice a low growl. "I'll do what I can to help control the Hunters, but they're not in good shape. You won't have much time."
Commander Asher's mind whirled. _Fifteen minutes? No… that can't be possible._ He could feel the weight of the entire facility on his shoulders, the hundreds of lives at stake. There wasn't enough time to evacuate even a fraction of them. _The portal would take at least thirty minutes to stabilize, and we only have ten to prepare the ship.
Even if we manage to get the ship ready, escaping the atmosphere in three minutes would be near impossible._
His heart sank.
"Commander, what do we do?" One of the attendants cried out, his voice cracking under the pressure of the moment. They were all thinking the same thing. The time was slipping through their fingers like sand, and there wasn't nearly enough of it.
Commander Asher clenched his fists, swallowing down the rising tide of panic. There was no room for fear now. Only action. "This stays between us," he ordered, his voice low but firm. "No one else is to know what's happening. Prepare the mission ship immediately.
I want every available resource ready in under ten minutes. And bring the expert alien for the mission. The Hunters will be there soon."
The attendants nodded in unison, their faces pale, and bolted from the room. Commander Asher stood there for a moment, his heart pounding in his chest. _This is it. No turning back now._ The clock had started ticking, and each second that passed was a step closer to doom.
"Listen to me!" Commander Asher shouted to the Hunters, his voice desperate. "I need you all to move, now. We don't have time for arguments or delays. We need to get to the ship!"
The Hunters remained silent, unmoving, their faces unreadable. It was as if Commander Asher's words were lost to them, drowned out by the chaos around them. The weight of his words seemed to bounce off their hardened expressions. Desperation clawed at him. "Rika Zero is collapsing! If you don't act now, not just this planet, but Earth will be next.
There's no time to waste! The same fate awaits Earth, and I'm not sure how long we have before it's too late—weeks, at best."
Josh stepped forward, breaking the silence. His face was grim but resolute. "We need to move." He glanced at Axel, who lay unconscious, still being healed. Without hesitation, Josh bent down and carefully lifted Axel onto his back, carrying him as if he were a child. "We can continue healing Axel on the ship once Sarah wakes up. But right now, Earth has to be our priority."
Andre nodded, stepping toward Sarah and gently lifting her in his arms, while Thor followed suit, carrying Troy. With everyone accounted for, they rushed out of the room, Commander Asher leading the charge.
Every second was precious.
***
Far from the chaos of the facility, a being of immeasurable power hovered high in the darkened sky, its form barely visible amidst the swirling vortex of destruction it had summoned. Its arms spread wide as if embracing the very destruction it orchestrated.
Rika Zero crumbled beneath its overwhelming presence—beasts, forests, and oceans dissolving into streams of pure darkness, all of it absorbed into the being's core.
The Voidwalker's soul reveled in the destruction. It drank in the life force of the planet with an insatiable hunger, its very essence vibrating with power as the planet died beneath it. The Voidwalker's senses stretched across Rika Zero, hunting, searching for every last drop of energy, every aura that dared to exist in its domain.
And it saved the most tantalizing aura for last.
The facility. The one beacon of life left on this dying world. The Voidwalker could sense the fragile beings inside, their energy unique, intoxicating.
"Hate… such delicious hate," the Voidwalker murmured, its voice a low, guttural hiss that reverberated through the empty air. "These creatures… they're different. They're like planets in motion, filled with a raw, untapped core."
Its dark eyes glittered with malice. "There has to be more of them. So much more. And when we absorb their essence… we will find them."
The Voidwalker's twisted smile widened as its gaze locked onto the distant facility. "Their energy signatures are all the same… and they're all mine."
***
Please support me with anything. As an Author who lives to write I know you might not possess the time or resources tp support but i appreciate you so far.
God bless.