Night had settled over Mercury Haven.
The restaurant glowed softly beneath artificial starlight, glass walls revealing endless space beyond—quiet, distant, unreal. The earlier chaos of rides and shouting had faded into something calmer. Plates were cleared. New dishes arrived in slow intervals. For once, even Daichi was eating at a manageable pace.
Then—
The door slid open.
Theo walked in.
Or rather… staggered.
His coat was half-charred, sleeves burned ragged at the edges. Faint scorch marks ran across his arms and neck, and his hair still smoked slightly, curling upward like it had lost a fight with a star.
Everyone turned.
Lin Xuan lowered his cup slowly.
"…Now what happened?" he asked calmly.
Then, after a brief pause, "What did you do?"
Theo lifted one trembling hand and pointed.
Straight at Daichi.
"Big Brother…" he said hoarsely. "He threw me into space. Near the Sun."
Crunch.
Daichi bit into a snack.
Vaibhav leaned toward Alicia, eyes wide.
"…Near the Sun??"
Alicia whispered back, pale, "Is that… possible?"
Theo slumped into a chair dramatically, smoke still rising from his shoulder.
Lin Xuan sighed, rubbing his temple.
"Enough," he said flatly. "Stop crying. You don't look good."
Then, without even glancing at Theo, "Heal yourself."
Theo sniffed, straightened slightly—and within seconds, golden-white light rippled across his body. Burn marks faded. Torn flesh sealed. His clothes repaired themselves down to the last thread.
He exhaled.
"…Much better."
Then he sat down right next to Daichi.
Daichi offered him a snack.
Theo slapped it away.
The moment passed.
A service robot rolled forward, smooth and silent, placing new dishes on the table. Steam rose gently. The hum of the station filled the air.
Lin Xuan rested his hands on the table.
His tone changed.
Serious. Grounded.
"Alicia. Vaibhav," he said. "There's something I need to tell you."
Vaibhav stiffened.
"…Tell us what?"
Lin Xuan looked at Alicia.
"You are not human."
The words landed without force—
And yet they crushed the air.
Alicia froze.
Vaibhav's chair scraped backward slightly as he half-stood, eyes locked on Lin Xuan.
"…What?"
Around the table—
Yan'er remained calm.
Anika didn't blink.
Arjun leaned back casually.
Theo sipped his drink.
Daichi kept chewing.
Vivan sat quietly.
Prabhat watched Vaibhav carefully.
They already knew.
Alicia's voice trembled. "B-Brother… what are you saying?"
Lin Xuan continued evenly.
"You are a beast."
Alicia felt her chest tighten.
"Not only you," Lin Xuan added. "Anika. Arjun. Theo. Daichi. Vivan. All of them."
He glanced around the table.
"You all have a special lineage. Special abilities."
Vaibhav shook his head. "That's impossible. Beasts can't leave their realm. They're bound to the Nexus."
Lin Xuan nodded once.
"Yes."
Then calmly, "But I never said they came from the Nexus."
Silence.
Alicia clenched her fists. "Then… what are we?"
Lin Xuan met her eyes.
"I can't tell you everything yet," he said. "You're not strong enough to hear the full truth."
Before either of them could respond—
The world folded.
Space twisted inward, sound collapsing into nothing.
In the next instant—
They were no longer in the restaurant.
They stood in open space.
Stars burned in every direction. Distant galaxies rotated slowly, immense and uncaring. There was no air—yet they breathed. No ground—yet they stood.
Vaibhav's heart slammed against his ribs.
Alicia grabbed his arm.
Lin Xuan stood calmly before them.
"Watch," he said.
He turned to Anika, Arjun, Theo, Daichi, and Vivan.
"Show them."
Anika smiled.
The air ignited.
Purple flames erupted outward as her body dissolved and reshaped—wings unfurling, vast and radiant.
A Phoenix emerged, feathers forged of violet fire, heat bending light itself—The Nether Flame Phoenix.
Arjun stepped forward next.
Lightning screamed across space as his form expanded, scales forming, horns rising.
The Eclipse Sky Dragon, red-black lightning coiling around its massive body like a living storm.
Theo followed.
Starlight gathered, constellations bending inward as he transformed into a majestic Kirin, hooves glowing, eyes reflecting galaxies—The Starvoid Kirin.
Daichi cracked his neck.
Then laughed.
Muscle swelled. Bone expanded. Shadow wrapped around him as he became an Ape, towering, immense, pressure crushing the void around him—The Abyssal Titan Ape.
Finally—
Vivan.
No roar. No explosion.
His body softened, melted—becoming a vast, luminous Slime, translucent layers shifting endlessly within, containing unknown depths—The Ascendant Slime.
Vaibhav couldn't breathe.
Alicia's knees nearly buckled.
Then—
Reality snapped back.
They were seated again.
Same table. Same plates. Same dishes—still warm.
As if nothing had happened.
Lin Xuan turned slowly.
His gaze settled on Vaibhav.
"…Now," he said quietly.
"You, Vaibhav."
The name settled over the table like a weight.
Vaibhav straightened without realizing it. Alicia's fingers tightened around his sleeve, but Lin Xuan's gaze never left him.
"It all started twenty thousand years ago," Lin Xuan said.
"13334 BCE."
The lights of the restaurant dimmed—not physically, but perceptually—as his words carried them somewhere far older than United Earth.
In 13334 BCE, long before nations, before planets were neatly catalogued, there existed a clan whose name was spoken with equal parts reverence and fear.
The Nyxer Clan.
They were not gods.
But they were never human either.
Every Nyxer was born with an abnormal body—physiques that hardened naturally, muscles that adapted instinctively, and a unique ability shared by all of them:
They could absorb Life Force.
Life force is a energy which every living being posses.
From beasts.
From enemies.
From battlefields soaked in death.
It made them terrifying opponents—and unnatural survivors.
But among them, there was something rarer.
Something far more dangerous.
Primal Instinct.
Only a fraction of Nyxers ever awakened it.
And among those who did, the difference in bloodline purity decided everything.
Nyxers whose bloodline purity ranged between eighty to ninety-seven percent could awaken Primal Instinct—and with brutal training, they could control it.
But those born with ninety-eight to one hundred percent purity—
They were different.
They were born with black eyes.
And they were born already closer to instinct than to reason.
Those below eighty percent purity?
They awakened Primal Instinct too—but couldn't control it.
They burned themselves out.
Lost their minds.
Or died mid-battle, bodies moving long after consciousness shattered.
The Nyxer Clan rose quickly.
And fell even faster.
Vaibhav swallowed.
"Master…" he asked quietly.
"What exactly is Primal Instinct?"
Lin Xuan answered without hesitation.
"It is an unconscious combat state," he said.
"A state where the body fights like a machine."
He leaned back slightly, voice steady, precise—like someone explaining gravity.
"When Primal Instinct activates, you stop fighting."
Vaibhav frowned. "…Stop?"
"Yes," Lin Xuan replied. "You stop deciding."
Primal Instinct was not a technique.
It was surrender.
When triggered, the user relinquished all conscious control.
The body took over.
Not with rage.
Not with madness.
But with absolute efficiency.
The body dodged, countered, and struck without thought—targeting balance points, structural weaknesses, fatal openings no conscious mind could calculate in time.
Reflexes transcended perception.
Attacks faster than sound.
Ambushes meant to be unavoidable.
The body moved before danger was even registered.
It adapted instantly—flowing around obstacles, shifting stance, adjusting rhythm, like water learning the shape of a blade as it cut.
And the mind—
The mind became terrifyingly calm.
Detached.
Silent.
Free of fear, hesitation, or doubt.
It was not rage.
It was emptiness.
But Primal Instinct had a cost.
It lasted only seconds—or minutes at best—depending on stamina and mental strength.
It was unreliable.
Unpredictable.
And afterward, the body paid the price.
Extreme exhaustion.
Neural strain.
Total collapse.
It could not plan.
It could not strategize.
It only reacted.
Perfectly.
When active, the eyes turned pitch black sclera, white pupils.
And the air around the user changed.
Heavy.
Oppressive.
Still.
Movements became ghostlike, nearly silent, as if the world itself was holding its breath.
Primal Instinct did not make you stronger.
It made you inevitable.
Vaibhav's chest felt tight.
"…How does someone awaken it?" he asked.
Lin Xuan looked at him carefully.
"Extreme triggers," he said.
"Near-death situations. Emotional collapse. Facing something you cannot overcome."
He paused.
"You must let go."
Not fight harder.
Not think faster.
Let go.
Lin Xuan's voice softened—just slightly.
"Your father," he said, "Arvind Nyxer… was one of the few who could control Primal Instinct."
Vaibhav's breath caught.
"But," Lin Xuan continued, calm and merciless,
"he was killed in Jovaryn."
Silence followed.
Not awkward silence.
Heavy silence.
Alicia lowered her gaze.
Prabhat looked away.
No one spoke.
Eventually, the moment passed.
Plates were cleared.
The restaurant lights brightened again.
Conversations resumed, quieter than before.
Later that night, they returned to Earth.
Vaibhav lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling.
The room was dark. Quiet.
Too quiet.
"Hah…" he exhaled softly.
A faint smile touched his lips.
"…I miss those old days."
The ones he didn't remember.
Yet somehow—
Missed anyway.