Interstellar: Return of the Villain
Chapter 98: Cold Reunion

Chapter 98: Cold Reunion

Kail’s breath hitched as the grip around his throat tightened, his face flushing crimson. "Sis... why don’t you recognize me?"

They had met months ago, and she kept treating him like a stranger.

Lyra’s gaze locked on his face, so much like their father’s. With a sharp inhale, she slowly loosened her hold, standing tall above him. "The reason I didn’t acknowledge you? You’re useless."

In her eyes, this brother was worth less than the money in her account, or even a sharp blade. At best, he was like a crystal figurine—pretty to look at, but a burden to carry.

Kail’s eyes welled up as he stared at her, disbelief etched across his features. ’How can she say something so heartless?’

"Do you even know what I went through after you left?" He forced himself upright, glaring at her through the tears. "Everyone treated me like trash. I trained until I couldn’t move, studied until my brain hurt..."

But he wasn’t like Lyra. She was a prodigy, mastering dual abilities at level five, feared in battle, and even respected by the elders.

After she was presumed dead, even the lowest members of the family felt free to toss him into icy water. If not for their grandfather sending him off to boarding school, he might have been utterly broken.

He poured out his pain, but Lyra’s eyes remained cold, untouched by his words.

"So what?" Lyra crouched down, meeting his gaze with an empty stare. "Are those people still laughing at you? Did you ever get back at them?"

The silence that followed said enough.

Kail felt like he was staring at a stranger—a sister who had become a hardened shell, driven by nothing but anger. "I’m stronger now, Sis. From here on, it’s just us. No one will dare hurt us again."

"Oh? You want to stick with me?"

"Yes!"

Lyra tilted her head slightly. "Then what if I told you I’m planning to take down the Shedd family? Whose side would you choose?"

Seeing the shock in Kail’s eyes, she allowed herself a small smile.

"I don’t understand. Why would you do that?"

"The truth is, I’m going to have a showdown with the Shedd family. If you want the details, ask Ansel." Lyra’s eyes flicked toward the dim light filtering through the cave entrance. "If you can’t make a choice, go back to the Shedd family. Just stay out of my way."

With that, she leaped off the rocks.

Kail stood there, stunned, watching her walk away.

This reunion, after decades long, had no tearful embraces, no comforting words—just cold, hard reality.

He scrambled to his feet, chasing after her, desperation in his voice. "How can you treat me like this?"

SMACK!

Lyra spun around and slapped him, her voice eerily calm. "Kail, you have no right to demand anything from me. Ansel took everything from me back then, and you? You grew up safe and sound!"

If he weren’t her only remaining family, she would have snapped his neck without a second thought.

"Are you really wondering why I left? Did you ever think about what drove a dual-ability Peculiar like me to lose control? All you’ve ever cared about is yourself. You’re selfish!"

Her voice cracked with emotion, followed by a harsh cough. She pointed toward the cave’s entrance. "Get out!"

Her fierce glare made Kail take a step back, suddenly recalling the wounds she had borne back then.

The Shedd family’s prized Lyra, a genius—how could she have lost control like that?

But even when she did, the Shedd family didn’t rush to save her. They abandoned her to survive on her own.

Lyra didn’t spare him another glance as she moved deeper into the cave.

She had more important things to handle before the others returned from battle.

As Lyra ventured deeper into the cave, the shadows seemed to swallow her whole, and the light in her eyes dimmed along with it.

She had a thought that, maybe during those years when she faked her death, something had snapped inside her, dulling her emotions. She used to treat Kail like he was something precious, but now, all she felt when she looked at him was irritation and a cold assessment of his usefulness.

But then, she let out a bitter laugh—maybe she wasn’t completely numb. After all, where was this nagging sense of disappointment coming from?

The further she went, the closer she got to the mine, and the air grew thick and hard to breathe. The walls were smeared with milky-white blood and bits of skin, and the faint crunch of her steps echoed ominously, sending a shiver down her spine.

Finally, she reached the end of the passage, where a massive, snow-white monster lay sprawled out—the queen bee, her life seeping away as thick, white blood oozed from her body.

Worker bees frantically clawed at the energy minerals nearby, trying to save their queen, but it was clear her time was running out.

Lyra’s presence caused an immediate uproar among the bees.

To them, she was kin to their enemy.

In a frenzy, they swarmed her, desperate to avenge their dying queen.

Lyra’s armor clanged with each hit, but she held her ground and pressed on, approaching the fading creature.

The queen let out a weak, pitiful screech, and Lyra calmly placed her hand on its head, letting her psychokinesis flow gently into it.

"I can save you..."

The queen’s screeching stopped, and the worker bees froze mid-attack.

Humans and beasts were usually locked in a deadly struggle when they met, but with psychokinesis, communication was possible.

However, letting someone else’s psychokinesis into your mind was incredibly dangerous, especially for beasts driven by pure instinct.

Typically, beasts of the same level had much stronger psychokinesis than humans, making such communication a high-risk venture. That’s why it wasn’t common, though some within the Alliance had managed to tame beast cubs this way, turning them into loyal pets.

But to link psychokinesis with a high-level beast? If you couldn’t overpower the beast’s mind, it would destroy you.

Lyra was betting everything on this gamble.

A faint signal of psychokinesis returned—a plea for help.

"I have conditions. Let me implant a psychokinesis mark on you, and in return, you’ll give me half of the mineral veins you discover from now on."

The queen’s compound eyes flashed with a deep purple light. After a tense pause, she replied, "Agreed..."

On this planet, she was the last of the high-level beasts. Survival was all that mattered.

Lyra nodded, satisfied, but she knew this partnership came with a critical risk—her psychokinesis would need to stay stronger than the queen’s, or the merged mark could turn against her.

Saving the queen drained almost all of Lyra’s remaining power. She had no idea how long it took, but eventually, the white creature slithered away into the earth’s depths, saved for now.

Lyra turned to the blinding purple glow of a level-eight energy mineral nearby.

Without a second thought, she transformed her weapon into a massive blade and began cutting it down.

...

"Lyra!"

A shining mecha charged into the cave, armed and ready for battle. But when the pilot saw the scene before him, the entire machine froze.

"What are you doing?" Cohen’s voice came through as he opened the cockpit, his eyes scanning for any sign of the queen bee.

Lyra didn’t pause, pointing her blade toward the energy mineral behind her. "Level-eight energy mineral—interested?"

Cohen’s face tightened at the sight of how fast she was harvesting. "This belongs to the Alliance!"

"It’s just a small amount. If we take it back, it won’t even make a dent once those parasites get their share. You sure you don’t want any?"

While it might seem insignificant to the higher-ups, it would be more than enough to provide for the families of fallen soldiers.

Cohen hesitated only a moment before his mecha’s large blade joined in, cutting away at the mineral alongside her.