Chapter 207: The End of the War Between Worlds

The final flash illuminated the city.

Liam felt Lydia grab his arm as they both ran toward a protected area. Behind them, the dimensional core was cracking apart, releasing waves of violet energy that shook the buildings and raised enormous clouds of dust.

"Don’t look back, honey!" Lydia shouted.

"I’m trying to make sure everyone got out!"

Liam activated his communicator.

"All squads, report your status! I need to know who’s still in the area!"

The responses came through amid static.

"Amber’s squad is outside the blast radius!" the sub-captain replied.

"Wayne and his people are out too!" another voice added.

"Tim, Ruby, and the rest of us are fine!" someone shouted.

Not everyone had escaped unscathed, but at least they had managed to get away from the core.

Then one final shockwave swept down the avenue.

Liam lost his balance and dropped to one knee. Lydia instinctively stepped in front of him, extending her body to shield him from the debris flying through the air.

The shockwave passed over them.

And suddenly, everything fell silent.

The violet pillars vanished one after another. The symbols on the remaining structures went dark, and the enormous rift began to contract until it became a thin line of light.

A moment later, it disappeared.

The sky returned to normal.

Liam stood motionless, staring at the place where the portal had been.

"Is it over?" Lydia asked.

It took him a few seconds to answer.

"I think so."

No more enemies were crossing over from another dimension.

The invasion was over.

◇◆◇

The relief didn’t last long.

"We need medical teams on the main avenue!"

Liam shouted into his communicator.

"There are injured hunters everywhere!"

The squads began regrouping among the rubble. Some helped their comrades walk, while others searched for people trapped beneath the destroyed structures.

Amber’s arm was covered in blood, and she could barely stay upright. Wayne had sat down against a wall, holding his lit cigarette between his fingers. Don Rouch had several wounds on his forehead, and Duncan was helping Ivy to her feet.

Tim had returned to his usual form, although his clothes were in tatters.

"If anyone ever tells me hunter missions are exciting again, I’m going to punch them," he muttered.

Ruby, sitting nearby, let out a tired laugh.

"Try not to break your other hand."

A few meters away, Jane was kneeling beside her father.

Armstrong was unconscious.

The loss of his left arm and the amount of blood he’d lost had left his life hanging in the balance. A medical team was beside him, trying to stabilize him before transporting him.

"Please hold on, Dad," Jane whispered, holding his right hand.

One of the doctors looked up.

"We need to get him out of here immediately. We’ve done everything we can to stop the bleeding, but his condition is still critical."

Jane nodded, unable to respond.

Liam approached and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Armstrong is the strongest man I know. He’s not going to give up that easily."

Jane looked at him with bloodshot eyes.

"I hope you’re right."

Liam had no way to guarantee that.

But he stayed by her side until the doctors carried the captain away.

◇◆◇

A little while later, Lydia found Liam sitting on a block of concrete.

He had several cuts on his arms, and his clothes were covered in dust. His weapon rested beside him, and his hands trembled slightly from the accumulated strain.

She sat down next to him.

"Are you okay, honey?"

Liam looked at her.

"Yeah. I’m just tired."

Lydia raised an eyebrow.

"That’s not what I asked."

He let out a brief laugh.

"I’m alive. You’re alive. Everyone else managed to get out. I guess that’s enough for now."

Lydia rested her head on his shoulder.

"For a moment, I thought we wouldn’t be able to stop them."

"Me too."

Liam took her hand.

Throughout the battle, he’d been searching for a strategy, trying to find a way to overcome an enemy that seemed to have unlimited resources. Yet in the end, it hadn’t been a single ability or a decisive blow that had saved the world.

It had been everyone working together.

All six squads, their wounded comrades, James and Pix at the command center, and even Captain Armstrong, who had sacrificed a part of himself to protect the others.

"We did it together," Liam murmured.

Lydia lifted her head and kissed him on the cheek.

"And we still have so much left to fight for."

Liam understood what she meant.

Their family, their future, and the life they’d been building long before that war began.

He wrapped his arms around her carefully.

"We’re going home, honey."

"Yeah. And when we get there, I want to sleep for two whole days."

"Sounds like an excellent plan."

◇◆◇

A few hours later, Liam and Lydia arrived at the provisional command center, where James and Pix were still analyzing the data collected during the battle.

James had deep circles under his eyes, and several empty cups sat beside his equipment.

Pix floated in front of a screen, moving her hands rapidly as she reviewed the energy readings.

"Liam!"

She exclaimed when she saw him.

"You’re still alive!"

He looked at her wearily.

"I’m glad to hear that’s surprising."

"After what happened out there, I wasn’t sure everyone would make it back."

Pix descended a little and looked at Lydia.

"And you? How are you feeling?"

"Tired, but fine."

James approached with a tablet.

"The readings confirm that the energy extraction has stopped. The remaining structures have gone inactive, and the rift is gone."

Liam released the breath he’d been holding.

"So it’s really over."

"This invasion, yes," James replied.

The researcher’s expression grew more serious.

"Before the core collapsed, we managed to recover some of its records. We don’t understand all the data, but there’s something we need to discuss."

James projected a series of images onto the screen.

They showed structures similar to the ones they’d destroyed, accompanied by depictions of different worlds. Some appeared to have continents and oceans, while others displayed strange landscapes unlike anything Liam had ever seen.

"The records suggest these invaders have visited numerous worlds," James explained.

"They install extraction structures, absorb the available energy, and use dimensional connections to travel to their next target."

Liam silently studied the images.

"And our world was just one of many targets?"

"That’s what it looks like. We can’t confirm every detail, but the data indicates they’d been preparing this operation for quite some time."

Lydia frowned.

"How many worlds have they conquered?"

James shook his head.

"We don’t know. The records are incomplete."

Pix crossed her arms.

"But this doesn’t look like some small group that figured out how to travel between dimensions. Everything points to an organized expansion."

Liam looked at the image of a structure surrounded by violet energy.

They’d stopped the invaders, but perhaps they’d only interrupted one part of something much larger.

"At least now we know they exist," he said.

James nodded.

"And we have data that could help us understand how these connections work. But we’ll need time to study it."

"No dangerous experiments," Liam warned.

James sighed.

"I knew you’d say that."

"Then don’t make me repeat myself."

◇◆◇

When Liam and Lydia finally left the command center, the sky was beginning to darken.

The city was still riddled with damage, and rescue teams were continuing to work among the ruined buildings. However, there were no longer any violet pillars piercing the clouds or monsters emerging from a dimensional rift.

Lydia stopped beside Liam.

"Do you know the first thing I want to do when we get home?"

"Sleep together for two days?"

"After that."

Liam pretended to think about it.

"Eat something delicious?"

"That too. But I want us to sit together, without communicators, without emergencies, and without anyone trying to destroy our world."

He smiled.

"That I can promise you, honey."

Lydia placed a hand on her belly.

Liam followed the movement with his eyes and gently covered her hand with his own.

They’d spent far too long worrying about the war, the dangers of her evolution, and the future they were waiting for. There were still issues to resolve, but for the first time in a long while, they could think about that future without hearing explosions in the distance.

Then Pix appeared behind them in a small shower of sparkles.

"Hey! Wait! Don’t think I’m going to stay here working while you two go off to rest!"

Liam sighed.

"Pix, shouldn’t you be analyzing the records?"

"I’m done for now!"

James, who had just stepped out behind her, raised a hand.

"That’s not true."

"Traitor!" Pix exclaimed.

Lydia burst out laughing.

After everything they’d been through, Liam could finally laugh too, without feeling as though he were wasting a precious moment.

However, just as the three of them started walking, Pix stopped.

Her expression changed as she looked at the small screen she was carrying.

"Liam..."

He turned around.

"What’s wrong?"

Pix took a moment to answer.

"I’ve detected a very weak signal. It’s coming from a distant dimensional connection."

James immediately approached.

"Another rift?"

"Not exactly. The signal is too weak to determine its origin. It could be a remnant of the network the invaders used... or something else."

Liam looked up at the sky.

The war was over. His world was safe, at least for the moment.

But the dimensions were still connected by pathways they barely understood.

And somewhere, beyond what they could see, that signal continued to be transmitted.

Liam took Lydia’s hand.

"For now, let’s go home."

Pix looked at the screen again.

"Yeah. For now."

The signal remained there, faint but steady, a reminder that victory hadn’t put an end to every mystery.

It had only given them the chance to uncover them.