Traveling to a planet for crucial meetings and negotiations, Zak felt his mind fracturing. Chains, forged from memories that did not belong to him, began to snap.
“Are you alright?” his maid asked, her voice laced with concern as he shivered, staring into the mirror.
“What’s the arrival t…” Zak began, his voice strained.
“Please, take a rest. We will arrive soon.” She embraced him, guiding him to his bed, tucking him in, and kissing his forehead. As she left, Zak was consumed by a violent shiver, drenched in sweat. Then, the world beneath him vanished. He fell.
Down,
down,
down,
deeper into the darkness held captive by those breaking chains.
It was a rainy day in Albarka, the once-proud capital of Redguard, now a ruin. Dislocated limbs and unexploded ordnance littered the streets. Buildings stood, yet seemed to fall with every gust of wind. And there he was: Zak. But this Zak was smaller, younger—was this his past?
He looked at his hands, then his surroundings. Tanks breached the barricades. Squads of Coalition soldiers advanced, unleashing heavy fire. Only ten Redguards remained, but they pulled out their weapons, determined to defend their position.
Suddenly, he—this younger Zak—leapt forward, cutting through enemy ranks with impossible ease. He reached the lead tank, its left door his target. Charging his energy, he floated into the air above the monstrous machine. With a sweeping sword strike, the tank’s metal began to melt. It erupted in a fiery explosion.
From the ashes and smoke, he propelled himself towards another column of enemies. This time, he slammed his sword into the ground. A shockwave, vast as a city block, erupted, lifting tanks and soldiers alike into the air. With a horizontal sweep, he carved through them, bisecting everything caught in his arc. They had won this battle.
He collapsed to his knees, his head throbbing. Closing his eyes, he tried to focus on the pain, hoping it might be a path back to his own body. But he lost control. He realized then that none of this had been his doing; he was merely an observer. He was watching a memory play out, but who was this figure? A horrifying thought began to form: It can’t be… it can’t be my father.
The war raged on. Squads of Redguards, finding each other through the chaos, rallied against the Coalition forces. With newfound organization, they pushed the enemy out of the capital. A surrender signal broadcast across the galaxy, a desperate plea for other forces to compel the Coalition towards negotiation. But the Coalition refused; their objective was the complete eradication of the Redguard.
“General Commander Zak, your message has reached Goddess Arya. She is willing to converse with your presence.”
“We go now.”
There was no other choice. All one thousand remaining Redguards boarded a small, two-hundred-capacity starship, heading towards Arya—a kingdom of peace and finance, a beautiful heaven crafted from exquisite stones and flora.
They found sanctuary there, remaining for months. During this time, as Zak conversed with Queen Arya, a profound connection began to form between them. But the death that haunted the Redguards found them even here. This time, however, they had the Queen’s armies at their side. Zak seized the opportunity, inviting Arya to join him in destroying the Coalition, in eradicating any threat from the galaxy.
The Queen was hesitant to wage war, but Zak reminded her of an old soldier’s words: “In the grim dark future, there is only war.”
Arya accepted. Their plan began. Strategically, they dismantled the Coalition’s forces, destroying their starships, heavy carriers, and gunships. They began building their own fleet, waging and winning the hardest space wars. Years passed. The Coalition fractured and departed. A man named Dog, the head of an extreme religious faction, absorbed their remaining forces. He understood Zak and Arya’s power and initiated negotiations. Dog convinced Zak to attack the enemies of their allies, leading to a more vast and prolonged conflict. But opposing factions, witnessing Zak’s god-like powers, surrendered, pledging their fealty. Dog, seeing that Zak’s power would soon surpass his own, ordered his high general to end Zak. But, as Zak had foreseen, the general assassinated Dog instead, ending the religious path to bleak, dark goals.
This ushered in a long period of peace. Finance and industry became the sole arenas for conflict. In this era, Zak and Arya’s bond deepened. Then, one day, Zak was attacked. An anonymous swordsman engaged him, but soon realized Zak was too formidable. The assassin signaled a sniper. Zak recognized the danger, but his pride made him accept the incoming blast—a projectile from a Star Destroyer construct. A gaping hole now marred his body. For the first time, panic seized him. He began to cry, unable to lift his sword, falling to the ground. His only thought was: What will happen to Arya?
Arya fled back to Redguard, to Albarka, Zak’s hometown.
After a year, a voice reached Arya: “I will protect you. Forever.”
A year later, reports surfaced: the assassins who killed Zak had been burned alive.
A year after that, a boy was born, named Crystal. He grew up in the mountains surrounding Albarka, in a small Redguard village that eschewed the war-focused path of their kin. Twenty years passed. Then, his parents died. That night, the chains on his memories shattered. He remembered who he was. Twenty years later, he set out to find Arya.
Arya, now over two hundred years old, felt his presence enter the castle. She ran towards him, and before shocked onlookers, embraced the stranger, tears streaming down her face.
Crystal and Arya married in Albarka. She became pregnant. Knowing that if Crystal bore a son, it would mean their combined power would rule the world unchallenged—an end to leadership change—all the forces of the galaxy attacked. Redguard was once again under siege. Crystal and Arya, knowing this war was a direct consequence of their union, fled to another planet, the home of a wise wizard. They formed a circle, weaving a powerful magic to protect their unborn child within a crystal ball, ensuring the heir’s survival.
Then, the inevitable happened. A ship landed. A heavily armored man descended, killing both Crystal and Arya. But he could not find the wizard.
The wizard then sent the infant… to his mothers.
This is how Zak remembered his parents.
