Shadow Born

Chapter Ten: Into the Lion's Den

The hatch slammed shut behind Kairo.

A metallic clang echoed through the corridors of the Dominion flagship, sealing him inside enemy territory.

Red warning lights flashed across the walls.

An alarm echoed throughout the vessel.

Guardian detected. Security Protocol Omega initiated.

Kairo took a slow breath.

"So much for a quiet entrance."

Before him stretched a massive corridor lined with smooth black metal. Blue energy pulsed beneath the floor like rivers flowing under glass. Strange symbols glowed across the walls, and robotic drones hovered silently near the ceiling.

Then the soldiers arrived.

More than fifty Dominion Guards emerged from side passages.

Each wore silver armor trimmed with gold and carried energy rifles humming with power.

The captain stepped forward.

"Shadow Guardian."

"You are surrounded."

"Surrender peacefully."

Kairo smiled faintly.

"I've heard that one before."

The captain raised his weapon.

"Fire."

A storm of blue plasma erupted toward him.

Kairo thrust both hands forward.

A shimmering barrier of blue-black energy burst into existence.

The blasts struck the shield, filling the corridor with explosions.

Smoke rolled across the floor.

When it cleared...

Kairo was gone.

The captain looked around.

"What?"

A blur shot through the ranks.

Kairo moved faster than their scanners could track.

One soldier's weapon flew from his hands.

Another was knocked unconscious with a precise strike.

A third crashed into the wall as Kairo spun beneath incoming fire.

Within seconds, half the squad was down.

The remaining soldiers formed a defensive circle.

"Close formation!"

Energy shields expanded around them.

The Shadow Core spoke.

Their shields are synchronized. Destroying one will not be enough.

"Then I'll break them all."

Kairo leaped into the air.

Blue energy gathered around both fists.

He slammed them into the floor.

A shockwave raced through the corridor.

The synchronized shields shattered at once.

The guards were thrown backward.

No one stood in his way.

Several decks above, High Commander Lysera felt the disturbance.

"He has entered the flagship."

One of her officers knelt beside her.

"Should we intercept him?"

"No."

She watched the battle between Revenant and the Dominion fleet outside the observation window.

"I want to see what kind of Guardian he becomes."

Meanwhile, Commander Voss watched everything through stolen Dominion surveillance feeds.

"He actually boarded the flagship."

His chief scientist nodded.

"The odds of survival are almost zero."

Voss smiled.

"Excellent."

The scientist frowned.

"Excellent?"

"If Kairo weakens the Dominion..."

"And the Dominion weakens Revenant..."

"Then only one side will remain standing."

He folded his hands.

"And we will finish whoever survives."

Kairo reached a circular chamber larger than a football stadium.

Thousands of glowing crystal pillars surrounded a floating sphere of golden energy.

The Shadow Core pulsed rapidly.

This is the flagship's power nexus.

"If I destroy it..."

The invasion fleet loses power.

Kairo stepped toward the sphere.

Then every light inside the chamber suddenly dimmed.

A deep laugh echoed through the darkness.

"So..."

"The Guardian has finally arrived."

A figure emerged from the shadows.

He wore white armor unlike any Kairo had seen before.

His silver hair reached his shoulders.

Unlike the Dominion soldiers, his eyes glowed violet.

He carried no weapon.

"I've been waiting."

Kairo narrowed his eyes.

"Who are you?"

The man bowed politely.

"My name is Orion."

"I was once the First Captain of the Guardians."

Kairo's heart raced.

"A Guardian?"

"I was."

"What happened?"

Orion smiled sadly.

"I failed."

Before Kairo could ask another question, Orion's body dissolved into light.

An illusion.

The real figure appeared behind him.

A powerful kick launched Kairo across the chamber.

He crashed into a crystal pillar, shattering it.

Energy burst from the broken structure.

Orion stood calmly.

"The Shadow Core chose another child."

"I expected better."

Kairo rose slowly.

"If you're a Guardian..."

"Why are you helping the Dominion?"

"I'm helping no one."

"I serve only balance."

He spread his hands.

"The Shadow Core and the Void Core have kept the universe trapped in endless war."

"There is only one solution."

"What solution?"

"They must both disappear."

Orion vanished again.

Kairo barely reacted before a punch struck his side.

Pain exploded through his ribs.

This opponent moved differently from Revenant.

Not stronger.

Smarter.

Every attack came from an unexpected angle.

Every movement was perfectly efficient.

The Shadow Core analyzed rapidly.

Combat style unknown.

Kairo wiped blood from his mouth.

"So you're the one teaching me new things."

Orion nodded.

"You have courage."

"But courage without discipline becomes recklessness."

He raised one finger.

"Show me."

"Show you what?"

"Why the Core chose you."

The room fell silent.

Kairo steadied his breathing.

Instead of charging, he closed his eyes.

He listened.

The hum of the flagship.

The rhythm of the Shadow Core.

The movement of Orion's footsteps.

Then...

Orion attacked.

At the last instant, Kairo stepped aside.

The strike missed.

Orion smiled.

"Better."

Kairo countered with a precise punch.

Orion blocked.

The two exchanged a rapid series of blows.

Neither gained an advantage.

For the first time since becoming Shadow Born...

Kairo wasn't relying on raw power.

He was learning.

Outside the flagship, the battle reached a terrifying climax.

Revenant's Void Blade pierced Lysera's golden shield.

She answered with a blast of radiant energy that hurled him through three Dominion cruisers.

Explosions rippled across the sky.

Pieces of burning spacecraft fell toward Earth like meteors.

People below watched in terror.

Back inside the flagship, warning alarms suddenly changed.

A computer voice echoed throughout the vessel.

Emergency. Ancient containment chamber compromised.

Unknown life-form awakening.

Orion's calm expression disappeared.

"No..."

The Shadow Core trembled.

Impossible...

Kairo looked around.

"What is it?"

The answer came in a whisper.

The Devourer.

Across the deepest level of the flagship, enormous doors that had remained sealed for ten thousand years slowly opened.

A colossal shadow moved behind them.

One glowing crimson eye opened in the darkness.

A voice, older than stars, echoed through the prison.

"At last..."

"The Shadow Core has returned to me."

The entire flagship shook violently.

Orion stared toward the lower decks, his face filled with dread.

For the first time in centuries...

Even a former Guardian looked afraid.

End of Chapter Ten.