Interstellar: Exploring The Cosmos With My Anomaly System
Chapter 71: Two Leaders

Chapter 71: Two Leaders

"And you play god with stolen power—just for the convenience of making your work easier. When the land dies... we die with it."

"Do. You. Understand. Me?" Each word was a dagger, honed by exhaustion.

Veira’s star-flecked eyes met his. She nodded once, like a marionette tugged by invisible strings. But her fingers curled inward, cradling a vial hidden in her sleeve—its contents swirling with the same impossible light that shimmered in her gaze.

"You’re nothing but a dog on a leash. A secret to be hidden. A stain on my country."

His words tore through her, but she bit her tongue and bowed her head, swallowing each insult without a sound. "Do you hear me?! Nothing! The gods will spit on your grave, you’ll never see the paradise they’ve created!"

"You’ll never be comparable to them, do you hear me?" his voice soon dropping to a mutter of promise, his words sending a shiver down her spine.

"Step out of line again, and it’ll be the last time you ever see the sun."

"Lady Veira..." Godric’s voice slipped through the door, a crack of light spilling into the dim room. It’s been a day since Astra gave her the offer...

She raised her head, pulled from the haze of her thoughts. For a moment, she just breathed.

"It’s time," he said, arms crossed as his gaze swept over her—disheveled hair, vacant eyes. A shell of someone who had once held starlight in her hands.

He hesitated. "Are you sure you want this?"

A long pause. Then Veira nodded. Slowly. Deliberately.

"We have the power to completely overwhelm them..." he reminded her. Veira raised her hand, running her hand through her hair.

"We’ll just see, what they have to offer—"

She stood up and walked past him by the door, not even bothering to give him a second look, Godric stood there leaned against the door, his arms folded, waiting until she’s out of earshot to let out a weak sigh.

"Are you serious with this..." He muttered, his eyes dropping to the floor, staring at his own shadow that the light casted into the room. "I get this could be it— your dream...but—-"

The chamber groaned with heat and motion. Steam curled from floor vents and pipe seams, rising in ghostly ribbons that blurred the outlines of the room. The walls were a patchwork of scorched bronze and iron plating, bolted tight, weeping rust in places where the welds had split.

The air hung thick with the metallic tang of rusted iron, every breath tasting like a blade on the tongue. Veira and Astra sat on primitive iron chairs, the table between them a jagged slab of iron, pitted and stained like old teeth. Their stares drilled into one another, unblinking—a silent duel of wills. The silence wasn’t empty; it throbbed with the creak of shifting boots, the drip of water from a cracked pipe, and the raw, wet hitch of Lailla’s breath as she shifted her weight. Her stitched leg trembled faintly, the surgical wound glistening crimson under the flicker of a lone bulb.

Behind Veira, Godrick’s knuckles whitened around his axe, Freya’s fingers dancing over the hilt of her staff as if already itching to strike. Lailla’s jaw clenched, sweat beading on her brow—not from pain, but from the effort to stay upright, to hide weakness.

Across the void, Astra’s allies mirrored the threat. Belk loomed like a stormfront, his arms folded tight over his chest, muscles twitching from anger but also restraint. Vagnis’s hand hovered near the katana at his hip. Zelr remained silent, hooded eyes staring at those who stood behind Veira.

The room itself seemed to hold its breath. Shadows clawed at the walls, the lantern above swinging gently, casting jagged silhouettes that stabbed and retreated like warring specters Veira’s finger tapped lightly on the table, Astra’s eyes narrowed.

"Well?" Veira urged, Astra smiling softly as she reached into her pocket. Everyone standing tense but these two.

"Here—" She tossed the IP Nova firearm to the table the weapon slidding across the iron table, Veira picking it up and inspecting the weapon.

Belk gritted his teeth as he watched, his mind reminding himself what Astra told him.

"Why’d you want to team up with people like them!?" He shouted, hours before the meetup, Astra working on something at the time, curling copper wires together near the repaired furnace as they spoke.

"Cause we’d lose," She put simply, a weak smile on her face as she spoke.

"You don’t know that–" He muttered, his gaze looking intently as she continued to curl the wires together.

"I do, think about it–" She looked up to him, her eyes carrying a determined glint to them rather than cowardice. "She said it to me herself, even if she dies, someone else will carry out their work,"

"That’s how science evolves," She put her unfinished project to the ground, her arms resting on her knees. "Even though me and Celi have the know how that far surpasses theres, we’re simply just too far behind–"

"In manpower and in scientific progress," She stood up fully, her hand on his shoulder. "I get that you’re mad about your dad, I’m upset too, but he’ll be fine, he’s with Celi right now."

"Right now we need to make as much progress as we can, even if that means teaming up with enemies. Besides, Veira is the only one who can also save his life."

Belk looked at her hand for a moment, lightly shrugging it off his shoulders as he lets out a groan of frustration.

"Alright– if you’re sure," He muttered, his words still bitter despite her explanation.

’Don’t think for a second teaming up means we’re allies,’ He thought to himself in the present, his gaze falling on Veira who continued to inspect the weapon. ’If you try anything–anything at all...’

His grip tightened on his forearms at the mere thought. ’I swear I’ll kill you with my own two hands!’