Universe

Chapter 4: Interrogation

WARNING. TRIGGERING CHAPTER ALERT.

I'm dreaming again, and once more, it's about Alpha Versous. I am floating like a ghost in his world, watching his every interaction. The day he visited planet Poni haunts my dreams most often, the day he met his mate. He discovered so much then, but right now, everything is a blur. It seems that every time I pass out, I'm pulled back to him. This time, only a brief conversation comes into focus.

"What was that?" Alpha Versous's voice is hoarse as he stares at his mate.

"A vision," Jalena replies calmly. "They predict the future, rarely changing. It's a Sovereign's most common ability."

The realisation dawns. "You were expecting me," he says, stunned. She nods.

"With visions, we know the outcome but must align circumstances to achieve it. Hence, drawing the seventeen from the Hercules cluster to attract your attention. Visions guided us to maintain the universe's balance until one master went rogue, seeking more power. His greed led to our extinction. I don't remember how, but I recall a tragic sun full of loss."

Versous vaguely recalls this story from his youth. "How are you here? Are there others? What about this master?" His questions tumble out in rapid succession.

She bites her lip. "I remember nothing between our reign's end and waking up here. The rebels found me floating outside a galaxy, unconscious, my aura hidden."

"Jalena," a firm female voice interrupts, revealing another woman. Her aura marks her as an inferior - a human.

"Vivian," Jalena responds with a smile.

"Is this him? Your mate?" Vivian asks, taking a moment to scan Versous from head to foot with a resting scowl on her face. Her attire suggests she's not from around this galaxy.

"Yes, my dear. He is," Jalena replies, her smile unfaltering.

"You're human," Phillip observes.

"Yeah, so?" Vivian questions, her flickering to Phillip with disdain.

"Inferiors cannot survive outside their home galaxy," Phillip continues.

"I know," she clips, and Phillip clenches his jaw. She is not the friendliest of beings.

"Yet here you are... with the rebellion," he accuses. The human looks at Jalena irritably, who nods, prompting the human to continue.

Vivian sighs. "Look, I'm just a human, part of the rebellion," she crosses her arms. "lived on Earth all my life until I fell in love with an alien. Not my mate, but whatever. We found I wasn't bound to my galaxy for a reason I don't know. I joined the rebellion when I realised you Nelians plan on doing nothing about the colliding galaxies, one is the Milky Way, my home. Jalena gave us hope when we found out what she was. And no I haven't met other non- supernaturals that can survive outside their galaxy like me."

How strange that the two of them were brought together in all the stars, Versous thinks.

"Jalena," he says, holding her. "You mentioned the Hercules cluster natives helping with something."

She takes a breath before responding. "First was bringing you here. Second, aiding the rebels' goal: to save inferiors from the collision. We have a few cycles left. For reasons unknown, the affected inferiors must be evacuated and must survive. You, Versous, and the seventeen natives are steps to ensure that."

---------Present-------

A sharp sting on my cheek viciously rips me away from the world of Alpha Versous. I scream and reach up to touch it, but my wrists freeze inches from my sides, the clinking of metal echoing with the movement.