The stars blurred.
Chitki pushed her engines past every safety limiter as alarms screamed inside her helmet.
Warning symbols flashed red across her vision, but she ignored them all.
The coordinates locked ahead—an almost-dead planet drifting in silence.
And on it—
Tema.
She spotted her just in time.
Tema was on her knees, one hand clawing weakly at the ground, the other pressed against her chest as her body fought a losing battle against the vacuum-thin air.
Her vision had already dulled, movements sluggish, instincts slowing.
"Hold on," Chitki whispered, voice shaking.
The spaceship hit the ground hard, thrusters blasting dust and shattered rock outward.
Chitki leapt forward, catching Tema just as her strength finally gave out. Tema's body sagged into her arms, frighteningly light.
Chitki sealed the oxygen mask over Tema's face in one sharp motion.
Air hissed.
Tema inhaled violently, choking, coughing as oxygen flooded her lungs again.
Her fingers dug into Chitki's suit as if afraid she might disappear.
"I've got you," Chitki said quickly, panic barely restrained.
She didn't wait another second.
Thrusters flared, lifting them off the dead world and hurling them back into space, toward Marsh—toward the battlefield.
The planet grew larger with terrifying speed, explosions already visible even from orbit.
And then Chitki saw it.
Chiki.
He was barely standing.
His movements were slower now, sloppy in a way that terrified her.
One arm hung at an unnatural angle, sparks flickering from torn mask plating.
Drayke circled him calmly, blood streaking down his face but his posture still composed, predatory.
Another hit like that, and Chiki wouldn't get back up.
"No," Tema breathed.
Chitki pushed the engines harder.
Inside her arms, Tema's breathing steadied. Her eyes fluttered open, unfocused at first, then sharpening as she registered where she was.
"Chiki…" Tema whispered hoarsely.
Chitki didn't answer. She didn't need to.
They hit the atmosphere like a meteor.
Chitki released Tema mid-descent, trusting her instincts.
Tema twisted in the air, boots striking the ground with enough force to crack it apart.
Dust and debris erupted outward as she straightened slowly, oxygen mask hissing, her body trembling—not from weakness anymore.
From rage.
Drayke sensed it.
He turned just as invisible force slammed into him.
Telekinesis wrapped around his body like an iron grip, lifting him off the ground without warning and hurling him backward.
He crashed through rock formations, carving a trench across the planet before skidding to a halt hundreds of meters away.
Tema's hands were shaking.
Her breathing was heavy.
Her eyes burned.
Without looking back, she flicked her wrist.
Chiki was ripped from the battlefield by invisible force, yanked out of Drayke's reach and hurled safely through the air toward Chitki, who caught him clumsily and dragged him behind cover.
"You're really heavy," Tema said coldly, her voice distorted slightly by the mask. "Don't you dare die on me."
Drayke rose from the rubble slowly.
He rolled his neck once, as if loosening stiff muscles, slightly annoyed.
"Who do you think you are?," he said calmly.
"You almost surprised me."
Air warped.
He vanished.
Tema reacted instantly, throwing up a barrier of force—but Drayke appeared inside it, dagger already moving.
The blade sliced across her cheek before she could fully react, blood spraying into the air in a crimson arc.
Tema staggered back with a sharp gasp.
The pain was real.
Sharp.
Grounding.
Good.
She wiped blood from her face, eyes narrowing as she focused on him.
Drayke didn't press immediately. He studied her instead, head tilted slightly, curiosity flickering in his eyes.
"So you're the core," he said. "The one they revolve around."
Tema didn't respond.
She attacked.
The ground beneath Drayke shattered as telekinetic force slammed upward, jagged rock spears erupting toward him.
He warped again, reappearing above her, daggers flashing—but Tema twisted, slamming him sideways with raw force before he could strike.
Drayke crashed, rolled, breathing heavily.
They clashed.
Invisible force against warped air.
Daggers against pressure so dense it distorted light.
Each exchange sent shockwaves tearing through Marsh's surface.
Drayke moved impossibly fast, bending space to reposition mid-attack, but Tema tracked him—anticipating instead of reacting, forcing him to dodge rather than dominate.
Behind them, Chitki dragged Chiki farther back, sealing ruptures in his suit with shaking hands.
"Who told you to fight him?," she snapped, trying to hide how scared she was. "You knew very well, you wouldn't be enough!"
Chiki coughed, managing a weak grin.
"Told you… I let him free…or els—"
"Shut up," Chitki said, voice breaking. "Atleast stop yapping when you are at the verge of dying."
Back on the battlefield, Drayke lunged again, his dagger slipping past Tema's defenses and driving toward her throat.
Tema caught his wrist mid-strike.
The force of it cracked the air.
For the first time, Drayke's looked worried.
Tema twisted, crushing pressure down on his arm.
Bone creaked.
Drayke hissed as he tore himself free by warping backward, landing hard but upright.
Blood dripped from Tema's face.
Her stance wavered—but she didn't fall.
"Want me to call and ambulance?," she said quietly.
Drayke straightened, eyes gleaming now—not with amusement, but with something sharper.
"For you?," he replied. "Then, yes!"
The planet groaned beneath them.
As if indicating something was about to go wrong.