Before Yaze's eyes, the light of Orion was suddenly obscured by dark clouds. At the same time, from another direction, a surge of dark energy charged straight toward the Light Particle Converter.
"What is that?!"
Keshiva widened his eyes as he stared at the darkness rushing down from the sky.
Not only Keshiva—everyone present turned their gaze upward.
The sudden appearance of this hostile intruder immediately put everyone on alert.
"Cain, lead the warriors and establish full defensive readiness!"
Yuzare quickly regained her composure and issued orders to Cain and the others.
At the same time, she instructed two members of the Earth Garrison to pull Yaze down from the centre of the Light Particle Converter.
Nearby, Keshiva's research staff swiftly brought out a device and began calculating the trajectory of the descending darkness.
When the results appeared, the researcher frowned deeply.
"Lord Keshiva, if the calculations are correct… the source direction is a nebula designated as Zoss."
"Zoss Nebula? Why have I never heard of it?"
Keshiva was momentarily stunned. He was well-versed in cosmic knowledge, yet the Zoss Nebula had never stood out to him.
"The data on the Zoss Nebula was entered through records from extraterrestrial visitors," one of the researchers explained.
By "extraterrestrial visitors," they naturally meant aliens from other planets.
During the Ultra-Ancient era, many beings from other worlds had visited and even lived on Earth.
Most of these visitors were officially registered and had shared cosmic knowledge with the people of Earth.
Much of humanity's understanding of the universe originated from such exchanges.
The Zoss star system was no exception.
However, there was no time to dwell on that now.
Yaze had already descended into madness atop the Light Particle Converter. Two Garrison members rushed forward to pull him away, yet found him impossible to move.
Without warning, the dark energy slammed directly into the Light Particle Converter.
Boom!
The impact exploded outward in all directions.
"Not good!"
"Watch out!"
"This is bad!"
Cries of alarm rang out from all sides.
With a sharp crack, the eight pillars of the Light Particle Converter discharged arcs of black lightning, spreading outward.
Wherever the darkness reached, the black lightning followed.
At the centre of the Converter, Yaze and the two Garrison members who had rushed in were instantly ensnared by the black arcs, their bodies beginning to undergo a different kind of transformation.
Darkness flooded the platform plaza.
Just as it threatened to engulf everyone, brilliant flashes of light burst forth within it.
One after another, Giants of Light emerged from the darkness, their luminous forms instantly dispersing large swathes of shadow and shielding Yuzare, Keshiva, and the others.
Even so, some people were still caught in the darkness, their bodies wrapped in black lightning.
"How could this happen?!"
Keshiva was visibly shaken. Based on his extensive scientific experience, these black lightning arcs shared fundamental properties with the golden arcs of light.
If his judgment was correct, then those enveloped by the black lightning would—
—be transformed into Dark Giants.
"Quickly! Evacuate this area!"
Yuzare also tensed. This was an incident she had never anticipated.
The immediate priority was to get everyone trapped in the darkness to safety.
Following Yuzare's orders, the Giants of Light joined hands, carrying away as many Garrison members, soldiers, and researchers as they could.
"Don't worry about me—I can protect myself! Take the others first!"
Yuzare erected a personal light barrier around herself and shouted to the Giants of Light.
One by one, the Giants rose from the darkness, cradling survivors as they flew toward safer ground.
Within the darkness, Yuzare slowly advanced toward the centre of the Light Particle Converter.
With her command over the power of light, she might still be able to save one or two more people.
Every Garrison member saved mattered.
"Hmm?"
Suddenly, Yuzare noticed a powerfully built man nearby, struggling as black lightning wrapped tightly around him.
"General An Cheng!"
To her shock, after she called out his name, he responded with a strange, unsettling laugh.
"Hehehe… the power of darkness is truly delicious!"
An Cheng inhaled deeply and threw his head back in a roar.
In the next instant, all those bound by the black lightning dissolved into dense clusters of dark particles, rapidly assembling into enormous forms.
Dark Giants!
One after another—Dark Giants emerged.
Though traces of silver, red, or blue still remained on their bodies, the black patterns crawling across their forms made their nature unmistakably clear.
They were Dark Giants.
"No… impossible!"
Not only the others—even General An Cheng himself had become a Dark Giant.
Yuzare shook her head repeatedly, unable to accept what she was seeing.
"Sister! Sister, where are you?!"
High in the sky, Cain led a group of Giants of Light, shouting desperately as they stared at the platform now engulfed in darkness.
Suddenly, a beam of dark energy shot out from within the shadows.
Caught completely off guard, Cain was struck head-on, sent plummeting toward the ground like a kite with its string cut.
"Your Highness!"
"No!"
"Hurry!"
The remaining Giants of Light rushed downward, trying to catch him—
—but they were too late.
Boom!
Cain slammed heavily into the ground.
The others landed around him moments later.
When they looked up, everyone froze in shock.
"W-What is this?!"
"Who are you?!"
Surrounded by towering Dark Giants, Cain stared in disbelief.
"Hmph."
The leading Dark Giant let out a cold snort and looked down at Cain, who was propped up on the ground.
"Prince Cain… do you truly not recognize me?"
"You are… General An Cheng!"
Cain's eyes widened in shock.
Not just Cain—every one of his companions was stunned.
General An Cheng had become a Dark Giant.
"Cain, run!"
At that moment, a barrier of light rose within the darkness, enclosing a woman.
It was Yuzare, Cain's elder sister.
Cain reacted instantly. He sprang to his feet, grabbed Yuzare, and signalled his companions as they shot into the sky at full speed.
When it came to retreat, Cain ranked second to none.
After being chased by Zoiger flocks and Melba swarms more than once, such skills were forged through experience.
"General, should we pursue?"
Beside the now-darkened An Cheng, another Dark Giant spoke.
Having fully succumbed to darkness, they all instinctively knew who held the greatest power here.
An Cheng had once served as the Garrison's examiner and had commanded countless soldiers.
Most of the Dark Giants had once been Garrison members or guards themselves—An Cheng's authority was etched deep into their memories.
As for the researchers who had also transformed into Dark Giants, they followed the current without objection.