Chapter 18
The descent had been brutal.
Gaeth-9's upper atmosphere fought like a dying beast—storms clawed at Kiro's path, winds laced with industrial ash and the memory of burning worlds. But the Blood Core within him pulsed like a lodestar, guiding his every motion through chaos and ruin.
He landed just beyond the ash plains, near the ancient freight junctions that once fed ore to the orbitals. His boots sank into black dust—soft and thick with the weight of forgotten labor.
For a moment, it was silent.
Too silent.
Kiro adjusted his cloak, hiding the faint red gleam of his veins. Blood Venom hung from his back like a shadow—still warm, still hungry. His body was different now. Stronger. Sharper. Every breath he took hummed with potential.
But his mind was even sharper.
The Kargal Empire wouldn't leave this place unguarded.
And he was right.
The first shot came from beneath the ground.
It didn't make a sound—just a blink of light, a distortion. Kiro twisted, barely in time. The bolt skimmed past his shoulder, searing flesh. He rolled into cover, behind a rusted pillar of collapsed alloy.