Intergalactic conquest with an AI

His gaze shifted back to the twins, who were still locked in combat with his subordinates. Though their movements were clumsy and inexperienced, they somehow managed to evade the assassins lethal strikes.

When they were hit, the wounds healed almost instantly, the blood sealing and repairing their injuries as if they had never been harmed.

"What the hell is happening here?"

The leader whispered, his voice laced with confusion and fear. His sharp eyes caught sight of something else; golden shields, seemingly forged from the same blood as the spears, hovered around the twins. They moved with a mind of their own, intercepting the assassins' attacks with unnatural precision.

The assassins faltered, their relentless assault beginning to break under the strain. The shields blocked their blades, the spears flew with devastating accuracy, and the twins, though untrained, moved like they were protected by an unseen force.

The leader's mind raced. His blood burned, his strength waned, and his forces were faltering. These girls... these

amateurs,

should have been easy prey. Instead, they were becoming the center of a storm he couldn't comprehend.

"What... what are they?"

He muttered, his voice filled with both rage and dread. The golden spear in his leg pulsed again, and he fell to one knee, realizing far too late that this fight was no longer in his control.

The twins were far more than what they seemed, and whatever force was protecting them was ancient, relentless, and utterly unforgiving.

While chaos unfolded in the mansion's garden, Rex and Carlos were in no condition to help. The two had succumbed to an impressive and dangerously irresponsible amount of alcohol consumed in under two hours.

Rex was sprawled across the sofa, snoring loudly, while Carlos had somehow ended up on the floor, curled around a liquor bottle like it was his long-lost lover.

"Mmm? Where is this?"

Rex muttered groggily as his consciousness flickered back. His surroundings felt... wrong.

He rubbed his temples and blinked, trying to make sense of what he was seeing.

"I'm pretty sure I was drinking with Carlos at the nightclub just a second ago. Could it be... I was drugged again? Haha, that brings back old memories. That time Carlos almost lost his balls, and I nearly got one of my organs harvested. Good times, good times."

The humor in his voice couldn't quite hide the unease creeping into his chest. Rex stood up, his boots crunching against an unfamiliar surface. His eyes scanned his surroundings, and the realization hit him like a punch to the gut.

He wasn't in the nightclub or anywhere familiar, for that matter. He was standing in an infinite expanse of white sand, a vast, otherworldly desert stretching endlessly in every direction.

Above him, the sky was a surreal mix of darkness and brilliance. Two enormous crimson stars glowed fiercely, casting an eerie light over the desert. Their presence felt unnatural, their fiery radiance burning through the pitch-black heavens.

"So... where the hell am I?"

Rex muttered, his voice carrying across the silent expanse. His unease deepened as he began to walk, the sand crunching beneath his boots the only sound accompanying him.

"Carlos!? Cleo!? Can you hear me!?

" Rex shouted into the emptiness. His voice echoed faintly, but there was no response. He reached for his communicator, fumbling with the device in his pocket, but it was dead, no signal, no static, nothing. Just silence.

"

Damn it,"

Rex cursed, shoving the communicator back into his pocket. He kept walking, his unease growing with every step. The infinite white desert seemed devoid of life, and yet he couldn't shake the feeling that he wasn't alone. Something was watching him.

After what felt like hours, Rex spotted something in the distance. A structure. A faint, dark outline against the endless white. His pace quickened, driven by equal parts curiosity and desperation.

As he drew closer, the shape became clearer, and now it was a small wooden cabin, sitting incongruously in the middle of the vast desert.

"What in the..."

Rex muttered, his voice trailing off as he approached the cabin. It looked weathered, ancient, and out of place, as though it had been plucked from another world and dropped here. He hesitated for a moment, his hand hovering over the door, then pushed it open.

The interior was strange, almost dreamlike. The cabin was empty, save for a single bed in the center of the room. The bed wasn't ordinary; it appeared to be made of galactic clouds, its surface shimmering with the hues of distant galaxies. The faint glow of starlight emanated from it, illuminating the cabin in a soft, ethereal light.

What struck Rex even more was that the desert outside the cabin was no longer visible through the windows. Instead, the surroundings had transformed into a surreal oasis.

Trees with luminescent white leaves dotted the area, and flowers that seemed to radiate a gentle glow bloomed in patches across the ground. It was a scene out of a dream or a nightmare.

Rex stepped outside, his breath catching in his throat. The air was heavy, laden with an otherworldly energy that made his skin crawl. He gazed at the shimmering trees and flowers, their beauty so overwhelming it almost hurt to look at.

But the peace didn't last.

Suddenly, the pristine white of the oasis began to dissolve. Darkness crept in like spilled ink, swallowing the light. The once-luminescent trees withered and blackened, their silver glow twisting into a faint, cold radiance. Even the flowers dimmed, their beauty corrupted into something hollow and lifeless.

Rex froze, his instincts screaming that something was wrong. The white desert beyond the oasis was gone, replaced by an endless abyss of black sand that shimmered faintly under the silver light of the corrupted trees.

"What the hell is this place...?"

Rex whispered, his voice barely audible as he took a step back. The air grew colder, the oppressive silence broken only by the faint sound of his breathing.

And then he felt it; something was watching him.

The presence was overwhelming, oppressive, and it sent a chill down his spine. He turned sharply, his instincts screaming at him to react. But as soon as he whipped around to face it, the sensation shifted. Now it was on his left. He spun again, but the presence moved to his right. Then above him. Then below him.

It was everywhere and nowhere at once.

Rex grated his teeth, his hands clenching as he fought the rising panic. His immediate instinct was to summon his claymore, the weapon that had always been his stalwart companion in countless battles. The comforting weight of its hilt, the balance of its blade, he needed it. He needed it now.

But as he extended his hand and reached deep within himself to craft it, nothing happened.

His heart dropped.

He couldn't summon his weapon.

He was powerless. Alone. Stranded in this dark, surreal place where neither his friends nor his strength could reach him. For the first time in a long while, Rex felt truly vulnerable.

The oppressive silence was broken by a voice.

It was unlike anything he'd ever heard, melodic, soft, and yet overwhelming, as though the words were being spoken directly into his soul. It was warm, almost soothing, and carried a weight that shook him to his core.

"Fear not, my son,"

the voice said, the words caressing his mind like a lullaby. "

Because I am your mother, and this is your home." Enjoy exclusive content from empire

Rex froze. Of all the things he had expected to hear, this wasn't even on the list. For a moment, his panic gave way to sheer confusion.

"What son!?"

Rex yelled, spinning in place as he scanned his surroundings, his head snapping from side to side.

"Y

ou've got the wrong guy, demon! I'm an orphan! Good luck next time!"

His voice was defiant, but his nerves betrayed him. His hands trembled slightly, and his eyes darted toward every shadow, every flicker of motion in the periphery.

But the voice didn't respond in anger. Instead, it laughed, a soft, sweet giggle that seemed to echo everywhere and nowhere at once.

"You are not an orphan, my son,"

the voice continued, calm and patient

. "While it is true that circumstances kept me from you, I am full of joy now. For you are finally strong enough to connect with me, at least in your astral form."

"Astral form? Seriously? Now you're making up excuses!"

Rex barked back, his defiance masking the unease gnawing at him. "

If you're really my mother, then show yourself! Prove it!"

The voice laughed again, but this time it was different, closer, deeper, more real. It wasn't just sound anymore; it was presence. The darkness that surrounded him began to shift, like ink spilling into water, and from the ground beneath his feet, a radiant white light began to shine.

The cabin trembled, the wooden walls groaning as if they could barely contain the energy erupting from beneath them. The light grew brighter and brighter, so blinding that Rex instinctively shut his eyes. Even with them closed, the brilliance seeped through, painting his vision in shimmering white.

When he finally opened them, the desert, the cabin, and the oppressive darkness had faded away.

Before him stood a woman, radiant and otherworldly. Her long, snow-white hair cascaded to the ground like a waterfall of light. Her skin glowed with a soft, pale luminescence, as if she had been sculpted from moonlight itself.

Crimson eyes, deep and piercing, locked onto his with a warmth that made him instinctively step back.

She wore a flowing, single-piece dress of thin, ethereal fabric that seemed to shimmer like starlight. Blue ornaments adorned her dress, their intricate patterns pulsating with energy. Behind her, a massive, glowing circular sigil floated, its design both divine and arcane, a perfect blend of mystery and majesty.

Rex stared, completely dumbfounded.

There was a long silence before he finally blurted out,

"Definitely not my mother. No way.

" He gestured at her, his voice dripping with sarcasm as he tried to mask his awe.

"First off, I'm not this good-looking. Second, you're way too tall! What are you, three? Four meters? I was a perfectly normal human of 1.8 meters a few years ago."

The tension that had gripped him moments ago began to loosen. Now that he could see her, it was easier to speak, easier to feel like himself again. But deep down, there was a sense of unease he couldn't shake. This woman, this being, felt far too powerful, far too...

otherworldly.