The fifth dawn came with a strange stillness.
The twin suns rose pale over Kishorio, their usual golden warmth veiled by a faint silver haze that stretched across the heavens. The people went about their morning unaware of its meaning, yet the scholars of the World Academy and the sentinels of the Ministry of Defense had already sounded silent alarms. Something — or someone — had entered the planet's upper atmosphere.
From the Royal Castle, Kayden watched the skies in silence. The crystal orb beside him pulsed faintly, sending thin waves of mana across the air. Around him stood his siblings, and behind them, generals, researchers, and high mages of the empire — every pillar of Frossmen power united in one hall.
"They've breached the outer field," Lionel said, his eyes locked on the floating display before him. "No damage to the barrier… they just passed through it, as if it wasn't there."
"That's impossible," murmured Dr. Elrin Voss. "No energy signature, no distortion, no trace of entry. They simply appeared."
Aurel's hand rested on the hilt of his blade. "Then they're already inside our reach."
Kayden's gaze turned toward the central platform, where the projection of the upper sky shimmered — a black void among the stars, and at its heart, a single shape descending through the clouds. It wasn't like any vessel of known design. It was smooth, formless, like living metal shaped by thought. It reflected no light, no energy — as if the universe itself refused to reveal it.
"They come," Kayden said softly.
Moments later, a voice echoed through the city's central communication towers — not spoken through air, but directly into every mind across the empire.
"We come in peace. We seek the one named Kayden Fross."
The words resonated through the streets, the markets, the temples, and the skyships hovering above. Citizens froze where they stood, looking upward in awe and fear as the heavens split open — not with sound, but with light.
From the clouds, the vessel descended. It hovered above Kishorio's central square, casting no shadow, yet dimming the sunlight around it. The air grew heavy with energy, and then, in a blink, five figures appeared before the castle gates.
They were tall, robed in metallic cloth that shifted colors like liquid starlight. Their faces were calm, almost human, yet their eyes glowed with cold intelligence — deep, endless, unreadable. Each movement they made seemed deliberate, measured, as though time itself bent around their will.
The people fell silent. Soldiers raised their weapons, but Kayden's voice cut through the air.
"Stand down."
He stepped forward, flanked by his siblings and his royal guards. His coat fluttered in the soft wind, silver threads glinting beneath the pale light of the twin suns. The moment was still — two civilizations meeting for the first time, silence between them heavy as eternity.
The one who seemed to lead the aliens stepped forward. His voice was calm, distant, and carried through thought rather than sound.
"We have watched your world, Kayden Fross. For fifteen of your years, we have studied your growth, your science, your fusion of knowledge and magic. You are the mind we seek."
Kayden's expression remained serene. "You've watched us, yet never spoken. You crossed our skies unseen. Tell me, what do you seek from my world?"
The alien's eyes shimmered faintly.
"We seek evolution. Your mind is the bridge between two powers our kind has failed to unite. We wish for you to come with us — to share your knowledge, to join the greater order beyond your stars."
Aurel took a step forward, his voice sharp. "You mean to take him."
The alien turned his head slightly, regarding Aurel as one might regard an insect that had spoken.
"We do not take. We invite. The king's wisdom would not die with his body here — it would live among the stars."
Kayden smiled faintly. "And if I refuse?"
The alien's gaze did not waver.
"Then your refusal will be recorded. And your civilization will be… adjusted. Knowledge must not stagnate in one world."
At that, the air shifted. Mana currents rippled through the city, reacting to the alien's words as if the planet itself felt threatened. Energy shields flared to life around the floating island, and the soldiers of Kishorio took position in silence.
Kayden's calm deepened. "You have studied us for fifteen years," he said slowly. "Then you know what this world stands for — balance between science and magic, between creation and restraint. We share knowledge freely, but never under threat."
He stepped forward until he stood mere feet from the alien envoy. His aura was quiet but immense — not of force, but of pure, unshakable will.
"I refuse your invitation," he said simply. "Return to your masters. Tell them that Earth bows to no one."
For the first time, the alien's expression shifted — a flicker, almost too faint to see, but unmistakable. Disappointment.
Or perhaps curiosity.
"So be it," the alien said at last. "Then your empire shall face the consequence of its king's pride. We will return — not as guests."
The five envoys dissolved into light, vanishing as suddenly as they had come. The skies cleared, the silver haze fading into gold once more. But Kayden knew — it was not over. It had only begun.
Aurel's voice was low. "We should have struck them while they stood before us."
Kayden turned away from the now-empty square, his eyes distant. "No. The time will come soon enough. For now, we prepare. The Frossmen Empire has five days left of peace."
He looked toward the horizon, where the suns burned bright and calm.
But beyond that horizon, in the black sea of stars, something vast began to move.
TO BE CONTINUE…