Chapter 112: Meet Ike, AKA Voice.Ike sat at his eating table across from Fenton, Queen Shay, and Shay's daughter, Princess Lee. He absently petted the end of his long black hair braid while the three of them grumbled over his announcement. "Can we discuss this?" Fenton asked as he shook his head. The bolo beads on the tips of his purple tubes clacked together as if seconding the Dagerstanteen's question. "Can we talk about options?""Discuss if you must, but you all know that we don't have another idea." Ike let go of his long hair and studied Fenton's sharp gaze. "We keep talking about this repeatedly, but the answer is always the same. I must sacrifice myself. The Panchen Fire grows bigger and bigger every day, and soon I will not be able to contain it in my body. The fire must be returned to the heart of the Planet Albeon. It is the only way to keep everyone safe. You all know the dangers if this continues.""I think what Fenton means is that we—" Queen Shay wiped at a single tear

Chapter 114: One small stop. Sitting at the main control panel of the small spaceship that Princess Lee had brought to him, Ike set a course toward the planet Albeon. Even though Fenton and Lee had given him a speech on not giving up his life without looking into options, Ike couldn't ignore the Fire of Life burning inside him. The Panchen fire wasn't a creation he could explain to anyone unless they had the living blaze inside them. The inferno was getting harder and harder to contain, and Ike had to get rid of the fire spirit soon. He felt like a bomb was about to go off, and he was also aware that Albeon was dying. The planet's life force was less than a flicker, and without renewal, the surface would grow cold and no longer support the people and animals.He had to do this. He must. Besides, he was tired of living in solitude and sitting in a sanctuary, watching years go by, day after day. Maybe the long periods of isolation weren't so bad when Baja was alive, but then the Dagerst

Chapter 16: Using the fire."The Dagerstanteen isn't for sale." The big Folanto spoke first. "Back off, Albeon warrior.""Now wait a moment, Begermay," The Deltan waved the Folanto to the side and stepped toward Ike. "I have never seen anyone from Albeon here before. Maybe I want to hear what this warrior has to say.""Name the price, and I will pay it." Ike set his gloved hands on his guns. "I don't care what it is. I want the Dagerstanteen.""I already bought the slave," Begermay snapped at him. "This Dagerstanteen is not for sale.""Don't you want to hear the number?" The Deltan seller asked. "I'm curious. Aren't you?""I don't care about the war between the Albeon slime and the Dagerstanteen trash. I want the Dagerstanteen. This garbage will pay the price for what their leader did to us in the dome." The Folanto dug a finger into one of JP's cuts. "Take your war to the battlefield where it belongs and leave us.""Name a price." Ike stretched his neck to the left and right to get ou

Chapter 118: Nice try.Annoyed, Ike threw himself into the seat in front of his ship's dashboard and brought up all the spacecraft's computer systems and life board warnings."Your wiring is badly burned," JP murmured from behind him. "Free me—""And you'll help me, right?" Ike rolled his eyes. "Thanks, but I'll figure this out alone. I'm used to being by myself.""Now, which one of us is obstinate?"Ike knew there was no way he would reach Albeon with this damage. The destination was too far, and the main power was failing. Using his navigator buttons, Ike projected on the celling his mapping system and weighed the options of flying back home.Reading quickly, he assessed how far he could get before the vessel would become a floating pile of space debris.Using his fingers, he waved to move the star charts as he scanned the surrounding areas. Ike looked for a mildly friendly planet where he could do a few repairs. Even with a patch job, he wasn't sure he could get to the temple, and h

Chapter 120: Three pools. Ike ignored JP as he slipped off the top piece of his armor, followed by his undershirt. Feeling strangely exposed in front of the alien, Ike focused on cleaning his gear.Wrapping vines around the chest plate, Ike pretended that JP wasn't staring at his naked chest. The fire kept Ike at a constant temperature, but now he shivered with awareness. JP made him nervous, but he had no idea why.As soon as Ike stood over the first pool, he lowered his armor into the water, counted to ten, and then brought the piece out of the swirling liquid. The plate sparkled."I see that this has removed the blood." JP reached a tentacle toward the whirlpool."No," Ike snapped out in fear, "Don't.""Why?" JP stopped with his limb above the water. He tipped his head. "What is wrong?""It's like an acid." Ike set his top on the mossy bank and took off his armored pants. "Even if you harden your skin, it will hurt.""How do you know this?" JP tipped his head a second time, and his