Inertia: Beneath the Starlit Veil

Cyrus's POV

Looking at the starbound and the driver lying lifeless, impaled by the horns of the beetle, I felt a wave of devastation that I didn't fully understand. I had never met these people before, yet I felt this pain in my chest. I couldn't fathom how my father did this on a consistent basis when I was younger. He has this innate drive to help and save people, no matter the situation, and somehow he carries the burden of it so effortlessly.

I had only helped these people because my father insisted. At this stage in my life, I don't have the capacity to care for many people. Yet, seeing these individuals fighting for their lives reminded me of my clan. The pain I felt watching those people get impaled was the same pain I felt back then—the pain of not being strong enough to protect what I held dear.

Several astral behemoths crashed to the ground around me, their impact reverberating as they exploded into pieces. The shock snapped me out of my daze, and I saw my father moving at speeds I couldn't fathom, cutting through wave after wave of the flying beetles with brutal efficiency.

Then my attention was drawn back to what lay in front of me. The two beetles that had escaped earlier had started to bite and consume the cube filled with cosmic energy. I knew astral behemoths were attracted to strong cosmic energy signatures, but I had never understood why—until now. As they consumed the cube, their bodies began to transform. Both beetles grew another meter in height, going from two meters tall to three. Their horns elongated and sprouted spikes, resembling barbed wire.

I focused what little energy I had left to examine their cores and saw they had evolved. They had advanced from the starspawn stage to the second stage: voidborn. I had no idea how I was going to handle this situation, especially as the rest of the horde recovered from the effects of my gravity field.

Desperately scanning the area for a way out, I caught movement out of the corner of my eye. The starbound caught in my gravity field were beginning to get up, but they were unaware of the danger behind them. "MOVE NOW!" I yelled, hoping they would understand the urgency.

Three of them reacted instantly, not hesitating to obey the warning. The starbound who had been transporting civilians, however, was not fast enough. One of the transformed beetles impaled him from behind, tearing his torso from his legs.

"JOHN, NO!" a female starbound screamed, collapsing to her knees in despair.

"Get up, Mira. We can't stay here," the tank from their group said, his voice firm. "We're low on cosmic energy, and the enemy is too strong for us to handle in our current state."

"What about the bunker door? Will it hold? Especially now that two of those beetles consumed the battery," one of the others asked.

"It should hold for a couple of days—enough for us to regroup and come up with a plan," the tank replied. "Besides, whoever's up there in the sky seems to have their hands full with the rest of the horde."

With that, the starbound began retreating.

"Where are you going? Don't tell me you're just going to leave!" I shouted. "There are still people who need help!"

They stopped and turned to face me.

"You'd better find shelter, boy," the tank said coldly. "Otherwise, you'll get yourself killed out here. This is no place for a child. Now, hurry along."

"If it weren't for me, you'd all be dead! I'm not just some kid!" I retorted.

The tank ignored me, motioning to the others to follow. "Let's go. We don't get paid enough for this." Without another word, they disappeared into the distance, leaving me alone with the remaining horde.

In my current state, I knew there was little I could do. I had barely enough cosmic energy to escape, let alone finish off the horde, now led by voidborn beetles. Glancing up at my father as he tore through another wave of astral behemoths, I made the difficult decision to retreat to the outskirts to replenish my energy.

Sitting on the edge of town, I calmed my mind and focused. Closing my eyes, I visualized cosmic energy flowing into my celestial core. The rift nearby made the process faster than usual, but I noticed something different. My new core seemed to passively draw energy from the atmosphere, unlike before when I had to forcibly extract it. This passive pull sped things up, but it still wasn't fast enough to fully replenish my reserves. "Looks like I'll have to make do with half," I muttered.

With my energy partially restored, I hurried back to the city center. The beetles were still trying to break through the bunker door, which, for now, seemed to be holding. Evaluating the situation, I realized a sneak attack wouldn't work this time. I needed someone to act as bait—and I knew exactly who that would be.

Looking to the sky, I spotted my father. His ability to create multiple solar weapons and rain them down like hellfire was the perfect solution. I just needed to get his attention. Scaling a nearby building, I reached the roof and released three bursts of cosmic energy. Sure enough, he noticed, glancing down to see me waving frantically.

Moments later, he sliced through the last wave of airborne beetles with a solar arc and rocketed down to meet me.

"Cyrus, are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine for now, but I don't have enough energy to deal with the horde at the bunker."

"What happened to the starbound who were defending it?"

"Two of them died, and the others fled. I did my best, but I don't have the strength to finish the job. I need your help to end this quickly— two of beetles evolved to the Void born rank and they are too much for me."

"You've done enough, son. I'll finish this. Rest now."

"No! I need to finish this for myself. I just need you to deliver the finishing blow."

Seeing the determination in my eyes, he nodded. "What do you need from me?"

"Attack from the sky when I give the signal. I'll gather them up."

Without another word, my father ascended. I climbed down from the building and sprinted toward the horde, knowing this was a challenge I had to face head-on.

Reaching the edge of the horde, I infused my body with cosmic energy and leapt straight into the fray. My hands infused with cosmic energy cut through several beetles as I made my way toward the two voidborn clawing at the bunker door. One of the lesser beetles lunged at me, attempting to impale me with its horn, but I dodged the attack and used the horn as a launching pad letting its momentum to propel myself closer to my targets.

As I soared through the air, I sent out three pulses of cosmic energy—the signal for my father. Then, I pushed all the remaining energy in my core into the tattoo etched on my chest, activating my ability.

A crushing force radiated outward, pinning the entire horde to the ground. Even the voidborn beetles struggled against the immense gravitational pressure. I landed directly in front of the two evolved creatures, grabbing their barbed horns and yanking their heads upward so they were forced to look at me.

I grinned, my voice laced with mockery. "Oh, you might want to check behind you."

A barrage of solar javelins rained down from the sky, piercing every single beetle, including the voidborn. The light was blinding, and the ground shook with the impact of my father's attack. The life drained from the beetles' eyes as they fell lifeless. I released their horns, letting their massive bodies collapse to the side.

Standing amidst the wreckage, I took a moment to catch my breath. My energy was completely drained, and my legs felt like they might give out. I looked up to see my father descending, his expression a mixture of pride and concern.

"Cyrus," he began, landing beside me. "That was reckless. You didn't need to push yourself so far."

"I did," I replied firmly, looking him in the eyes. "I couldn't stand by and let someone else handle it. Not again. If I'm going to be strong enough to protect what I care about, I need to face challenges like this."

He sighed but didn't argue, placing a reassuring hand on my shoulder. "You've grown, my son. Just remember, strength isn't just about taking on every burden yourself. It's also knowing when to rely on others."

I nodded, appreciating his words but knowing in my heart that this was something I had to do. We stood there for a moment, the battlefield silent except for the faint hum of cosmic energy dissipating into the air.

"Come," my father said, gesturing toward the bunker. "We need to check on the survivors."