Threshold of Annihilation (The Firebird Chronicles #3) - T.A. White Page 0,32

known the woman would find her way into this matter.

Graydon prowled into the room, taking a seat opposite the woman and her oshota.

He triggered the room's privacy mode, a bubble of electricity and ki forming around the occupants. The field acted as an additional safeguard to guarantee the content of this conversation wouldn't be heard.

No sound could enter the bubble, but more important, no sound could leave. Any bugs would be rendered obsolete.

As soon as it went live, Yukina set her cup down with a clink, the lazy grace she'd had earlier disappearing to be replaced by a penetrating intellect.

"I assume this is the oshota you sent to investigate the little heir's background."

Graydon inclined his head.

"What did you learn?" Yukina asked Baran.

Graydon's oshota sent a questioning direction in Graydon’s direction. Graydon waved a lazy hand in answer.

Anything Baran shared was bound to reach Yukina and the emperor's ears anyway. They had their own methods of investigating if they so wished. Might as well expedite the process.

"Something that I still can't quite believe," Baran said.

With an excitement rare in Baran, he pressed three buttons on the inside forearm of his synth armor. A small sheet of metal popped out. Baran set it on the ground in front of them.

An image appeared.

Graydon leaned forward with interest as a planet's sky took shape, one under attack.

The camera was pointed up, catching a worm's eye view of the aerial battle. Screams sounded in the distance as a Tsavitee raptor hit a tall, spiral shaped building.

"This is what you wanted to show us?" Yukina asked.

"Keep watching."

The view jostled and moved, difficult to follow as the person filming ran for their life.

Graydon sat forward as he caught a glimpse of a solo waverunner.

"What's this?" he murmured.

An arc of purple light trailed behind the person, glowing brighter and brighter until it swallowed the person inside.

"The reason I'm so late in returning," Baran answered.

The light condensed into a single point, the world turning dark and gray as if it had sucked in all the color.

The purple light exploded, spreading out from the rider in an ever-widening sheet until it encompassed the entirety of the sky.

Anything it touched disappeared.

"The Heaven's Wrath," Yukina whispered.

People out of sight prayed to gods Graydon had never heard of as their savior dropped from the sky as the purple light reached the hull of the ship currently bombarding the planet.

The vessel was destroyed in seconds.

The images disappeared, leaving silence.

"I guess we know now how the humans managed to win their war," Solal said in a soft voice.

And how Kira came to have ki poisoning.

"It's a rudimentary form, but it’s definitely the Wrath," the man behind Yukina said. "I'm interested to know how she stumbled onto that ability."

In all of the Tuann's history, only four had been capable of that technique. It was considered one of the most valuable defenses to the Tuann and had been a deterrent against their old enemy since the Tuann's break from them millennia ago.

"This isn't the only instance I've found of its use." Baran waved his hand, and the view changed.

They watched in silence as a similar situation played out. First on a planet, then in space, then another planet. The only thing all of the videos had in common was the waverunner, sometimes alone, more often accompanied by a small contingent.

The waverunner’s armor was entirely black except for the bird born of fire emblazoned on her back. The board she rode was a flaming red—almost as if her intention were to draw the enemy's focus and keep it entirely on herself.

"Repeated use on a scale such as this would cause massive damage to the wielder if they did not replenish their ki by interacting with the Mea'Ave," the man said in an emotionless voice. "She would have been in near-constant pain as a result."

It would take a considerable strength of will and determination to accomplish.

Such a person would be a credit to their House and the Tuann as a whole.

"Her line has not demonstrated this ability," the man added.

"The Mea'Ave has been known to bestow gifts on a line when it deems it appropriate," Yukina said.

What she left out was how rare such an occasion was. They only had record of it happening twice. Both times when they'd faced annihilation.

"Perhaps," the man conceded.

"I'm surprised you found this," Yukina said to Baran. "The humans don't strike me as being so careless."

Baran shook his head. "They aren’t. The military and Consortium weren't obvious with their efforts, but they did their