The Citadel's hangar bay buzzed with a new, grim energy. The Star-Jumper was being prepped, but the mission had fractured into two paths. The scope had become too vast for a single approach.

Reia stood before the main strategy table, her fingers dancing over star charts that now included regions older than human civilization. "We need data. Real data, not just Kaelis's ancient memories. We need to understand the political landscape, find any modern traces of Ancient activity, any whispers in the dark." She looked at Lucian. "Kaela Selyn at Helios is our best bet. Her corporation's intelligence network is second only to the Guild's, and she's already demonstrated both caution and curiosity about us. She's the most sensible player on the board."

Lucian gave a curt nod. "Alright. You, Silas, and Evelyn take the Star-Jumper to Varros. Feel her out. See what she knows. But be careful. We're not allies. We're a potential threat she's trying to manage. Use that."

Evelyn looked concerned. "And what about you?"

Lucian's gaze was distant, already fixed on a different problem. "Earth is vulnerable. If our father is moving, if this war is reigniting, this planet is a prime target. It's where his 'diluted' bloodline hides. I'm not leaving it undefended." He turned to Marc and Vyn. "You two stay. You're the Citadel's final defense."

Marc grunted in agreement, but his eyes promised that 'defense' would be a very active, very destructive affair if needed.

Without another word, Lucian walked to a clear space in the hangar. He didn't need a ship. He closed his eyes, and the air around him began to hum with a profound silence. Space itself wrinkled, then tore open before him. It wasn't a violent rift like Alistair's; it was a clean, precise incision, revealing a swirling tunnel of compressed light and shadow. He stepped through, and the portal snapped shut behind him.

---

He emerged into a different kind of air—thick, humid, and alive with the scent of alien flora and ozone. The sky was a perpetual twilight, lit by two small moons. He stood in the center of a vast, organic-looking platform, the capital of the Monster Realm. Towering, crystalline structures pulsed with inner light, and shapes moved in the shadows—some sleek and predatory, others massive and slow.

He had appeared exactly where he intended: the heart of their power. And they were waiting for him.

A ring of the realm's most formidable guardians materialized from the gloom, their forms shifting and deadly. At their head stood Kael. He was taller than a man, his form a perfect blend of regal humanoid structure and draconic power, with dark scales that gleamed like obsidian and eyes that burned with crimson light. He had felt the spatial breach the moment it formed.

When he saw Lucian, the tension in his powerful frame didn't vanish, but it shifted. The readiness for an all-out attack cooled into wary recognition. The guardians around him lowered their weapons, but did not stand down.

"Lucian," Kael's voice was a low rumble, like stone grinding deep underground. "A dramatic entrance. Even for you." He gestured, and the guardians faded back into the city's shadows, leaving them alone on the platform.

"We don't have time for pleasantries," Lucian said, getting straight to the point. "My father is alive. His name is Alistair. He's an Ancient, one of the Aethels. He has my sister, Lucy."

Kael went utterly still. The name 'Ancient' clearly held immense weight for him. "The Slumbering Giants stir," he murmured, his crimson eyes narrowing.

"He's not stirring, he's awake. And he's talking about revenge. A war to burn down the civilizations that destroyed his people." Lucian met Kael's gaze. "Earth is in the crossfire. It's where he left his family. I can't be everywhere. I need to know that while I'm hunting him, this world is safe."

He didn't ask. He stated a need.

Kael studied him for a long moment, taking in the grim determination, the new weight on the human's shoulders. "You ask my people to stand guard over the cradle of humanity."

"I'm asking you to honor our alliance," Lucian corrected. "To protect a world that has become a haven for one of your own." He glanced meaningfully toward the Citadel's general direction, where Vyn resided.

Kael gave a slow, deep nod. "It will be done. The legions of the Deep Hollow will station themselves at the system's edge. Nothing will approach Earth without our knowledge. Or our wrath."

"Thank you," Lucian said, the words sincere. He turned as if to open another portal, his business concluded.

"Wait."

Lucian paused.

Kael's voice was different now. The regal tone was still there, but beneath it was something raw, something personal that Lucian had never heard from him before. "You said he has Lucy."

"Yes."

"Then my forces will do more than guard your world." Kael took a step forward, his massive form blocking out one of the moons. "We will join your hunt."

Lucian shook his head. "This isn't your fight. This is a family matter. It's... complicated."

"Complicated?" A bitter, sharp laugh escaped Kael, a sound like cracking stone. "You think I do not understand complicated family matters? You think I do not understand losing a woman to the ambition of a brother?"

The air left Lucian's lungs. He looked at Kael, truly looked at him. He saw the ancient king, the warrior, the ally. But now, for the first time, he saw the man beneath the crown—a man who had fought his own brother for the throne, a conflict that had cost him dearly. A conflict where, Lucian now realized, more than just power had been at stake.

"I was weak once," Kael said, his voice dropping, the confession meant for Lucian alone on that empty platform. "I hesitated. I believed in mercy when I should have wielded vengeance. And in that moment of weakness, my brother took something from me. Someone." His burning eyes held Lucian's, and the truth was in them, plain and painful. "I will not be weak again. I will not lose another... I will not lose Lucy."

The pieces clicked into place. Kael's constant, gruff inquiries about Lucy's whereabouts during their past alliances. His willingness to offer aid that sometimes went beyond strategic necessity. It wasn't just political. It was profoundly personal.

Lucian was silent, absorbing this. His sister, the stubborn, fierce woman who had raised him, had inspired a love so deep in this ancient monster king that he was willing to march his entire army into a galactic war for her.

After a long moment, Lucian gave a single, slow nod. "Alright," he said, his voice quiet. "We hunt together."

A grim satisfaction settled on Kael's features. He raised a hand, and a low, resonant horn blast echoed through the capital, a sound that was picked up and repeated, spreading out across the entire realm. It was not a call to defend. It was a call to war.

As the Monster Realm began to mobilize around them, Lucian looked at Kael, a new respect in his eyes. The board was set. Reia's team sought knowledge from a corporate queen. His own forces were now allied with a monster king. And they were all hunting a god from a dead age.

The family reunion was going to be hell.

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