Yassin wanted to go back and get to his father, but they held him back, telling him it was over, that the war had been decided, and that in the best-case scenario, Gaia would be imprisoned, not killed. Leonis sat down, his head bowed in sorrow and grief, while Sairi looked at Keno with resentment. "I knew you were hiding something!" he snapped. "Why didn't you tell us all this before we went to war with Gaia?" Updates are released by 𝔫𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩⁂𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢⁂𝔫𝔢𝔱 Keno adjusted his glasses and put a hand on his head in despair. "There was no time to talk about these things," he said. "Gaia attacked us as soon as I learned the truth, and I knew he would try to eliminate us because we were a thorn in his side on his path to liberating the Lunix. Of course, I'm going to defend the humans, and I won't let him wipe us out, even if it means falling under the control of the Zurix." Everyone fell silent. Noor looked at Youssef with embarrassment, shame overcoming him. "I'm sorry I doubted you, my friend. I didn't understand how this tyrant could be striving for a better future." Youssef placed a hand on his shoulder and sighed sadly. "Akira, Leonis, and I went to eliminate Gaia, but he surprised us with the truth. That's why we joined him, even though we disagreed with his use of robots instead of his own people to build that future. Reform begins from within, and the Astra's hatred for Gaia meant his idea carried the seeds of its own destruction. That's what caused his failure. But we saw no other solution than to join him and hope he would win his war. After that, we planned to mend the relationship between him, the Astra, and the humans. But we failed, and now we must act as quickly as possible." Akira stepped forward, cutting them off. "Gaia told us that if he failed, we should go to one of the Lunix-affiliated planets and hand over the Crystal of Life so they can hide it from the eyes of the Zurix and use it in the future against this colonization... We have to get off the planet of Atlantis before Gladious finds us!" Everyone was shocked by what he said. "And what will happen to the humans?" Ivanov interjected. "I'll tell Iris everything we know now," Noor replied. "I'll have him handle it and try to get the rest of the humans back to Earth by negotiating with the Enix." "And you think Gladious will agree to that?" Sairi said with disdain. "He'll probably just brainwash the humans again and send them to fight on some other planet for control and occupation, while they have no idea what they're fighting for." "That's a possibility, but we have no other choice!" Noor said. "We have to rely on Iris to solve this problem. After that, we escape from here before we're found and killed, and we hide the Crystal of Life. Then we'll return to our planet and leave the rest to the Lunix peoples around the universe to figure out. This conflict is bigger than all of us, and we can't bear it." Youssef looked at Leonis and Yassin. "Will you two come with us?" Yassin wiped the tears from his eyes. "I will stay here. I have to decide what my people will do in the next phase. I won't leave them under the control of Gladious to do with as he pleases." Leonis stood up with determination. "And I will go with you because I know the location of the planet we are going to. Besides, staying here means my execution, since I participated in the war with Gaia." Akira looked around as if someone was missing. "Where is Jin?" he asked Noor. Sadness appeared on Noor's face. "One of the Enix members took her. They'll surely use her for some mission. So we might run into her during our travels in space, who knows! But she might become our enemy." Akira was distressed by how things had turned out. Everything had become as dark as space itself, as if sadness was the theme of their struggle in this story that no one could have imagined. Noor contacted Iris and told him everything they had learned. He was deeply shocked by what he heard and knew his mission would be even harder than before. Returning the humans to Earth was a risk he had to take. He told them to set off on their mission, and he would try to arrange for the humans' return to their home. Noor wished him well, and Yassin said his goodbyes, deciding to return to his people to see what he would do. Noor and the others boarded a large black ship hidden in the secret base. The ship took off, carrying them into space among the stars and planets, heading toward its final destination so that the Crystal of Life could reach the Lunix and a new resistance against the Zurix could begin, in an attempt to reclaim what had been stolen from them. As for the humans, Gladious agreed with Iris to return them to their planet after their role was over, but he warned him not to expect to find their former world as it was. The humans boarded Enix Ship 3 and traveled through space to Earth. Yassin returned to his people. Gladious saw him and threatened him, demanding to know the location of the Crystal of Life. Yassin told him that the "samples" had taken it from him and fled to a place he didn't know. Gladious was furious to see that the team he had created to bring down Gaia had turned against him and caused him to lose the Crystal of Life, for which he had waged all these wars. However, he found some satisfaction in having eliminated Gaia and established his economic and political dominance over the planet of Atlantis under the nominal rule of Athenos, who was nothing more than a puppet in his hand. But Yassin (Giliamor) refused to submit to Athenos's rule. Gladious saw that this would lead to another conflict they currently had no energy for, so he decided to divide the planet in two between Yassin and Athenos until the right opportunity for complete domination arose. Yassin knew that the departure of the Crystal of Life from Atlantis would harm the planet in the long run, but it would have been taken from them anyway. Therefore, it was better for it to be in the hands of Noor and his companions than in the hands of Gladious. As for Athenos, he got Gaia's crown, took control of the machines, and had them repair the damage from the war. He sat on the throne of Atlantis, surrounded by the machines and his soldiers. But Gladious controlled the economy and political systems in this half of the planet, with the full consent of Athenos, who was grateful that Gladious had restored his throne to him. Soon, Gladious brought many of his own kind to buy land on the planet of Atlantis and trade with its people, so they could join the cosmic trade and benefit from exporting and importing modern technologies and consumer goods, from food and drinks to manufactured products. This contributed to integrating Atlantis into the new cosmic system, making it part of a large, complex, and interconnected web of purely materialistic and utilitarian interests that the universe was currently heading toward. Various races from across the universe visited Atlantis to study the planet, its history, and its important resources that would benefit the cosmos in the future. Soon, Athenos's part of the planet was filled with Gladious's people, who began to crowd the people of Atlantis in their businesses and homes, causing them some annoyance. Other strange races also came for trade or learning. Gladious knew that dividing planets made them easier to control, so complete control of any planet was just a matter of time. He was in no hurry for total domination of the planet; what preoccupied him was the search for the Crystal of Life, both on the planet and in space, in case they had escaped with it. Half of the planet of Atlantis was now under the control of the Zurix, joining their massive entity that was sweeping through the world with formidable speed. Milkon entered Gladious's room on his large ship, greeted him, and then said, "Sir, there is no trace of the Crystal of Life on the planet of Atlantis. This means they must have escaped with it into space." Gladious stood up from his chair. "It doesn't matter," he said. "They won't get far. We will find them soon and pinpoint the crystal's location. I've placed their pictures and names on the wanted list. Soon, a Zurix ship will find them and hand them over to us. And if they hide on some planet, our spies will bring us the news. We have spies on every inhabited planet in the universe. Besides, we are about to acquire a new crystal soon, so patience is the key that will open the door to the new world for us." Milkon listened intently, feeling somewhat reassured, but a flicker of doubt remained. "But haven't we failed here, after all the effort we've put in?" "No, we have not failed. When I first came to the planet of Atlantis, I found a cohesive people with a very strong social and moral bond. It was impossible for anyone to break it and take control of this magnificent planet. The planet was perfect in every way, almost like a paradise in the universe, with the presence of the Crystal of Life and the absence of conflict. The only exception was the naivety of its people, who do not understand that the universe is full of deceit and cunning, that not everything said is the truth, and not everyone who makes a promise keeps it. They are not familiar with evil and deceit, and that is why this was the right step to control them. Have you heard of planets that are susceptible to colonization?" "No, sir. What are these planets?" "They are planets with significant intellectual and moral flaws, and profound ignorance, which makes it easy for us to colonize them, spread our ideas, and enlighten them with our science. On the other hand, there are planets that are difficult to colonize, like the planet of Atlantis. It is a planet that is morally, intellectually, and scientifically cohesive, but militarily weak. Therefore, in order to bring it into our world, we must make it susceptible to colonization. This is done by changing their world of ideas and the values they adhere to in their daily affairs, replacing them with a different world of ideas and our own values. In other words, we replace their worldview with ours, making them feel dependent on us because we are stronger and smarter. This gradually leads them to imitate us and without thought or scrutiny until we guide them to safety. And that is what I have managed to accomplish here. I have succeeded in dividing this planet into several camps with conflicting interests, and I have managed to gain control of half the planet with the will and desire of the people of Atlantis. This would not have happened if I had not changed their world of ideas and guided them to what they should become. Therefore, we have succeeded greatly, and soon we will control the other half." Yassin told his people the truth about Gaia. They wept for him and held a funeral in his honor. Yassin also told them that their struggle was not over until they reclaimed the entire planet. Yassin and those he trusted tried to create their own economic system and began to rebuild their civilization and construct large cities. As for Omar, he decided to stay on the planet of Atlantis with Minora, the love of his life. He contributed to the political decisions Yassin made, became his trusted advisor, and vowed to retrieve his son, Aikan, who had been kidnapped by the Enix, at any cost. They established a council to consult on new challenges and to learn about the new cultures that had come from space, so they could understand the extent of the danger surrounding them and how they could overcome it. Peace reigned between them and the eastern half of Atlantis for a reasonable period without any problems, but Athenos greedily lurked, waiting for the right opportunity to rule the entire planet and unite it again under his control. As for Noor and his companions, little did they know that their destiny would lead them to change the fate of the entire universe, and that they would be the spark of a great resistance that the history of the cosmos would tell of until its very end. Jin stood on a ship belonging to Gladious, orbiting a planet. She wore the standard Enix uniform and stood next to the tall Enix member who had led her through the forests when she had awakened from the white tower, lost and confused. "Our mission is to obtain the Crystal of Time from this planet," the Enix member said, pressing some buttons on his watch. "This is well-suited to your current ability, Queen of Time."