swallowing space

The skies churned gray as the unit rolled out.

Mist hugged the soil in thick tendrils as Lugger rolled behind Ravager Mk. II, its wide treads crushing leaves and debris with a low mechanical growl.

Oris sat inside Lugger's cockpit, overseeing the nav systems and terrain scans.

Lisette sat beside him — her first time outside the cave since Kael's return.

"Ready to move?" Oris asked, eyes flicking over the sensors.

Lisette nodded. "As ready as I'll ever be."

She looked ahead.

Kael walked in silence — Ravager casting a long shadow in the dim twilight of the planet.

There was something hypnotic about the way he moved. Calm. Controlled. Like a sharpened blade that never hesitated.

Lisette didn't know when she started watching him like this.

But she couldn't stop.

---

They reached the foothills of the broken ridge.

That's when the tremors began.

"Impact readings rising," Oris muttered. "Something's coming. Big."

Ravager stopped.

Kael's voice buzzed into their comms. "Eyes up."

A thunderous boom echoed across the cliffs.

Then… trees exploded in a blur of motion as a massive gorilla-like Kaiju stomped into view — twenty meters tall, shoulders like craters, fists the size of shuttles. Its fur was blackened and singed in patches, and its chest bore strange bone armor like tribal plating.

Its eyes glowed amber-red, burning with primal fury.

And it roared.

---

Lisette instinctively gripped the side panel.

Kael didn't flinch.

"Stay in cover," he ordered.

Oris: "No argument from me."

Kael moved.

---

The fight exploded instantly.

The gorilla Kaiju charged — fists slamming the ground, creating shockwaves that cracked the nearby ridges. Rocks split. Trees toppled. Dust spiraled into the air like a cyclone.

Kael activated full booster ignition, launched into the air, and plunged down with Ravager's reinforced blade, slashing across the creature's shoulder.

The Kaiju screeched.

Spun.

Swung its fist — and caught Ravager mid-air.

Crack.

Alarms blared inside Kael's cockpit.

He was flung fifty meters, smashing through a boulder and skidding along the earth.

---

Lisette gasped.

"No no no—"

Oris: "He's still online. System integrity at 68%. Give him room."

Kael grunted as he stood — blood trickling from a split lip.

He re-engaged boosters, narrowed his stance, and flicked a switch.

"Let's see how you handle this."

---

Ravager's ventral vents flared, releasing a stream of overheated Kaiju blood mist — forming a cloud of crimson steam that masked his movement.

He shot through it.

The Kaiju roared and swung — but Kael was already behind it.

With surgical precision, he slashed across the back of its legs, then darted away before the beast could react.

Lisette was frozen, eyes locked on his movements.

Every strike. Every dodge. The way his mecha flowed like it wasn't metal — but instinct.

Oris glanced at her.

"You good?"

She snapped out of it, cheeks flushed. "Fine. Just watching."

---

The gorilla bellowed again.

This time, it beat its chest — triggering a shockwave pulse that collapsed several trees near Lugger.

Debris rained down.

"Brace!" Oris yelled.

Lisette covered her head as fragments struck the side of their hull.

They were safe — barely.

"Time to move Lugger back," Oris said, shifting gears.

But Lisette's eyes were still forward.

Watching Kael.

He was hurt.

Fighting harder now — Ravager was pushing its limits, shoulder plating dented, left thigh servos sparking.

---

The Kaiju leapt.

Ravager leapt too.

Mid-air clash — steel vs. bone.

Kael twisted last second and drove his blade into the gorilla's throat, locking into a neural point.

But the Kaiju didn't fall.

It grabbed Ravager.

Slammed him into the ground once.

Twice.

A third time.

Lisette screamed, hands over her mouth.

---

Silence.

Dust.

Motionless steel.

Then—

Ravager's eyes lit red.

And with a final surge of power, Kael overloaded the blood-core spark engine, sent a short burst of flame through the blade — and incinerated the Kaiju's neck from inside out.

The beast collapsed in a heap of ash and smoke.

Dead.

Finally.

---

Kael stood over it.

Breathing hard.

The blade — still sizzling.

The victory — hard-earned.

---

Lisette couldn't breathe for a second.

Oris exhaled. "Gods, that one was nasty."

Kael's voice crackled over comms. "I'm fine. Minor damage. Deploy Lugger. I want the bones."

"Copy that," Oris said.

He looked at Lisette again. "You sure you're fine?"

Lisette turned to him.

"…He's… something else."

Oris raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

---

They loaded the carcass.

Kael stayed outside the cockpit while the auto-extractor drained blood into reserve tanks.

Lisette helped Oris sort through the bones and plating — but her eyes kept drifting to Kael, who stood quiet, staring at the mountains as wind swept through his hair.

She watched the way he carried himself — powerful, but tired. Sharp, but numb.

"Kael," she called softly.

He turned.

And for a brief second — just a flicker — his eyes softened when he saw her.

Then he looked away.

"Let's get moving. More will come soon."

---

They didn't speak on the return trip.

But something had changed.

Kael had fought a monster.

Lisette had seen the man behind the mecha.

And her heart… hadn't stopped racing since.

---