Chapter 269 - Going home

Celaus pushed himself up from the bed, brushing off Jian’s hand when his younger brother tried to steady him. "You should rest more," Jian said quickly, but Celaus only shook his head."We don’t have much time," he said, his tone calm but firm. "The black hole might close completely if we delay." He frowned slightly, glancing toward the window. "Our journey here already took too long. If the passage seals, we may not be able to return at all."

Jian looked uneasy but didn’t argue further. Xing Yu stepped closer and helped support the crown prince, his expression serious. "Your Highness, your ship is in ruins," he said. "How do you plan to get back home? Most of what’s left is scrap."

Celaus’s eyes narrowed slightly as he thought. "We can salvage the parts," he said finally. Turning to Katrina, he continued, "Have our men gather the warp mechanism and anything else that still functions. Every piece matters."

"Yes, Your Highness." Katrina bowed slightly before leaving the room to pass down the orders.

Celaus then faced Xing Yu again. "I’m sure the Graylings have ships nearby. We’ll use theirs."

Xing Yu hesitated. "Their ships?"

"Yes," Celaus said. "Their frames are solid, and our technology can be fitted onto them. It’s not ideal, but it will work."

Xing Yu nodded slowly. "We’ll have to work fast then."

"Exactly," Celaus replied. "The warp mechanism is still intact enough to be reassembled. If we can power it, we can make it back."

Soldiers rushed about in a blur of gold and silver armor, shouting orders and hauling broken machinery from the smoldering crater. The air was thick with heat and the sharp metallic scent of burnt fuel. Li Wang tried to help, but his human strength barely made a dent in their efforts. He bent to lift a piece of scorched plating, managed to raise it an inch, then let it drop with a thud.

He stood there awkwardly, arms folded, watching the Farian soldiers move effortlessly. They carried twisted beams that must have weighed hundreds of kilos as though they were wooden sticks. "So unfair..." he muttered under his breath, wiping sweat from his forehead.

"It’s too hot near the crash site," came a calm, melodic voice from behind him.

Li Wang turned, blinking against the sunlight, and found himself face to face with the tall Farian woman he’d seen earlier—Katrina. Her black braid glimmered faintly under the sun, and her composure didn’t waver despite the scorching air.

He looked away almost immediately. "Well... what about them? Won’t they get hot?" he asked, motioning toward the soldiers who were pulling pieces of glowing red metal straight out of the crater.

"We have a higher heat tolerance," she said simply, stepping beside him.

Li Wang realized she stood nearly at his height—no, taller. He frowned and glanced at her boots, checking if she was standing on something. Nothing. Just tall. Naturally tall. "Oh..." he murmured, quietly defeated.

Katrina’s attention was fixed on the workers. "They’re moving quickly because we don’t have much time," she said.

Li Wang frowned slightly. "Why? What’s the rush?"

She lifted her hand and pointed toward the horizon. "Look there."

He squinted, then adjusted his glasses. Far above the clouds, he noticed something strange—like a swirling void, faintly shimmering in the blue sky. It wasn’t a storm, nor smoke. It looked unreal. "What is that?"

"That," she said softly, "is a black hole. It’s far from here, but it’s the path home. It’s closing, little by little. If we don’t make it through in time..." she paused, then smiled faintly, "...we’ll be stranded here."

Li Wang froze. "You’re... going home?"

"Yes," she said, her tone gentle, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "That’s the plan."

The words hit him harder than he expected. Going home. Of course they were. The Graylings were defeated, the danger was gone. There was no reason for the Farians to stay here any longer.

They were leaving...

What if him then...

He was but a human... he...

Jian... Xing... Eren and Varon.... they all will leave...

He will be left all alone in earth. With no one...

maybe it was his fate to be alone.

He didn’t know what to say. His throat felt tight. The noise of soldiers shouting orders faded to a distant hum.

"I.. I need water..." he mumbled and walked away stumbling on the rubble on the ground.

Li Wang was still wiping the sweat from his brow when he reached the front door. He reached for the handle—then froze.

A tall figure stood in front of the doorway, blocking his path.

The man was striking—long golden hair falling loosely past his shoulders, the breeze catching it so it shimmered faintly like molten light. His shirt was half unbuttoned, collar wide open, revealing a chest carved with lean muscle and marked faintly by travel dust and scars. For a second, Li Wang’s thoughts stalled completely.

His eyes traced up that chest, over the strong neck, and stopped on the man’s face—sharp, symmetrical, impossibly calm. And those golden eyes... they glowed faintly, like something not quite human.

The man’s lips curved, soft and deliberate. "My mate," he murmured. The words were almost reverent, his tone so low that it brushed Li Wang’s skin like warmth.

Li Wang blinked, his pulse skipping. "What?" he breathed out before his senses snapped back into place.

He stepped back sharply, his brows furrowing. "Move out of the way."

The man didn’t. He only tilted his head slightly, expression unreadable.

Li Wang clenched his jaw, shoving past him. His shoulder brushed the man’s chest, solid and hot through the thin fabric. The faintest whiff of something clean and metallic—like rain against stone—hit him before he darted through the doorway.

Once inside, he slammed the door behind him, his back pressed against the wood as his heart thudded hard and uneven.

"What the hell..." he muttered under his breath. His palms were damp, his pulse still unsteady. For a reason he couldn’t explain, the stranger’s voice—those two soft words—kept echoing in his head.

My mate.