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  NEMESIS

  Universe in Flames - Dark Legacy Book 1

  Christian Kallias

  Contents

  Acknowledgments

  Copyright

  Dramatis Personæ

  Previously on Universe in Flames

  Prologue

  1. Earth - Auckland, New Zealand

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Epilogue

  Want to read three more books right now?

  Thanks to all my patrons

  Also by Christian Kallias

  About the Author

  Acknowledgments

  Cover artwork by Christian Kallias

  [email protected]

  www.christiankallias.com

  www.patreon.com/ChristianKallias

  www.facebook.com/ChristianKallias

  www.twitter.com/kalliasx

  Production Editor & Alpha/ARC Team Lead

  Paula Lavattiata Lopez (myeditcheck.com)

  Editors

  Paula Lavattiata Lopez

  Proofreaders

  Paula Lavattiata Lopez

  Alpha Team (Thank you Millie, Rod, David and Mike)

  Copyright

  Copyright © 2019 by Christian Kallias

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  First Printing of original book, 2019

  Dramatis Personæ

  Earth Alliance

  (Former Admiral) Chase Athanatos – Earth Alliance Fury Olympian hybrid - Hero of the Fury War.

  Captain Sarah Kepler Athanatos – Earth Human with Fury powers (in critical condition)

  Chris Athanatos – Fury Human hybrid

  Emperor Altair – Head of the Earth Alliance (formerly Obsidian Empire Emperor)

  Captain Daniel Tharraleos – Earth Alliance Human (formerly Star Alliance)

  Chief Engineer Yanis Tixichos – Earth Alliance Human (formerly Star Alliance)

  R&D Engineer Spiros Malayianis – Earth Alliance Human (formerly Star Alliance - deceased)

  Argos Thanatos – Fury and Chase’s twin brother (formerly head of the Zarlacks)

  Ryonna Isch’ys – Dioxian Ambassador (formerly a fugitive Droxian smuggler)

  Olympians

  Aphroditis – known to humans as the goddess of love

  Athena – known to humans as the goddess of wisdom, craft & war

  Ares – known to humans as the god of war (deceased, living as pure energy form)

  Poseidon - known to the humans as the god of the seas

  Spectres

  Asrak’Vor – Spectre Commander (brother of Tanak’Vor)

  Ergon’Kar – Spectre Warrior

  Furies

  Nyx – Fury Warrior

  Asgardians

  Thor – Fleet Commander & son of Odin.

  Loki – Son of Odin.

  Odin - King of Asgard

  Kvasir – Asgardian scientist

  Other characters

  Tar’Lock – Gorgar mercenary (Insectoid and formerly a Hellstar prisoner)

  Talon Epizon – Mercanary captain (former Star Alliance officer)

  Previously on Universe in Flames

  Note for new readers: You can read Dark Legacy without having read the first 10 Universe in Flames books. Dark Legacy is a new story series with some new characters, but there are many recurring characters from the previous series. It’s up to you if you prefer starting the story at the beginning or with this book. Please note: by starting at this point, if you decide to return to the Universe in Flames first arc, this book contains information and possible spoilers from the first series arc. However, this book has been written in a way that new readers can start the journey here.

  Below is a short overview of where the story begins to provide some context.

  In the wake of a genocidal tragedy, the Star Alliance fled their corner of the universe to survive the onslaught of the Obsidian Empire. In doing so, they found both an ally and a sanctuary on a faraway planet called Earth. With their ally, the Star Alliance formed the Earth Alliance and fought alongside other races (Droxians, Olympians, and Asgardians) in the subsequent Fury War (known as the second Fury War). Furies—human-looking creatures with incredibly powerful fighting abilities and the scourge of the universe—were once thought extinct for ten thousand years. But against all the odds, they returned. Originally, a coalition of worlds led by the Olympians, Asgardians, and many other older civilizations had defeated the Furies during the first Fury War. But the Fury’s planet, Erevos, wasn’t destroyed and was trapped in an alternate dimension where time advanced slower than in their original dimension (the same dimension where Earth resides). Upon their return, the Furies waged a terrible war against the Earth Alliance and the entire universe in an effort to cleanse the galaxy of the races that once defied and imprisoned them. Chase Athanatos (a Fury hybrid), along with his friends and loved ones, fought the Furies at every turn and eventually won the battle. But at a terrible personal cost to Chase. He lost many people he cared for, his family members, and the final battle saw his wife, Sarah, mortally wounded by an enemy that had been steering the Furies campaign behind the scenes: The Spectres. Chase defeated Tanak’Vor, the only Spectre known to have crossed over to this universe’s dimension.

  This story takes place roughly one year after the end of the second Fury War (and one day after the last scene in Universe in Flames book 10: To End All Wars).

  Prologue

  Nyx reached the end of the corridor and took a sharp left. She slid to a stop when she saw the three metallic spiders. The eyes of the robotic spiders glowed yellow. Each creature lost no time crawling toward the young female Fury. Their thin, pointy legs generated nerve-wracking clicking noises. But their clacking was nothing compared to the damage these spider bots could deliver, against most species anyway.

  Nyx wasn’t your average humanoid. She was a proud Fury, a descendant of a now extinct warrior race. In fact, as far as she knew, she was the last of her kind. She previously left Erevos when her values conflicted with those of Supreme Commander Arakan and his plans for the future of her race. She had commandeered a ship into the unknown dimension, a dimension within which the coalition of worlds had trapped her species at the end of a long and brutal war. The coalition wanted to stop the Furies plans of universal conquest. Olympians, Asgardians, and several other races had teamed together to stop the Furies, but instead of destroying them, this alliance had shifted the planet into an alternate universe, trapping the Furies for all eternity. Or so it seemed.

  It was unknown why the supreme commander did not send more exploration vessels into their new dimension. Eventually, Arakan had decreed that the Furies should not try to explore the new dimension after a few scout ships left the planet, never to return. Before Nyx decided to take matters into her own hands and travel, Arakan had told his race that a plan to return to their dimension was in the works. But as time went by, Nyx grew restless. To the po
int where she eventually went against all warnings from her closest friends and took her destiny into her own hands.

  If there was one emotion that Nyx had never let interfere with her life, it was fear. That was not to say she never experienced it; she felt it plenty when she left Erevos in search of other civilizations. A voice inside had told her to push through and trust her instincts.

  The metallic clickety-clicks from the spider bots grew stronger and snapped Nyx’s mind back to the present. It had been a long journey, one filled with many battles for survival and close encounters. Today was no different.

  The spider bots stopped advancing, lowering their center of gravity by briefly flexing their creepy legs, and leaped forward as a group. Fire lit inside Nyx’s sun-colored eyes as her purple aura engulfed her body. She slashed through the first spider with her forearm, using it as a sword, splitting the mechanical spider in half. The glow in her eyes intensified as she pushed with her mind and used telekinetic energy to stop the second spider in midair as if it hit an invisible wall. The third was almost upon her, its gigantic mouth, layered in row upon row of rotating titanium teeth, was wide open and ready to shred her flesh upon contact.

  Nyx pushed her aura to its maximum and shot a purple fireball directly into the monster’s mouth. The result was as swift as it was devastating. The spider bot exploded from the inside out, spreading molten metallic debris and shooting sparks onto the cold, hard floor. She returned her attention to the one enemy spider left, still held in midair and unable to advance. She strengthened her mental hold on the creature and bent it, forcing it to collapse in on itself. She continued to throw kinetic energy until it was nothing more than a rough sphere of scrap metal oozing a black liquid oil.

  She released her mental grip, and it fell to the floor with a satisfying clanking noise. Black smoke rose from the remains as the ethereal purple aura around Nyx faded to nothingness.

  Only three spider bots to try to bringing me down? That’s insulting.

  As if in answer from the universe, a more massive humanoid creature stepped around the corner at the end of the corridor. The humanoid arachnoid unleashed a screech that sent shivers up and down Nyx’s spine. Her inner senses confirmed what she already knew: this creature wouldn’t go down as easily as the three previous bots.

  That’s more like it!

  Earth – Washington, DC. A year after the end of the Fury War.

  “I’ll save you, Sarah,” Chase whispered. “I promise.”

  With a heavy heart, he gazed at his wife’s frozen face inside her suspended animation chamber. Black veins filled with the poisoned Spectre blood were visible along her neck. It was the same poison that prevented Chase from healing his beloved. For the past year, sorrow filled his heart and blackened his soul as he had been unable to think straight since Tanak’Vor had mortally wounded Sarah. Not even killing the Spectre had brought Chase a glimpse of comfort. He blamed himself for not being able to protect her, the woman he loved more than life itself.

  It was during their last stand against the Furies, the evil race he partially belonged to, that Chase had lost everything. On the same day Chase defeated Tanak’Vor, the Alliance also destroyed Erevos (the Furies home world). Defeating the Spectre brought victory to the Earth Alliance, and the Fury War had been won. But the price for victory had cost him and weighed heavily on his soul. His father was gone, swallowed by a miniature black hole attack Tanak’Vor had managed to cast before Chase was able to extinguish the Spectre’s life. Also gone was his friend and mentor Ares. He had been on Erevos when Chase and his family had taken out the planet with the help of the legendary Atlantian soul ships, whose selfless sacrifices ensured the planet’s destruction. Before the final assault on Erevos, Chase had lost his grandfather, Zeus, and most of the Olympian race, when their enemy took out Olympus, resulting in more guilt for Chase.

  Every day since the end of the war, Chase stood by Sarah’s side, talking to her even though he doubted she could hear him, feeling his soul grow darker as his hope withered away with each passing minute.

  To make matters worse, he was estranged from their son, Chris. He sighed as he remembered their last encounter.

  “I don’t want you here. Please leave.”

  “Son, I—I’m trying. I wish you could understand how I feel. I never wanted this to happ—”

  “Stop! You let this happen to her! Just get out.”

  Chase shook his head, attempting to shake off the disturbing memory.

  Another casualty from the Fury War was his aunt, Aphroditis. She was an Olympian with the ability to sense possible futures and the person who initially enlisted Chase to fight and defeat the Furies, the scourge everyone had thought extinct for ten thousand years. Aphroditis paid a steep price: trapped inside an infernal machine that hacked away at her body and soul. Like Sarah, her life was also hanging by a thread inside a similar suspended animation chamber located in the Earth Alliance Medical Headquarters.

  Doctors tried their best to heal both the Olympian goddess and Chase’s wife but did so in vain. They suffered from different but equally critical afflictions. Chase could still remember Aphroditis begging him to let her die, but he had promised Ares he would bring her back, and if nothing else, Chase always kept his promises.

  On days like these, the pain was too much to bear, the weight of all that guilt eating him alive. But today Chase knew he had to stop lamenting the situation and do something about it. Today he would get an Earth Alliance ship and head to the unknown regions of space in search of a cure for Sarah. If Alliance medicine was unable to help, perhaps somewhere, someone out there, could provide a cure for his wife and aunt. To make things worse, Sarah was pregnant, so that brought the number of lives to save to three: Aphroditis, Sarah, and their unborn daughter.

  Chase would not rest until he found a way to bring them all back, or die trying.

  Before Tanak’Vor perished, he stole from Chase the one power that could have greatly helped in his quest. He could no longer teleport himself across the universe with a single thought. Was the power gone for good? Or would he be able to learn it again over time? Chase didn’t know. Without his ability to teleport, he would have to travel the stars the old-fashioned way like he did for most of his life: aboard a ship.

  Using his former rank as an admiral in the Earth Alliance would make it easier to commandeer a ship as well as a crew. Though he wasn’t sure he wanted to ask others to risk their lives for his mission. He thought about asking Argos and Chris. Part of him wanted nothing more than to be with his family in these hard times, and he had no doubt they would be willing to risk their lives in a heartbeat. But, that was exactly the reason that made him hesitate. He couldn’t risk his brother’s and son’s lives.

  The last thing he wanted was to lose someone else trying to save Sarah and their unborn child. Chase laid his hand on the chamber’s glass and gazed at his wife.

  “It’s time, love. I’ll have someone transfer you to Earth Alliance Medical while I’m gone. But I promise you, I will return, and I will save you both. I love you, and no matter what happens, I hope you know how much so.”

  With a heavy heart and a final look, Chase finally left their apartment. He went onto the roof and climbed aboard his trusted StarFury. The holographic HUD (Head-up Display) came to life inside his mind when the neuronal link was established. He missed the connection he had made with the onboard AI of his soul ship: Dragos. The Atlantian fighter’s AI could read his thoughts and advise him in times of need. StarFuries were a marvel of technology, especially when considering the first model had been nothing more than an F-14 Tomcat the Alliance had retrofitted to fly in space. It had been a little over two years since Chase and Sarah tested the first iteration of the starfighter.

  With a single thought, Chase connected his mind to the starfighter’s systems and ran his pre-flight checks. Shortly after his StarFury took off from the roof, blasting a cloud of dust around the building in Washington, DC, it hovered briefly in the ove
rcast sky before Chase set a course for Auckland, New Zealand and punched the engines to the max. The StarFury soared like an iron eagle as it blasted out of view, dissipating nearby clouds in the process.

  Asrak’Vor, a member of the Spectre race, was peering outside the viewport of the capital spider ship Oblivion. Spectre Prime himself had given Asrak’Vor command of the mighty destroyer, which was part of a battlegroup. It had been a year since entering the alternate dimension where humans and other species of the Earth Alliance lived. Impure beings, the lot of them. These same beings that had defeated both the Furies and murdered his brother, Tanak’Vor.

  Rage boiled at the forefront of the Spectre’s mind, fueling his motivation to make the Alliance pay for their crimes. He felt anger toward his superiors as well for their lack of vision. The Furies had been weak, and the Spectres had been misguided in their thinking they could manipulate them to cleanse the dimension.

  If you want something done well, do it yourself. We’ll consume and cleanse every soul in this wretched dimension.