The Price of Power

Talon's vision swam as he tried to make sense of the chaos around him. The aftermath of the revelation crackled through his thoughts, the silver glow of the awakening orb seared into his memory.

His ears rang, muffling the shouts and commands, but he caught glimpses of the frenzy, soldiers pinning down representatives, cadets being restrained, and orders barked through comms.

Die. 

The word pounded through his skull, rising above the noise, above the confusion, like a tide threatening to sweep him away and-

A firm hand landed on his shoulder, grounding him, pulling him back to the present. The representative from the Solaris Concord, the same one who had delivered the speech earlier, towered over him, his expression grim and unyielding.

"Talon Graves," he said, his voice slicing through the noise, "you need to listen, and listen well. This is your only chance for an explanation. The planetary elite force is en route. They'll be here in less than a minute."

Before the words fully registered, Mira stepped forward, her posture tense and protective as she positioned herself between Talon and the representative. Her face was tight with worry.

"He's not going anywhere with you, this is still a Graves family matter, and you can't just-"

The representative's expression hardened. He raised a hand, cutting her off with a sharp gesture. "Now is not the time for this. If you want to keep him alive, you'll stand aside and let the Empire handle this. This is beyond any of us here."

Mira's fists clenched at her sides, her struggle clear in the way her gaze flickered between Talon and the man. Finally, she stepped back, but remained close, her eyes fixed on the representative, never straying from Talon.

The man shifted his focus fully back to Talon, his tone softening, though only slightly. "You're the first known Mythical to awaken in centuries. Do you understand what that means? It makes you a singularity in all of humanity, but it also makes you a threat, to everyone who doesn't have you on their side. You'll either have allies... or enemies. Nothing in between."

Talon's mind spun, his thoughts racing. "I-" he began, his voice unsteady, but the representative silenced him with an upraised hand.

"There's no time for questions, and I don't have all the answers you're looking for. The Solaris Concord will extract you to the core worlds, where you'll be safe... at least, safer than you are here. But understand this: there will be war over you, and the chance of survival is slim, no matter who you align with. Keep your head down, do as you're told, and trust us. We'll keep you alive long enough for you to figure out your next move."

The representative leaned in closer, his gaze intense, his voice lowering to a near-whisper. "You're lucky, kid. If you had kept this hidden, you'd be dead within the next five years. The power you have, it's not something you can protect on your own. You need us. So trust us, and work with us."

Talon swallowed hard, the weight of the man's words pressing down on him.

He didn't know whether to trust him, but the urgency in the air left little room for doubt. A Mythical... the term still felt alien, surreal.

The representative glanced down at his holopad, the faint blue glow casting shadows across his face.

"They're here. I hope you survive."

Before Talon could ask who, a blur smashed through the ceiling, moving faster than his sharpened senses could even process.

'What.. the..'

A crushing force wrapped around him, locking him in place. He couldn't move, couldn't even twitch. It was as if the air itself had turned into iron chains, squeezing the fight out of him.

Gravity seemed to vanish. His feet left the ground, his body suspended helplessly as he was yanked upward. Through the haze of confusion and pain, he caught a fleeting glimpse of a figure in the blur, it was terrifyingly fast.

Before he could make sense of it, he was pulled through the shattered ceiling and into the unknown.

The world blurred as he shot upward, disoriented as the ground disappeared beneath him in a rush. A small, fast looking ship hovered just above the academy, its engines humming with barely contained power.

Talon managed a brief look at the city shrinking below, bathed in the glow of emergency lights and chaos. But before he could process the view, he was pulled inside the small ship, the hatch sealing shut behind him with a hiss.

He barely had time to register the sterile interior before the telekinetic grip released him, dropping him into a seat that clamped around his body, restraints snapping into place with a metallic click.

Amid the chaos, he caught snippets of voices around him:

"Mythical secured, sir."

"We have seven dreadnought motherships en route, with twenty more incoming from nearby systems."

"Orders are to transport the target to Sector 5 for retrieval."

One of the Supers approached him, their expression unreadable as they locked eyes with Talon. "Stay put, and trust us if you want to survive."

Talon struggled against the restraints, trying to process the whirlwind of events that had ripped him from the academy. His gaze darted to the small viewport beside him, the city below shrinking rapidly as the ship ascended through the atmosphere. 

Beyond the glass, dozens of smaller vessels zipped through the sky, their engines leaving trails of blue light in the darkening sky.

His breath caught as he spotted a massive warship rising alongside them, its silhouette cutting through the clouds like a leviathan emerging from the deep.

'This isn't just a rescue mission...' Talon's mind raced as he saw the dark shapes of ships descending through the atmosphere, their engines roaring like thunder.

'This is a full mobilization.'

The realization hit like a freight train, leaving him breathless. 'They're bringing the planet's entire defensive fleet.'

His chest tightened, the weight of the moment pressing down on him.

All of this... for him?