Published at 16th of February 2026 7:10 am

Chapter 2003 Deadly patience

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Present Time - Planet Bright

Crack

Seated upon her throne, her posture rigid yet trembling with restrained fury, madness flickering wildly in her eyes, clear bite marks staining her lips and fresh scratches crawling along her neck, Kaylis shouted in a voice thick with impatience,

"Why hasn't the connection started yet? Why is it still silent? How long am I supposed to wait like this?!"

"Please wait just a few more moments, Your Majesty. We are still trying to put it through," one of Kaylis's descendants knelt before her with hurried respect, remaining there for only a heartbeat before rising again. He immediately turned and began frantically manipulating a control device positioned before him, his fingers moving faster and faster as sweat beaded on his brow.

Then, almost instantly, his tense expression broke apart into a wide, relieved grin as he straightened and raised his voice,

"There it is-contact confirmed! The other side has responded!"

Kshhh-

In that very moment, a stream of distorted light burst out from the control panel, rapidly stabilizing as it expanded into a massive projected image. The figure that appeared was a human with half-closed eyes, so deeply black they seemed to swallow the surrounding light itself.

It was Theo.

He looked straight through the projection, locking his gaze directly with Kaylis's, and asked in a flat, emotionless tone,

"What's the problem?"

"You still have the nerve to ask..." Kaylis's fingers curled inward as her fists clenched with crushing force, her nails digging into her palms before she suddenly raised her voice, fury spilling out unchecked.

"We finalized our agreement many years ago. I accepted every condition you demanded. So tell me why hasn't the real operation begun yet? Why does all this destruction continue, even after I allied myself with you?!"

"Everything has its appointed time, your majesty," Theo replied calmly, his voice steady and unshaken.

"Or are you truly that eager to abandon your galaxy altogether?"

".." Kaylis stared directly into Theo's eyes, unblinking, the silence between them heavy and suffocating.

"I'm starting to believe I chose the wrong path when I allied myself with you." "You never had many options, if I remember correctly," Theo said with a faint. smile.

"We were, quite literally, your last remaining choice." He tilted his head slightly, as if amused.

"And honestly, our offer was the best among all of them-from my perspective at least. Your excessive hesitation forced me to accelerate operations in Sectors 91 and 93. You squandered an enormous amount of our resources when you turned to the Gravity Behemoth."

"...Do you truly feel no shame at all?!" Kaylis's brows drew together as her voice sharpened.

"You're openly admitting that you're surrounding my allies, deliberately tightening the noose just to limit my options?!"

"To prevent a disastrous decision that would send Mid Sector 101 straight into the arms of that cursed Behemoth," Theo responded immediately, his tone hardening.

"We're trying to cleanse this blighted region, not drown it deeper in filth."

"And I'm the one who would drown it?" Kaylis revealed a blood-tinged, dangerous smile, her lips curving with cold amusement, "I. the sole ruler of mid sector 101 are the criminal who will destroy it, and you are the guardian angel?!"

Faced with that smile, Theo merely nodded once.

"Of course," he said, then continued without hesitation.

"It wouldn't have mattered who you sought help from. No one could have delivered support powerful enough to truly deter your enemies. You would have paid twice the price and gained nothing in return. You should be thanking us for stopping you from sinking even deeper into the swamp."

"Thank you for forty years of pointless warfare. Thank you for forty years of grinding this sector's strength down by a quarter. Thank you for forty years of reducing my fleets to less than a fraction of what they once were. Thank you for turning my sector into one of the weakest among the thousand Mid Sectors -all because of this endless, consuming war."

Kaylis forced a soft, sarcastic smile that failed to hide the venom behind it.

"So tell me how many more forty-year cycles must I endure before I finally receive what our agreement promised..."

Then she raised her voice, the sheer force of it causing the entire hall to tremble and echo,

"How long must I wait before I get to kill Darvion?!"

"And what, exactly, would you have done after receiving support from the Sorcerer Behemoth, the Temporal Behemoth, the Destroyer Behemoth, or the Gravity Behemoth?" Theo raised an eyebrow, his expression faintly mocking. "Would you have played rock-paper-scissors with Darvion to decide who has the right to rule the sector?"

He continued coldly,

"I won't dignify these accusations with a direct answer. Deep down, you already know this is the best return you could possibly obtain. So I'll settle for saying this: we are on the correct path-and the time will come, precisely when it is

meant to."

"...When?" Kaylis lowered her gaze, her voice heavy, almost drained.

"When our forces are fully prepared for direct intervention," Theo replied, a faint, controlled smile forming on his lips, "and when the groom grows a little stronger-strong enough to bear what comes next."

"When?" Kaylis repeated, this time lifting her head, the edge in her voice sharpening.

Theo nodded several times, slow and deliberate. "When His Majesty, Lord Human-Robin Burton-emerges from his prolonged seclusions and is finally ready to meet you face to face."

"When?!" Kaylis shouted, her voice echoing violently through the hall. "When will all of this finally happen?!"

"This discussion doesn't seem to be leading anywhere," Theo frowned slightly, his tone cooling. "You will simply have to wait. There is nothing more to be

said."

"...?!" Kaylis' brows knit together with force. "Why is someone within the realm of a Martial Emperor speaking to me in this manner? Has my statues truly

fallen this low?"

"A very good question," Theo said, doing his best to maintain a polite, almost gentle smile. "I'll leave you to discover the answer to that on your own."

Then-kshh-the connection abruptly cut out.

Kaylis and her grandson continued staring at the empty space where the

projection had been for a long while. Kaylis frowned deeply, unable to fully grasp what had just transpired... while her grandson stood frozen, sweat slowly forming on his brow, because he understood all too well exactly what had just

happened.

"Ah... uh... haha..." the grandson laughed awkwardly, desperately trying to lighten the suffocating atmosphere. "Maybe the Shadow Sword meant that-"

"Get out."

Kaylis' voice was cold, absolute. She clearly had no patience left or

explanations.

"Y-yes, Your Majesty!!"

The young man didn't dare look back even once. Bam-the door slammed shut

behind him, sealing the chamber and leaving Kaylis alone.

No... not alone.

Her thoughts accompanied her.

Crraaack

Kaylis crushed the armrest of her throne completely, fragments splintering

beneath her grip. Her eyes were unfocused, unstable, filled with a storm of

emotions she could barely contain.

Whoosh at that moment, the atmosphere around Kaylis began to churn, subtle at first, then stronger, until a small figure slowly materialized beside her. A young woman who appeared to be in her twenties, dressed in a loose white

gown, holding a softly glowing orb that resembled a pearl. Her expression, her posture-everything about her radiated gentleness and calm.

The girl inclined her head respectfully before Kaylis and spoke in a quiet, even

tone,

"I have never known you to be like this-so consumed by anger." "Not now, Bray," Kaylis replied, her body visibly trembling with restrained fury.

"Then when?" the girl tilted her head slightly, curiosity laced with concern. "When you ordered me to destroy 2000 planets, you were far calmer than you are now,"

Only then did it become clear-

She was the spirit of Planet Bright itself.

.....

At those words, the tremor running through Kaylis' body eased just a little. She leaned back against her throne once more, exhaustion creeping into her

posture.

"Don't worry... I won't hurt you again," she said quietly. "At least... I'll try not to."

"What has happened to you, my partner?" Bray tilted her head further, her

voice gentle but probing. "Who are you truly angry at?" "Myself," Kaylis answered curtly. "...I'm angry at myself."

She then lifted her head, staring upward as if searching for answers beyond the

ceiling.

"I made a mistake when I sought help from that cursed Darvion to refine you. Perhaps I should have fled from the very beginning... perhaps I should have hidden my talent and continued treating clients, just as my family did before I

was ever born."

"Hmmm... it's a little too late for that now," the planet's spirit replied softly, without judgment.

"I know... unfortunately, I know," Kaylis murmured. She continued gazing

upward for a long moment, then finally turned back toward the planet's spirit.

"At the very least, you'll soon have a new owner-one who can truly make use of you the way you deserve... a true owner."

"Hmmm?" Bray slightly pursed her lips, curiosity flickering across her gentle

features.

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