The spaceship was drifting smoothly above the clouds over a city that had been burnt to the ground by a fire dragon. Smoke from the ruins drifted into the sky, turning the bright clouds of the morning into a dark hue that resembled a coming storm.

The atmosphere around the ship was calm as everyone within went about their business as usual.

Then all of a sudden, a powerful presence descended upon them, resulting in varying reactions from everyone inside the spaceship.

Norian was the first to feel the presence, but he was unfazed as he was already used to it. The Vereenas had a strong sensitivity to energy and they also felt the presence quicker than the others.

As it came closer, everyone felt it. Drever, Draven, Max and Selene felt it and their bodies shivered uncontrollably.

Though the energy wasn’t exactly threatening or dark in any form, its mere presence created a feeling within each of them that screamed at them to fall to the ground, bow their heads and revere the approaching being. It was the same feeling that one would most likely feel in the presence of a god.

At that moment as well, the dark clouds disappeared and were replaced with radiant golden clouds that blasted a divine golden radiance down to the ground beneath them. Lightning also cracked loudly in the sky.

Marlon, who had just been informed of the arrival of Axel Storm, held Selena’s hand as they both strolled out of the monitoring room and moved to the main lobby where they could observe the reaction of the others.

Orion and the other Vereenas were already opening the hatch of the spaceship.

As if it was an invitation, Axel Storm, moving at a speed that seemed almost like he had teleported, stepped directly into the spaceship.

He was in his real appearance. His golden hair cascaded down his shoulders, fluttering elegantly as though he was an angel descending from the heavens. He was adorning a white robe with graceful and bold golden embroidery. His body was covered with a divine golden glow that almost seemed like the sun itself was radiating from him.

He reduced the intensity of the power emitting from his body to give the people dwelling in the room some breathing space.

He scanned the lobby in one movement, calmly noting the presence of everyone with his signature stoic expression.

Nonetheless, there was a subtle frown on his face when he spotted Draven, who was looking at him with a confused expression on his young face.

His gaze lingered on the Deadlight District descendant for a few seconds before moving on to Marlon, who also received a few seconds of serious scrutiny.

"Welcome.." Norian, observing the awkward silence that had filled the lobby, strolled out of his spot and greeted Axel Storm, who responded with a simple nod.

Orion also used the opportunity to stroll out and greet Axel Storm respectfully.

Axel Storm was not a stranger to the Vereenas. He had assisted them in several cataclysms that could have ended their planet, saving them from extinction on multiple occasions.

In Vereen, he was respected almost like a god even by the powerful Vereenas themselves.

It was the sole reason why the planet was willing to trust him with 100 of their strongest new generation.

Also, he only had to send a little signal to the Vereenas and they sent their strongest four who were coincidentally hovering around Earth before the descent of chaos.

Axel Storm nodded at Orion, noting his presence. He also nodded at Liora, Solan and Nox.

He was not a man of many words and such simple gestures were more than enough to display his acknowledgement and quiet gratitude.

While the others were busy revering him, Marlon stared at him blankly, holding a lot of grudges deep in his heart.

He still could not understand why he would only come now.

If someone like him had really acted earlier, more than half of the casualties wouldn’t have had the chance to take place. Presumably, his friends might even still be alive today.

Axel seemed to be able to read his thoughts as he kept gazing at him without taking his eyes off.

The others in the room also noticed the silent stare-down between the two of them. It was almost impossible to miss.

Yet while the others were not bold enough to react as Marlon did, they all still shared the same thoughts deep in their hearts.

"Marlon, come with us."

Norian took the initiative.

He knew very well that if given the chance, Axel Storm would rather keep staring at Marlon than explain anything. That was simply how he was.

Marlon nodded but before leaving, he used the telepathic link that Orion had created to plead with him to take care of Selena, who was still grieving. He asked him to make her sleep if the grief became too much for her to handle.

Then he strolled towards the two powerhouses as the three of them proceeded to exit the spaceship.

Once they had left, Drever, Draven, Selena and Max were finally able to breathe properly again.

Draven kept staring at the departing figure of Axel Storm as he felt something strange stirring within him.

When Axel Storm first appeared and their eyes met, an inexplicable hatred welled up from within him, stronger than anything he had ever felt before. It would have easily upgraded to killing intent, but there was also something within him that prevented that from happening, which was probably because of the immense power that Axel Storm exuded.

Draven could not understand why that had happened. He had never seen Axel Storm nor heard of him before, but he felt so much hate just looking at him.

A lightbulb suddenly went off in his head as he found a personal explanation for it, the Lunaris. He had obtained his powers from them and that could explain what happened earlier, but why exactly it happened was what he could not tell.

Speaking of the Lunaris, at this moment he wondered what had become of Zareth.

====

Meanwhile, Marlon, Norian and Axel Storm flew over the burning city.

Axel had reverted to his ordinary yet stunning form. His golden hair, golden aura and white robe had been replaced with his silver hair, invisible aura and black casual attire. In this form, there were no golden glows in the sky nor lightning flashing to draw attention.

Marlon observed closely and could see several people strolling amongst the ruins and their states were as bad as one could imagine. Some were dragging their limbs weakly, some were burnt from head to toe and struggling to move their bodies, and he even spotted some hugging their family members and wailing loudly. They were all so consumed by the chaos around them that they failed to spot the three of them flying overhead.

"The Light Corps have already been dispatched and they will be here soon," Axel let out in a gentle voice.

Marlon finally tilted his head towards him.

Axel also tilted his head towards him.

"I understand that you blame me for not acting."

Him saying this felt like a trigger.

Marlon halted and the others halted too.

He turned to face Axel without fear and poured out everything he had in mind.

He talked about everything, skipping nothing at all.

About how he had to die so many times, how he lost his friends and most of all the casualties that had taken place all over the world.

"Look at those people..."

He pointed at the people scattered across the ruined city.

The two hunters looked down and the scene was laid bare before their eyes. It was indeed saddening.

What these people had gone through was indeed severe.

"You could’ve prevented all of these..."

Marlon ended, his fist clenched as his eyes turned red with anger and something else that he could not show in front of others.

Axel observed the scene for a few seconds longer and then slowly turned to Marlon.

"Do you think I was idle?" he asked.

But there was no response. At this moment, Marlon was too enraged to be logical.

Norian remained silent and observed the two of them carefully. He was only here because Marlon was a tiny bit closer to him than Axel.

"I think you would believe it when you witness it with your own eyes."

Saying this, Axel made two small golden orbs appear in his hands and the golden orbs floated towards Norian and Marlon and then, without their permission, the golden orbs enveloped the two of them in floating, glowing golden bubbles.

And then with speed beyond their comprehension, their bodies flashed through the sky.