Chapter 548: In The Presence of the Goddess

Empress Xalvoria slowly reached her hand out toward the makeshift altar, her pale fingers extending to grasp the jagged, glowing fragment. As her hand drew closer, the pale gold veins inside the stone began to pulse faster, the faint, rhythmic glow completely synchronizing with the sudden spike in Xavier's heart rate.

"I am going to have to stop you right there," Xavier said, his voice cutting through the heavy silence of the cabin as he stepped fully into the doorway. "You might be some kind of supreme galactic empress and whatnot, but you absolutely cannot have that stone."

The obsidian knight pivoted on her heel in a fraction of a second. The metallic shriek of her massive broadsword leaving its scabbard echoed through the confined quarters, and she leveled the heavy blade directly at Xavier's throat, ready to separate his head from his shoulders for the blatant disrespect.

Behind Xavier, the atmosphere instantly violently shifted. Reva let out a low, feral hiss, her crimson eyes glowing brightly in the dim light as razor-sharp claws extended from her fingertips.

Lyra completely dropped the rest of her food onto the deck, her newly awakened demonic energy flaring into a burning aura as she stepped up right beside Xavier. She bared her teeth at the towering knight, entirely ready to get aggressive and tear the armored woman apart to protect him.

Xavier, however, didn't even flinch at the giant sword hovering inches from his face. He just stood there completely still, his posture entirely nonchalant as he stared right past the blade and locked eyes with the Empress.

Xalvoria slowly withdrew her hand from the altar and turned to face him fully. She looked at his incredibly relaxed demeanor, and then her gaze drifted to the two highly aggressive women standing behind him, ready to throw their lives away over a single command.

The Empress raised two fingers. The obsidian knight reluctantly lowered her broadsword, though she kept it drawn and ready at her side.

"Do you have any idea what it is that sits upon your little metal table?" Xalvoria asked, her voice dangerously quiet as she took a slow, calculated step toward him. "That is not a mere trinket for a scavenger. It is a breathing, living fragment of Astrea, the exiled high deity."

She narrowed her terrifying crimson eyes, her gaze shifting between the pulsing stone on the altar and the beating of Xavier's chest, clearly noticing the neural and spiritual link connecting the two.

"The shattered remains of a god do not just end up on a rusted ship," Xalvoria continued, her tone shifting from disdain to cold curiosity. "And they certainly do not synchronize their divine resonance with the heartbeat of a filthy mortal. Tell me exactly what your connection is to the exiled goddess, boy, before I decide to let my vanguard carve the answer right out of your chest."

Xavier opened his mouth, entirely prepared to deliver a characteristically shameless remark to the terrifying galactic ruler, but a sudden, blinding flash of pale gold light erupted from the makeshift altar before he could speak a single word.

The pulsing of the stone shifted into a sharp, continuous buzz that vibrated the metal walls of the cabin. A voice echoed directly into the minds of everyone standing in the cramped quarters. It carried the cold sharpness of a scorned deity, laced with a temperamental, biting authority that immediately demanded absolute submission.

"Lower your weapon, child. You are standing in the presence of my chosen vessel." The obsidian knight actually took a half-step backward, her massive broadsword dipping toward the floor as the sheer weight of the divine pressure washed over her.

Empress Xalvoria's crimson eyes widened fractionally. The absolute, haughty authority she had carried since she arrived instantly dissolved. She slowly lowered herself, her heavy crimson-and-gold mantle draping across the deck as she knelt gracefully before the rusted steel table. She stared deeply into the intricate, glowing veins of the rock.

"A entirely different consciousness," Xalvoria murmured, her tone losing its previous disdain and shifting into a strange, clinical fascination. "You are not the fragment I am familiar with. I do not recognize this specific resonance."

"And yet, I recognize yours," the ancient, matriarchal voice of Astrea replied from the glowing stone, her tone oscillating away from her initial anger into an almost familiar warmth. "I can feel the lingering energy of my sisters etched into your very cells. You have been in contact with another piece of my shattered soul. Reach out to me. Touch my surface."

Xalvoria remained kneeling, but she slowly shifted her gaze from the glowing rock to cast a deeply annoyed, venomous glare directly up at Xavier.

"I was entirely prepared to do exactly that," the Empress said with a sneer, "but a remarkably rude boy decided to interrupt me."

Xavier didn't even drop his nonchalant posture. He simply offered a shameless smirk and gestured toward the altar with an open hand, completely ignoring Reva and Lyra's tense, protective stances right behind him. "Be my guest."

Xalvoria turned her attention back to the altar. She extended her pale hand, her fingers trembling ever so slightly as she bypassed the protective golden aura radiating from the stone. Without another word of hesitation, the Empress pressed her bare fingertips directly against the glowing veins of the goddess's fragment.

The moment her skin made contact with the fragment, a violent shockwave of pure, golden energy erupted through the cramped captain's quarters. The dim artificial lighting of the dreadnought was completely swallowed by a blinding, incandescent radiance.

The pale gold veins inside the rock violently expanded, projecting a massive, three-dimensional web of cosmic coordinates and shifting constellations that painted the metal walls in divine light.

The ambient whirr of the ship's engines was instantly drowned out by a deep, resonant chime that vibrated in their very teeth, sounding like a massive temple bell ringing at the bottom of an ocean.

The gravity inside the room grew exponentially heavy, forcing Reva and Lyra to brace themselves against the doorframe while the obsidian knight tightened her grip on her broadsword.

Xalvoria's breath caught in her throat as her crimson eyes reflected the swirling golden cosmos projecting from the stone. The pulse of the fragment surged, matching her heartbeat perfectly alongside Xavier's.

"The connection is forged," Astrea's ancient voice echoed directly into their minds, carrying a profound weight that felt like a star collapsing. "The cosmic static has cleared. Through your residual resonance, child, I can finally feel the distant presence of my sisters... The network of my shattered soul is now synchronized across the void."

Empress Xalvoria slowly pulled her trembling hand away from the altar. The absolute, haughty demeanor of the galactic ruler had momentarily cracked, replaced by a look of profound awe and heavy realization as she stared at her own glowing fingertips.

She slowly pushed herself up from the metal deck, her crimson-and-gold mantle settling heavily around her shoulders as she regained her composure.

Xavier watched the entire display without moving an inch, but his nonchalant smirk had completely vanished. The stakes had just shifted entirely. He crossed his arms over his chest and took a slow, deliberate step toward the Empress, entirely ignoring the giant sword held by her knight.

"Alright, the light show is over," Xavier said, his voice dropping its usual sarcasm for a sharp, demanding edge. "I am the one carrying her pieces, so it is time you start talking. Who exactly are you, and how the hell do you know about Astrea and her fragments?"