I hadn't figured out how to explain the source of those supplies to Ali or anyone else, so I just tossed the bag into the basement for now, planning to deal with it later.



Curling up beside Ali, I could feel his steady breathing and warmth.



The house was packed with people from the hall to the attic. Ever since the Federation's invasion of the settlements had escalated, it was only a matter of time before our home was razed to the ground.



I scratched the skin under my collar, reluctantly reminding myself that I was constantly imprisoned, even though I could ignore it most of the time.



I closed my eyes, and my consciousness drifted in endless darkness--void of any sensation. Only in this state did I feel a faint sense of freedom, unbothered by the usual, irritating noises.



But today, something was different. In the distance... no, not that far away... there was something... something massive, pulsating. I reached out toward it, only to see a giant fireball, and beside it, the source of the pulsing. There were two of them, very loud and powerful--unlike the faint vibrations I sometimes noticed.



I wanted to get closer, to understand what this was, but suddenly, the light intensified.



I was bathed in pure, bright light, as if... reborn, experiencing some profound transformation.



Lost in this indescribable impact, I didn't notice that I had already opened my eyes and awakened.



This wasn't just a fleeting dream.



The roaring, the vibration, the blinding light, and the intense heat--it felt as if I was watching it all through a transparent bubble.



I don't know how much time passed, but as suddenly as it appeared, the light vanished, and darkness returned.



Then, I felt a tightness in my chest, like my lungs were being squeezed, making it impossible to breathe. In a panic, I flailed my limbs wildly. I didn't know what I was trying to do, but then someone grabbed my hand. It was that warm, strong, and reassuring hand.



"Here," Ali said, his voice calm and composed. "Just hold on a little longer!"



Ali encouraged me as he pulled me along until we hit something solid. He cursed under his breath, and then there was a thunderous crash as a large hole appeared before us. Finally, light broke through, and I could breathe again.



I knelt on the ground, gasping for air, when I noticed something strange.



The ground felt odd--warm, with faint heat currents that made the short hairs on my body sway gently. And the texture... it was like the structure of the dome above--something hard and brittle, covering the entire surface. It was transparent and smooth, and I could see my shattered reflection looking back at me with bright green eyes.



The battered image of a leopard flickered slightly, drawing my attention to the fire. Some objects around us were still burning, with spherical flames slowly collapsing. Thick black smoke lingered near the ground, but the shockwave from opening the hole had cleared some space nearby.



It sounded like the screams of millions of people in unison--a terrifying sound that made me instinctively look up.



The dome was broken, with some black smoke escaping through the crack. The sky was a deep, reddish-purple.



Now I understood the difference between a raptor drone and a regular drone. Like meteors from a story, hundreds of lights fell from the sky. That was the direction of the Liberation Army base.



It was surreal--the sight of something that would destroy everything, consuming all until only the void remained--was strangely beautiful.



A sudden blow to the back of my head knocked me to the ground. Someone grabbed the back of my neck and lifted me.



"Well, well, looks like we've got a little one who slipped through the cracks," said the antelope who had me in his grasp. His helmet's mask was down, and he spoke slowly. "A little leopard cub whose teeth haven't fully grown in yet." He laughed, tightening his grip around my neck. "Maybe it's best to pull them out before they do."



I couldn't breathe. I struggled to fight back, but the strength difference was too great--I could only watch as the antelope's twisted grin and black spots crept in from the edges of my vision.



"Let him go!" Ali pounded on the antelope's armored stomach, trying to stop him, but it was useless. Suddenly, Ali stopped moving. "I said, let him go."



It wasn't his bristling fur or the tail that had fluffed up to twice its size--it was those bright red eyes that told me Ali was different. Had he been like this just now?



Ali tore off the antelope's right arm, armor and all, setting me free and dropping me to the ground. I coughed as I scrambled to my feet, while the antelope, unable to comprehend what had just happened, screamed in agony, futilely trying to stem the flow of blood from his severed limb.



The armor was clearly damaged, or else I knew that Federation combat armor had a tightening function to prevent blood loss.



Ali didn't stop; he kicked the antelope's right knee, producing a crack and some sparks, forcing the antelope face-down onto the ground, desperately screaming. He couldn't decide whether to keep pressing the gushing wound on his arm or his twisted right leg.



"Please... don't..." Gone was his earlier bravado as the antelope sobbed and pleaded for mercy, but Ali ignored him. He grabbed the antelope by the helmet and dragged him to a protruding piece of debris, smashing his face into it repeatedly.



I wanted to stop Ali--he looked terrifying, like a demon from a story with those blood-red eyes.



But the pain in my neck hadn't subsided, and I was so dizzy that I struggled not to pass out.



The mask shattered, and the antelope's wails grew weaker with the splattering of wet liquid, until finally, they stopped. Ali released the bloody remains.



I stood, unsure of what to do, as Ali met my gaze. The sight of his blood-red eyes still made me a little scared. But just by looking at each other, I understood--he was still the brother I knew. Ali walked over and hugged me tightly, offering solid support.



Suddenly, Ali pushed me away, his eyes alert as he scanned our surroundings. I figured I needed more time to get used to his now-red eyes. "I'm right here," he said, his ears twitching in different directions. "I won't leave you alone." With that, he agilely leaped over a large rock and disappeared among the debris, hidden by the black smoke.



After a short while, another antelope appeared before me. Even with the mask down, I recognized him as the one who had given me the nanogel earlier and heard him sigh deeply.



The antelope walked over to the debris, kicked it twice, and then removed the personal terminal from the corpse's arm to operate it.



I just watched him quietly, but inhaled a puff of black smoke and coughed.



The antelope finally noticed me, spinning around to face me.



His shock was palpable as he rushed over, checked my pulse, and examined my eyes.



"This is an oxygen shot," he said as he injected something into my neck. "I don't know how you've held on for this long, but..." The antelope trailed off, his expression shifting as he began to probe my head with his fingers, his eyes turning bright red. Like Ali's, they were purely red--like blood. "Impossible... unless..." He glanced at the battered corpse.



Whatever decision the antelope made, he stood up and returned to fiddling with the dead antelope's armor. I continued watching him quietly, and perhaps due to the oxygen shot, my vision and thoughts gradually became clearer.



I guessed this antelope wasn't hostile, though I wasn't sure how I reached that conclusion, given that he was a herbivore. But he had shown me kindness twice now--perhaps not all herbivores were untrustworthy.



"This should be enough to get you to the next settlement dome," he said, pressing a mask onto my face and demonstrating how to use it. "Don't let anyone see you wearing this gear. Once you're near the dome, use the oxygen shot." He handed me a few more injectors.



We both stood up, and I noticed his gaze was strange--not the usual disdain or fear from herbivores, but... guilt.



"I hope we can meet again under different circumstances," he said slowly, feeling around my collar. "I don't know how to express our... apology, but I think this is a start." After two beeps, I felt the collar loosen. "I've disabled the remote tracking and shock functions. If you want to turn off the ID display, just do this..." He showed me how to toggle the ID display on and off.



The antelope seemed to have more to say, but he suddenly looked up, frowning.



"From here on out, you're on your own," he concluded, hesitating briefly before finally deciding to walk away.



I watched the antelope disappear into the black smoke, then decided to head in the direction Ali had gone. I hadn't walked far when he found me first. In the pitch-black smoke, Ali grabbed my hand, signaling for me to follow.



We crept up a small hill, and I threw Ali a questioning look, but he just put a finger to his lips.



"...Tracking the radio tags on stolen supplies was always going to involve a ton of variables, didn't I say that from the start? And look at us now, the entire settlement has been destroyed, and you still think we can keep this under wraps?" It was the voice of the antelope from earlier. He sounded furious, though it was unclear who he was speaking to. We crawled slowly closer to the source of the voice.



"...I thought landscapes scorched to glass were the kind of horrors you'd only see in the historical archives. Do you even know how terrifying it is?" He held his helmet in his hand, pacing back and forth. The area around the antelope seemed to be glowing faintly...



"...I'm done caring about what those arrogant deer have to say. I'm going to inform the Council--this has gone too far. It's obvious that--" The antelope was interrupted by something. We edged a little closer, barely able to catch the other voice speaking to him.



"...The Federation members have decided to re-establish contact with the Empire. An Omega-level psychic has emerged, within Canidae Empire territory," the disembodied voice said.



"Don't think you can just change the subject. I'm going to keep pushing this issue," the antelope replied, rubbing his temples before letting out a heavy sigh. "Is it Richter? Has he finally found a way to break through?"



"No, not Richter. There are two signal patterns," the other voice responded. "And if Richter is a star... this one's a black hole."



"Great, just great. Now the Canidae Empire has two super-powered psychics. Could things get any worse?" The antelope took a deep breath, looking as though he had reached a decision. "I might have found a psychic as well. A strong one."



"Really? That's good news!" The other voice sounded excited.



"It's a young cheetah." After saying this, the antelope's conversation partner fell silent.



"How strong?" The voice asked after a long pause.



"I can't even be sure..." The antelope scratched at the base of his horn in frustration. "Judging by the higher-tier rules, he's at least an Alpha-level psychic if he can hide from my detection." He let out a bitter laugh, lowering his head. "I can't even imagine how awkward it would be if he turned out to be Omega- level. Damn it, I'm only Gamma- level myself! How is this my responsibility? And weren't all the carnivores in the Federation supposed to have been screened already?"



"We're just a bunch of idiots who think we know what we're doing," the other voice replied.



"Hey, why don't you ever say stuff like that during the Federation's important meetings, 'General'?" The antelope added a sarcastic emphasis.



"Are you trying to expose my identity?" The voice sounded a bit exasperated. "Anyway, what's done is done. We'll review it, then keep moving forward."



"That's easy for you to say..." the antelope muttered, kicking at some debris on the ground. The 'General' clearly decided to pretend he hadn't heard that.



"According to earlier predictions, we likely won't have a hand in the first act on the Lunar. But the subsequent events are more important anyway. I'll bring you back as soon as possible--get ready." The voice finished with a phrase I couldn't understand. The antelope repeated it before putting on his helmet, glancing around, and walking off into the distance.



Ali and I stood up, trying to process all the information. The swirling black smoke, the flames, and the shattered dome finally forced my brain to realize what had happened: everyone else was gone.



Only we remained.



As tears welled up in my eyes, Ali pulled me into a tight embrace.



"I'll always be here," he said firmly. "I'll never leave you."



In the numbness and void, I found my anchor. As long as we stayed together, we'd be okay.