Meteor Fall Master in the 'Starry Abyss'

The sky of the universe cannot see dawn, and the fortress of space has no distinct seasons.

Butterfly-winged fighters shuttle back and forth between the atmospheres, rays crisscrossing, energy explosions flashing. Sky Knights tightly grip their reins on the backs of Dragon Hawks, relying on local magic network coordinates, fiercely pursing the enemy, as their mounts unleash metal storms towards the foes.

Eye of the Galaxy, Eye of the Galaxy? Eye of the Galaxy, Eye of the Galaxy.

Cedro fell in an unremarkable corner of the starfield 40 cubic light-years within the Eye of the Galaxy, knowing his loss was futile, he was but a digit on the list. If lucky, he'd be placed in a black body bag, and the ground crew would write 'cargo 200' on the list, followed by a mass teleportation through the 'Purple Tulip' teleportation array.

The alarm spell laid before echoed back sound: footsteps drew ever closer.

The enemy should not be more than five kilometers away, which, for the Magician, is the distance of life and death.

At five kilometers, any Zeta (6) could instantly close in on him, delivering blades or bullets into his skull, only to await joining ancestors in the Nether Abyss.

Cedro clenched the magic scroll.

He pulled out his personal terminal, activating the recording function, removing his helmet full of sweat and blood. The boy in the front mirror spell was so young, his face smeared with silica and dust from the space station. He grinned brightly.

"Hi..."

He opened his mouth, unsure how to begin, buried his head, and was silent for a while.

Boom!

In the distant valley, a Night Butterfly 'Exile' mecha fell from the sky, Dragon Hawks trampling on its cockpit, enchanted armor and force field shield easily deflecting its defensive machine guns, its knight dismounting.

The knight's left half was already missing, exposing still-beating organs and broken ribs. With his remaining right hand, he lifted a magic wand, a ten-meter-long blue magic energy blade bursting from its tip, stabbing directly into the enemy's cockpit.

Hiss ——— Boom!

Perhaps the position was off, or the energy overflowed, the reactor immediately exploded; the knight was vaporized by the heat of the core, his Dragon Hawk hurled hundreds of meters away by the shockwave, wailing towards its master.

Subsequently, the Dragon Hawk, full of grief and despair, charged skyward, its body erupting with magic energy, darting straight for the Night Butterfly fighters.

Cedro bowed his head, yearning to say he was alright, but facing the reality, he couldn't deceive himself.

Despair.

The footsteps drew even closer, and the seeds of despair had already taken root, budding, Cedro's hands trembled, unable to suppress his emotions any longer; he clutched his head, laughing bitterly.

They are Zeta Rank (6), in mortal eyes, with enough time they could level a whole planet's civilization like Earthbound Deities, carrying divinity, wielding extraordinary power with a lifespan reaching millennia.

But now, in the Eye of the Galaxy, they die like dogs.

Ultimately, beneath the icy water of despair, only one word crossed his mind.

"Mother..."

Cedro pressed his head, tearful, tears uncontrollably streaming down:

"I tell myself to stay calm, I'm fighting for home and country, I should die smiling— but how can I be at peace?"

"I'm twenty-three, a university graduate, I've never had a girlfriend, it's been twenty weeks since I watched short videos, even the weekend holidays meant for reunion were canceled, I want to raise a dog, I start to miss cheap fast food, the eggplant boxes, lotus root cakes, and sour noodles you made with your hands."

"I'm sorry... Mother, I'm in the Eye of the Galaxy, I'm fighting the Night Butterfly madmen. I might not make it back, Mother— my comrades are all admirable, fighting doggedly soaked in blood, never uttering abandon, unlike me ever shedding tears."

His voice trembled, momentarily speechless, then he continued with horror in his eyes:

"I'm surrounded, I see the Purple Tulip array shining, the Magic Tutor controlling the array counts the list: Regular Troops 18709, Cargo 200... Mother, they're closing in on me."

His features twisted into something grotesque, anxiously looking around.

"Damn bastards, come closer, Mother, your child is brave too— they're shouting something."

Cedro looked at the camera, realizing this video was for his mother, his gaze became infinitely tender, caressing the lens as if touching his mother's warm hands.

"Mother, I remember the morning you took me to the planetarium. They had all kinds of interesting equipment, they said commercial space ventures connect each of us across the stars, we explore the starry skies, encounter different civilizations, communicate with them, become friends, each species, and civilization having what they need, enjoying together."

Whoosh——————!

A Crystal Dragon Hawk chased the Night Butterfly fighter across the sky, the two battling just above the ground, the latter stuffing its cannon into the dragon hawk's mouth to fire, the former holding a spiral gun of anger to tear open the armor.

Bam!

Two noble Sky Knights fell from their dying mounts, climbing off, their bodies wrapped in death, like living corpses, engulfed in flames and hatred, grabbing for each other's throats.

"I remember a wall in the planetarium wrote: May, fifty years later, our encounters in space, aren't about slaughtering each other."

"I don't know what I'm saying anymore, the magic network can't download spells, depleted uranium shrapnel burns freely in my body, my intestines, my kidneys ignited by radiation, decay on, let it decay on, humans are born to decay, not in society then in the earth."

"Whoever sees this video— if it can persist in this 'fiery' clamor, don't mind what nonsense I've spewed."

"Please, don't tell Mother I'm fighting in the Eye of the Galaxy."

A few seconds later, Cedro repeated in Night Butterfly language:

"Don't tell Mother I'm in the Eye of the Galaxy."

Snap.

Footsteps were already nearby, Cedro pretended to be defenseless, tightly holding the magic scroll, surely they'd choose to capture him.

Fine, let them come, comrades sacrificed, classmates fell, his turn was near.

Footsteps halted nearby, seemingly observing something.

Cedro bit a cigarette, gauging their distance.

Twelve meters, seven meters— for a Zeta Rank, the footsteps were a bit slow.

Two meters.

The footsteps stopped, but it didn't matter.

Because this distance was enough.

Cedro opened his eyes, tore open the magic scroll, and shouted:

"Go to hell! Night Butterfly Man—"

Before he finished, his pupils contracted.

The Night Butterfly soldier before him was small in stature, a pretty blue scarf wrapped around her neck. Seeing the sudden rise of a three-meter-tall Magic Assault Trooper, her young face immediately filled with horror. Her body, not even taller than her steel gun, slumped to the ground, armor rattling unfinished.

—— Zexia child soldier.

A specific combat sequence of the Night Butterflies, trained as a youth to charge, thrusting children into battles early, to closely engage slaughter and Pathway techniques, thus artificially elevating them to quasi-Zeta Rank level.

But mostly, they only handled support and logistics...

The girl held a medical kit, blankly staring at the magic scroll he cast.

Cedro's mind buzzed, but it was too late.

The magic parchment of the scroll shattered in the air, its inscribed magical power erupting instantly.

The girl was engulfed by white radiance, snow melting away bit by bit, and before she could cry out, she became a skeleton.

Thud.

The medical kit fell to the ground.

The blue scarf was lifted by the wind, hanging on the wingtip of a fighter, ignited by radiation, silently burning.