Zaire Solaris
Amid the drywall, my infrared vision was locked onto a dozen or so heat signatures.
I dashed and took hold of Arya and flew out of the ceiling of my home.
"Solmane, what is the status on Ezra?"
"He is safe; I created a protective barrier."
A sigh of relief left my body, and then I looked at Arya, who was resting in my arms.
"Are you alright?"
"I'm fine; you didn't have to save me. I am more than capable of defending myself, Zaire." She said, commanding a large root to spring up towards us.
I placed her on the plant's surface.
I cleared my throat.
"It was a reflex…Sorry."
"It's fine; you Solaris men can't help it." She said, tying her hair up in a bun.
"Any ideas on who attacked us?" Arya asked, rolling up her sleeve and taking a couple of labored breaths.
"No, and only a few people know where we stay."
"You think Prime Minister Kazehoshi has moles?"
"Not in the slightest."
"Well, it got out somehow, and I got a strong idea who's behind this."
I gritted my teeth because I knew exactly who she was insinuating.
"I'm getting tired of being attacked. Ready to take the fight to them?" She said, her eyes full of conviction.
"What about you and the baby?"
"I'll be fine, Zaire," She said as she commanded the root to shoot her down toward the surface.
I dove down behind her, my body enveloped by light.
Arya was already engaged with two assailants wearing all-black fatigues and grey-plated armor.
Two more were attacking her from behind, blades in hand, to cut her down.
I manifested solar arrows, commanding them to pierce the limbs of the attackers.
But the attacks had no effect.
How could that be?
I flung myself down to intercept the attack, raising my cosmic-energy-reinforced forearms to block it.
I released a pulse of cosmic energy, launching them far away.
"Thank you," Arya said over her shoulder.
"Don't mention it, your family now."
She nodded and dashed forward at another enemy.
"Solmane, status on the barrier you created."
"It's holding up for now, but three of the attackers have something that can cut through it."
"How is that possible?"
"It seems like what it's made out of can absorb solar energy, convert it, and augment it into cosmic energy," Solmane said.
"That sounds similar to what Ezra was trying to achieve," I said, my body erupting with cosmic energy.
Three new people approached me. Each of them wielded a metallic shield made of celestium and a firearm.
Something was off about them.
I could sense only a small amount of cosmic energy from them.
Are they mundane humans?
I focused on their cores. They had an outer shell and a faint trickle of cosmic energy, but they were missing the essence of a constellation.
"What's wrong, old man?" one of the attackers said, tossing what I thought was some type of grenade towards me, followed by shots from their firearms.
I raised my hand, creating a wave of solar energy to block the bullets, but it began flowing towards the black mechanical ball, making it glow.
While the projectiles clashed against a layer of cosmic energy that enveloped me.
The projectiles began eroding the layer.
What is this technology?
They began pelting me with attacks, their cosmic-energy-enhanced bodies zigzagging around the house as they closed in.
While dodging their attacks, I began to understand what Solmane was trying to explain.
These men, with no constellation, possessed advanced technology capable of negating the effects of solar-energy-based attacks and techniques.
This was calculated to render my strongest attacks useless.
This must be how they took out our clan two years ago.
My heart ached at the realization that my own son had most likely given them the knowledge they needed to disarm us.
I dodged another cosmic bullet, channeled cosmic energy into my body, and exploded toward them.
My hand split one firearm down the middle before I slammed my palm into its wielder.
His breastplate shattered against his chest, fragments splintering outward.
I glanced over my shoulder. The other two were already putting distance between us as they scrambled to reload.
I quickly rotated, dashing towards them, and took hold of their barrels.
I squeezed both my hands, crumpling the reinforced alloy.
Their eyes widened, and their legs wobbled as they stumbled back several steps.
"I will spare your lives, but you must inform me who sent you," I said, expressing more of my cosmic energy.
The mere weight of my presence caused their legs to buckle, dropping them to the ground.
I stepped on the black grenade-like piece of technology, crushing it with my foot.
Arrows of solar energy manifested near their heads.
"Now talk."
The two men shared a glance and met my gaze.
"The day of reckoning will come, for you and your gods," one said, as he bit down on something in the back of his cheek.
Their bodies convulsed, eyes rolled back into their heads, and their mouths fizzed.
Damn it.
"Lord Zaire, hurry! Lady Arya is here, and she is in distress."
I blew through the home, making a beeline towards Ezra's room, or whatever was left of it.
When I appeared, the men attacking the barrier Solmane had established were scattered across the floor, spores bursting from their bodies.
Arya was on all fours, wailing in pain.
I dashed towards her.
"Where are you hurt?" I asked, placing a hand on her shoulder.
She leaned back and took hold of my hand, squeezing with all of her Empyrean stage strength.
She looked me in the eyes, her gaze murderous.
"It's coming," she said, her voice hushed and labored.
"I-It's what?"
She clenched my hand even harder and roared.
"It's coming. The baby is coming!"