"Let's leave this place," Cloud said, his voice low and urgent, yet calm. He stood at the doorway of the dim chamber, his eyes never leaving Noir. "I have something to show you."
Without waiting for a reply, he turned, his green cloak trailing behind him like a shadow. Noir hesitated for a moment, then followed. His instincts screamed caution, but curiosity—and something deeper—propelled his steps forward.
The two of them moved in silence through the winding halls of the underground structure, lit only by the occasional flicker of blue energy that pulsed through the walls like veins. It was eerily quiet, as though the very air around them held its breath.
Eventually, they came to a sealed chamber. Cloud pressed his hand against the biometric lock, and the heavy door creaked open.
Inside, lying on a slab of stone and breathing in shallow bursts, was a familiar figure. His once-grand green robes were stained with ash and blood, and his body bore signs of trauma—but unmistakably, it was Eptor, the King of Jupiter.
Noir's eyes widened in shock. "Eptor... you're alive?!"
Barely.
Cloud stepped forward and rested a hand gently on Eptor's shoulder. "I didn't kill him completely. I knew he could regenerate to some degree. I wanted him to live long enough to talk to us."
Eptor coughed, his body trembling. His voice was a raspy whisper. "You… fools. The ray gun's power was poisoned to me… I can regenerate limbs, not undo decay from within. I have days at best."
Noir stood frozen. Questions churned through his head, but he sensed the weight of what Eptor was about to say.
"I didn't expect to tell anyone this before I died," Eptor said, his eyes fixed on the ceiling, "but you deserve to know. The mutation that gave your kind superpowers… it did not come from Earth."
Noir took a step forward. "What do you mean?"
"The mutation," Eptor said, his breath catching, "was given to your planet by an ancient cosmic being… a guardian. It protects Earth. Shields it from destruction by forces out here. That's why Earth has never truly suffered an alien invasion. But soon, it won't matter."
Cloud's brows furrowed. "Why?"
"Because Earth's power is growing. Its people—your people—are spreading. Conquering. When Earth begins attacking others, that guardian will side with your world and destroy everything else in its path. You must stop it."
Noir blinked, stunned. "So you're saying... I can't return home until I'm strong enough to kill it?"
Eptor nodded. "Not just you. Both of you. You'll have to travel to every planet in this galaxy… grow stronger… gather allies if you must. But you must become strong enough to kill it. It's the only way to restore balance."
The room fell into silence, the enormity of Eptor's words sinking in.
A cough wracked his body, and red mist escaped his lips. "I'm sorry… for dragging you both into this. But there is no one else left who can do it."
He reached out with a trembling hand and gripped Cloud's cloak. "Promise me… you will do what I couldn't."
Cloud knelt beside him, placing a hand over Eptor's. "I promise."
Noir stood motionless, wrestling with emotions he couldn't name. The idea of fighting an ancient being—of traveling across the stars—was more than overwhelming. But it wasn't the fate of the galaxy that haunted him.
It was the face of his little sister.
"I'll do it," Noir said, finally. "But not for the universe. Not for peace. I'll do it so I can return to Earth. To them."
Cloud turned to him, a soft smile on his lips. "That's enough."
Eptor's final breath came like a whisper. His body stilled, and with it, the last breath of Jupiter's great king faded into the stars.
For a moment, no one moved.
Then Cloud stood tall, his expression firm. "We have a long road ahead of us."
Noir nodded, his fists clenched.
"For peace," Cloud murmured.
"For my family," Noir echoed.
And so, beneath the dying light of Jupiter's palace, two paths crossed under one vow—to defeat a god and shape the future of the stars.