In her egg laying chamber on Planet Hydro, Queen Saumu's gaze was sharp and cold as she watched the holo-connection flicker to life. She remained seated on her shadowed throne, her eyes piercing through the shadows of her environment. Her expression was calm, but beneath it lay calculating anticipation.
On the other end, the Gharar command system answered with the deep, shadowy voice of Xal'taroth, the Overseer a towering, shadow-formed entity that responded to her commands.
"Xal'taroth," Saumu's voice echoed, authoritative and commanding, "status report."
"All prisoners are secured—separated, subdued, and sealed within their chambers," the Overseer rumbled.
"The Umbari enforcers have completed their task; their obedience reinforced, and the system is prepared for the next phase."
Saumu nodded thoughtfully, her lips curling into a faint smile.
"Good. The system is now under full control," she said softly, eyes glinting with ominous satisfaction.
"Ensure the containment remains flawless. We will utilize the special cell soon—some individuals you will find useful for the next steps in our plans. Keep it ready."
She paused before adding with deliberate emphasis,
"The moment it is needed, it shall serve as the ultimate tool for our purposes. I want everything prepared. No mistakes."
"It shall be so, Your Majesty," the Overseer responded.
Saumu leaned back, her gaze unwavering.
"Excellent. I will join the inspection soon. Keep the shadow protocols tight; our control over this system is absolute. The shadows grow deeper, and soon, they will encompass the entire galaxy."
She disconnected the line, her eyes fixating on the distant transparent stars her mind already calculating the next move in her relentless march of darkness. Gharar Subsector 19, The Flayed Vaults The walls of Kara's containment unit pulsed like a living wound organic, damp, and etched with moving sigils that whispered nightmares into her skull. Every hour, a different frequency of pain radiated from the walls, each calibrated by the Mind's Veil to unravel identity layer by layer. A Shadowclaw a towering Umbari enforcer, armored in pulsating onyx plates stalked the corridor outside her cell. Its gait was unnerving, like a spider walking upright. Four arms gripped vicious instruments: a neural barbed staff, a psionic lash, and twin cleavers carved from harvested bone-glass.
Kara writhed in place as another pulse hit her mind. "Zalor…" she gasped.
Across the corridor, Zalor was suspended midair by shadow-tethers that throbbed with every beat of his heart. His mind was shattered, then rebuilt twice. Each time, fragments returned: visions of betrayal, memories of his people rewritten to frame him as the traitor. He no longer trusted what he saw when he closed his eyes.
"Your bond is inefficient," came the voice of a Mind's Veil operative one of the Tribunal, his form cloaked in veils of liquid shadow. "We will rewrite it. Reforge it into utility."
The enforcer stepped forward, and Kara's cell split open like a maw. The air reeked of blood and ether. The Flesh Re-Forge had called for her next. She could hear the sick squelch of bio-engines. Soon, she would no longer be fully herself. The Shadow Crux, Nexus of Night. Deep beneath the fortress, in a chamber of cold obsidian and whispering static, Vraxar M'Shal, the High Shadow Architect, monitored Kara and Zalor through dozens of psionic feeds. Around him, the Brood-Towers vibrated with nervous energy each tower controlling vast swaths of the prison world. "She is resisting," he said aloud, though no one dared reply. Only the Obsidian Custodians had clearance to enter this deep. And none were expected. Unless Saumu herself descended from the stars. With a flick of his finger, Vraxar rerouted more enforcers to Zalor's sector. "If they break… we learn. If they don't… we invent new ways."