Intergalactic conquest with an AI

The battlefield was silent, save for the crackling embers of destruction. The once-mighty beast lay in ruin, its grotesque form torn apart by a relentless bombardment of electromagnetic shells.

Zynaria carefully scanned the area, her eyes narrowing at the sight of the beast. "No life detected within several kilometers," she confirmed, her voice tinged with both satisfaction and disbelief. Even for her, such overwhelming firepower felt… excessive.

A gust of wind kicked up ash and dust as Rex landed atop the creature's remains with his hands on his hips. He let out a low whistle.

"Damn, this thing looks gruesome," he muttered while giving a nearby chunk of flesh a casual kick. It squelched under his boot. "Are you absolutely sure this thing is dead?"

"Affirmative," Zynaria stated, stepping out from the dragon's forehead. "My scanners detect no life in the vicinity except for you and me."

Rex stretched lazily. "Then… what's that?"

Zynaria followed his gaze, only to freeze in surprise.

From within the beast's carcass, a hand, long, gnarled, and twitching, clawed its way out of the shredded remains.

Her sensors flickered wildly, the readings erratic. "Impossible… There's no way I miscalculated! My scanners still register no signs of life!"

A low, guttural chuckle echoed through the air.

"Kukuku… I didn't see this coming," a warped voice rasped. "A fucking Kaelzar… still alive."

The Supreme Commander emerged or at least, what was left of him. His body was no longer his own. Half of it had twisted into something unnatural... grotesquely elongated limbs, pulsing blackened flesh, and an ever-shifting mass of bone and tendrils.

His face retained a hint of its original octopus-like features, but the other half… was a nightmare beyond description.

Rex raised an eyebrow. "Well, Zynaria, if you're saying there's nothing alive out here, I think your scanners have a serious bug." He pointed lazily at the abomination. "Because that ugly bastard is definitely moving."

Zynaria, however, was too focused on something else, something deep in her memory, an elusive detail she couldn't quite grasp.

{Where have I seen this before…?}

Before she could dwell on it further, Cleo descended from the sky, landing beside Rex.

Her presence alone shifted the air, her ethereal glow casting a cold contrast against the corpse-laden battlefield. She gazed at the writhing Supreme Commander with something between disgust and curiosity.

"It's normal that your scanners failed, Third Sister," she said smoothly, her eyes locked onto the abomination. "This creature isn't alive in the way other races are. It's a Voidspawn, a mere fragment of something far worse."

Before the Supreme Commander could react, chains of pure energy shot from Cleo's hands, wrapping around his grotesque limbs with an audible crack of bones.

Then, her five floating swords moved like vipers.

Each blade impaled him, from his limbs, torso, and finally, his spine. He was bound, restrained, writhing in fury but unable to escape.

"A Voidspawn?" Zynaria whispered while her mind raced, trying to remember something.

Cleo nodded, unfazed. "Affirmative. Our allies captured one alive some time ago. I ran experiments." Her voice was clinical, detached. "They are creatures from the Void. They don't truly die. Decapitate them, incinerate them... if given time, they regenerate completely."

Rex narrowed his eyes. "So, you found a way to kill them?"

Cleo gave a slight smirk while raising her palm. A slow, deliberate construction began to appear on it. "Not exactly killing."

A shimmering, transparent cube materialized in her hands. Within it, a swirling black void churned ominously.

Zynaria was the first to react, her voice carrying a note of rare approval. "Hoh? A compacted black hole? That… would certainly do the trick."

Taking the cube from Cleo, she stepped forward.

The Supreme Commander... no, the Voidspawn thrashed violently, its malformed limbs stretching unnaturally against the chains. Its voice crackled with something dark and inhuman.

"You think you can erase me…?"

Zynaria's grip tightened around the cube. "Let's find out."

The Supreme Commander's massive form convulsed as the tiny cube's gravitational pull wrenched him inward, his limbs twisting grotesquely as space itself seemed to warp around him.

Bones cracked, flesh stretched and tore, then, with a sickening pop, the last of him vanished into the impossible void within the cube.

Rex's stomach lurched. He turned away, bile rising in his throat. The wet, crunching echoes of the void creature's final moments still rang in his skull.

"That was… disgusting." He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, forcing down another wave of nausea. "I won't be able to eat meat for a while. Just the thought of chewing—" He shuddered. "Water rations for me, I guess."

A heavy chunk of flesh that had once been the Supreme Commander's armored forearm slumped wetly onto the ground beside him. Rex kicked it, half-expecting it to twitch. It didn't.

"So," he muttered, "what do we do with all this… meat?" The battlefield was littered with gore, steaming in the cold air.

Cleo didn't even look up from her holographic displays. "Already handled. A drone battalion is en route to dismantle and package the remains. High-density organic matter like this fetches a premium in the black markets."

Rex exhaled while rolling his stiff shoulders. "Good. Then I'll head back to the city and oversee the cleanup." His wings flexed, the iridescent membranes catching the dim light.

Zynaria inclined her head in a small bow. "I will remain with Fifth Sister. There may yet be stragglers lurking in the ruins." Her voice was calm, but the way her fingers lingered near her blade betrayed her readiness.

Rex nodded. "Stay sharp." With a powerful downstroke, he launched into the ashen sky.

The city had been broken before. It would heal again.

Cleo's legions moved with mechanical precision, clearing debris, reinforcing shattered infrastructure, and patrolling the streets with silent lethality.

The Aegis units didn't negotiate. They didn't issue warnings. A single suspicious movement earned a plasma round through the chest and the lower levels had learned that lesson quickly.

Even the most brazen underworld lords kept their heads down. For now.

By the eleventh day, the scars of battle were fading. Commerce trickled back, first with Cleo's own trade convoys, then with cautious outsiders drawn by rumors of stability.

Rex's new policy also helped to restore the commerce; any merchant who docked in the sector received a fighter escort to the nearest jump gate.

"Safe passage is the best advertisement," Cleo had remarked while watching another convoy depart.

Rex smirked. "That, and the fact that we're not eating them."

Cleo let out a small chuckle. "Indeed it is… well, it's time to talk to the little girl about submitting to us. Let's get going." She turned and walked away, her confidence unwavering as always.

Rex, however, lingered on the balcony of the mansion, overlooking the vast hive city below.

From up here, he could see the sprawling metal labyrinth of the hive, stretching far into the horizon.

Beyond the city, endless fields of unfamiliar crops swayed under artificial sunlight, sustained by rivers that relied on ice shipments from distant trade convoys. And now… all of it belonged to him.

Even if the little girl refused to submit, she had no real choice. This world was already in his grasp.

The sound of heavy boots echoed behind him; they were familiar and unmistakable.

"We've come a long way from home, huh, baldy?"

Carlos smirked, a bitter edge to his expression. "Don't even remind me, or I might actually cry. Who would've thought back then that two slave brats from the slums would end up here?"

Carlos stepped up beside him, offering one of the two drinks he carried.

Rex eyed the can, then Carlos. "You really think it's a good idea to drink before an important meeting?"

"Oh, come on, don't be a sissy. One can isn't gonna knock you out." Carlos popped it open and started drinking.

Rex rolled his eyes. "You know what? Screw it." He cracked his can open and took a swig.

They stood there in silence for a moment, the city lights flickering below them like stars trapped under a steel sky.

"By the way, how's Sharon?" Rex finally asked.

Carlos's face softened. "She's fine. That grandma-loli doctor told me her injuries are completely healed. The baby's safe… as if nothing ever happened." He smiled, but his eyes glistened slightly.

Rex raised an eyebrow. "Oh, don't tell me you're about to cry. Weren't you just calling me a sissy?" He smirked.

Carlos scoffed. "Oh, fuck off!" He took another big gulp of his drink, but his voice lowered. "…Listen, I've been thinking."

Rex glanced at him.

"What do you feel after all this? Being one of the guys responsible for killing hundreds of soldiers… and the civilians who got caught in the crossfire?"

Rex exhaled slowly, his gaze dropping to the streets below. Hundreds of drones moved like ants, working tirelessly to rebuild.

"Honestly? I don't know." His voice was distant. "Cleo's suppressing some of my emotions, so… I don't know what I'm supposed to feel. Right now, it's like they're just numbers to me. Their deaths don't weigh on me at all."

His fingers tightened around the can. "Maybe I wasn't human before… and now, I definitely am not anymore."

Carlos snorted. "Bullshit."

Rex blinked.

"I don't know what Cleo told you, but you're more human than anyone I've ever met." Carlos leaned on the railing, staring at the city.

"You say you feel nothing, but you were the one who ordered a safe zone for civilians. You cared enough to protect them. As for the soldiers? Who gives a damn? They were paid to kill, and they died doing their job. Do you think any of them would've given a shit if you died back then?"

Rex stayed quiet.