Apocalyptic Rebirth: With a repairman system space, she rises again.-Chapter 653: Prime Core Was A Trap.

Then he went quiet, like he was done talking.

Sunshine let out a frustrated, jagged sigh. She kicked a small stool, sending it skidding across the stone floor. "So that’s it? You’re saying we should just sit down, have a nice cup of tea, and wait to die as pawns in some kind of game? Does that make sense to you? Because it doesn’t to me! I... I cannot do that. I won’t."

Wilbert studied her for a long moment. He saw the fire in her eyes, the same fire he’d probably had before he decided to hide under a mountain of flowers. He gave a slow, somber nod. "Fine," he whispered. "Then I will tell you everything I know. But mark my words, Sunshine Raine_ it is your funeral."

He began to pace the room, his voice becoming a low narration of a chilling nightmare. "The Xylas are like bad little kids that want what they want, and they won’t take no for an answer. They don’t want your land; they want your suffering.

They create creatures_ those mutants you fight? They aren’t accidents. They are biological masterpieces designed in breeding farms and factories. The poisonous rain, the mist, the mutations. All scripted. They have laboratories where they take living things and twist their features until they are monsters. Then they send out the monsters to play and they watch."

He turned to her, his expression unreadable. "Honestly, I’m surprised the weak humans have put up such a fight. Earth is known among the galaxies for being soft. But you’ve been a challenge. And that’s the tragedy_ being a challenge only makes them hungrier for your blood. They’ll toy with you even more now."

"They’re after the Prime Core!" Nine interjected, trying to find a logical motive. "That’s why they’re there, right? Because one of those stones fell on earth?"

Wilbert let out a dry, hacking laugh that made Sunshine flinch. "Quite the opposite, my friend. You think they came to Earth because of the Core? No. The Xylas dropped the Prime Core themselves."

Sunshine felt the air leave her lungs. "What?" The precious prime core which enhanced superhuman abilities had been delivered by the Xylas themselves!! So, what did this mean? Should every bit of the stone be collected and destroyed rather than used?

"Just like they drop devices to destabilize a world’s gravity or ruin its crops, or summon other world creatures," Wilbert explained, his voice dripping with venom. "They drop the core so that whoever finds it will become more powerful than those without it.

The more power someone gets, the greedier they become. Then they go on to form armies and the desire to conquer is aroused. From there, it is a battle and killing spree.

They want to watch you torment each other while they pick out champions who will eventually end up in their labs and turned into grotesque mutant creatures or hounds. Then your world becomes another factory, more room for expansion.

Another fighting arena which creatures from different parts of the galaxy will fly in to watch the conquest games held by some mysterious black-market force. Everyone knows the Xylas are behind it, but they still pretend not to be aware of this. They won’t leave until every last human is dead and they won’t stop until the few that remain are so broken they aren’t worth the entertainment anymore."

He walked over to a console and tapped a few keys, bringing up an old, grainy image of a research vessel. "Your people found it first on Planet Selen during a deep-space expedition. They thought they were clever and had chanced upon a life changing opportunity.

They used the technology they found to build a device, hoping to control the weather on earth, to fix the damage you’d already done to your climate. But when they turned it on, the blast caused tears, rifts in the fabric of space.

Those rifts were widened by the space stones which ripped through the surface. They also became the highways for the mutants and the mist. You didn’t find a savior; your researchers and scientists opened the front door for the devil."

"Oh my God," Sunshine whispered, sinking into a hard wooden chair. The weight of it was crushing. It wasn’t just bad luck; it was a setup. "We did this to ourselves."

Wilbert looked at her, his voice softening just a fraction. "Do you know about Boulder Creek? They were the last victims before Earth. The same thing happened there, they fell for the prime core trap.... just like you did."

Nine shook his head.

Sunshine nodded slowly. "I’ve been there.... the survivors are rebuilding."

"It was a beautiful, peaceful state," Wilbert said. "Until a Prime Core appeared there out of nowhere, it is believed the King bought it on the intergalactic black market. That thing isn’t a battery, Sunshine. It’s a parasite. It has a negative effect on every living creature it touches. My advice? Get rid of it, every last piece." He pointed a long, purple finger at her Thermal Band. "That band... it’s helpful for now, but eventually, it will erase your humanity. It replaces empathy with greed. It turns you into them_ the Xylas."

Sunshine looked down at the band on her wrist. It felt heavier now, almost cold. She remembered the warnings from Ala. It all lined up. "I have heard."

Nine winced. "Did they torture and torment the Creeks too?"

"No, they didn’t get to. The Xylas’ plan for Boulder Creek failed," Wilbert said with a grim smirk. "The King there_ the leader_ he ran mad faster than they expected. He started building weapons and machinery at a terrifying speed. One of his inventions was so powerful and so unstable that it destroyed the entire world in one single go. Poof. Gone. The Xylas were actually annoyed. There was no fun in it for them. No slow burn. Just a quick ending. So, they left. Maybe you should try that on your world. One giant explosion and they will be gone in a heartbeat."

The silence in the room was absolute. Even Nine had stopped fidgeting. The reality of the situation was a massive, dark mountain standing right in front of them.

Sunshine took a deep breath, her hands shaking slightly. She looked up at Wilbert. "So, if I’m not going to blow up my world, and I’m not going to let them play with us... what do I do? How do I stop these bullies? Is there a way to stop them?" 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Something had stopped them in her last life. She was sixty percent certain of this. That was the answer she needed to find.