Inside the Falcon-class Interstellar fighter jet.
*Ding ding—*
In the sleek and technological space pod lounge, three cryogenic sleep pods were arranged in a row, with only one in the middle currently in operation.
"The estimated sleep time has been reached. Initiating awakening..."
As the mechanical prompt sounded, the door of the cryogenic sleep pod slowly opened, and from the billowing white frost emanating from it emerged the alluring figure of a young woman.
She was a striking young lady of about twenty-three years old, with delicate Western features and flawless facial symmetry. Her dark green curls cascaded lazily around the pod, and she was clad in a snug and comfy spacesuit. Her breath was barely noticeable, resembling the slumbering princess in a fairy tale lying on an icy bed.
After the pod door opened fully, the girl's long eyelashes fluttered, her dainty brows furrowed, and awareness gradually returned from her deep sleep.
She blinked in confusion as she opened her bright gem-like eyes, instinctively sitting up and raising her upper body. As her gaze swept the familiar interior of the Interstellar fighter jet's lounge, reality began to seep back into her consciousness.
"Did you sleep well, Lorna?" It was still the same system prompt, but it seemed the intelligent program had adopted a more human-like conversational tone.
"Vis."
Rubbing her forehead, Lorna, still feeling a bit groggy, stood up with her bare feet on the floor. As she left the cryogenic sleep pod and approached the transparent window of the lounge, she stretched her slender waist, revealing her well-proportioned figure. "How long did I sleep this time? And where's Boss, and Tony?"
"360 days and seven hours, nearly a year. Tony and J.A.R.V.I.S have been working in the workshop, while Boss is in the main cockpit," Vis replied.
"So long?"
Lorna was taken aback. She thought she had only slept for a month or two, but she hadn't expected a whole year to have passed.
"Not really," Vis didn't think so. After all, artificial intelligence lifeforms had almost infinite time since their creation and birth of consciousness.
And Kyle, who had already become a god, similarly had no sense of time.
"If I had known, I wouldn't have slept."
Lorna felt a pang of regret. This journey was an opportunity Raina had fought for her to accompany Boss. If she spent most of it asleep, whom could she blame?
"I've informed Boss. He wants you to go to the main cockpit," Vis, acting as a messenger, relayed the message.
"Boss is looking for me? I'll head there straight away!" Lorna exclaimed, taking a few steps forward before halting abruptly. She glanced down at herself, then waved her hand sheepishly, "Wait for me, I need to freshen up first."
Although she'd been in the cryogenic sleep pod all along, there was no visible grime. Yet, as a woman, the thought of going a year without a shower was hard to swallow.
Half an hour later.
Clad in loose-fitting fiber clothes, Lorna held a towel, drying her dark green curls. A few strands cascaded over her shoulders or framed her collarbone, exuding a mature and captivating feminine allure.
Unlocking the fingerprint lock, she operated the main cockpit door.
As soon as Lorna stepped in, a blast of hot air greeted her, heat waves rolling in. Her damp dark green hair was instantly dried.
"What's happening here?"
In the spacious main cockpit, Kyle with silver hair stood suspended in mid-air, with incomprehensible light and heat energy condensed in his fists and feet, radiating circles of scorching and dazzling light ripples, spreading in the air, keeping the temperature in the room above fifty degrees Celsius.
As if hearing Lorna's exclamation, Kyle suddenly opened his eyes, and a bright light flashed in his eyes as bright as daylight. Then, the inexplicable and eerie energy on his body began to dissipate, and the brightness in the room gradually returned to its normal comfortable state.
Kyle gently descended to the floor, exhaling with fatigue as he waved to Lorna standing at the door. Without hesitation, Lorna approached him, wrapping her arm around his naturally, and with the shimmering aurora around them, she guided him to a nearby seat, sensing his weariness without needing to ask too many questions.
"Boss, have some water," Lorna reached out her hand, skillfully manipulating a magnetic field, and a metal thermos flew over from the cockpit.
Kyle accepted the thermos, unscrewed the cap, and took a long gulp of water, his handsome face finally relaxing with relief.
"Boss, what was that all about just now?" Lorna asked with concern as she looked at Kyle. While she had seen him use fire-based powers before, what she witnessed just now was a terrifying display of uncontrollable energy.
And seeing Kyle, a god, feeling tired was quite a surprise.
"You mean this?" Kyle smiled faintly, snapping his fingers in front of Lorna's eyes, causing a bright burst of energy to flash between his fingertips before disappearing in an instant.
Seeing the tangible manifestation of that energy up close, Lorna felt a shiver run down her spine, sensing its destructive force.
"To be honest, I'm not entirely sure what happened either."
Kyle shrugged casually, pulling Lorna's soft body into his embrace and letting her sit on his lap. He gently inhaled the pleasant scent of her dark green hair as he pondered over the current state of his body.
For him, who sought evolution and strength, this wasn't driven by base desires; it was simply a comfortable position, and he acted without thinking twice.
The usually proud and aloof punk girl, Lorna, now lay in Kyle's arms, squinting her eyes like a contented kitten.
Kyle didn't dwell on it too much and continued, "Six months ago, while sparring with Tony to test the newly upgraded battle armor, I took a hit from his reinforced palm cannon. Since then, I've suddenly had a new energy source within my body. Whenever it merges with my fire-based powers, it transforms into the strange energy we just witnessed."
It was like a locked box suddenly being opened, inexplicably, within his body.
"No wonder. The energy you emitted just now, in addition to the previous scorching fire-based characteristics, also contained a more powerful light-based attribute."
Lorna nodded thoughtfully, looking at Kyle with concern. "Do you think this change could be harmful to your body?"
"Not really."
Kyle shook his head, "I can feel that the energy after this fusion has far greater potential than the previous single fire-based power, but it also consumes a lot of physical and mental energy. Despite spending half a year trying to control it, I still haven't achieved perfect mastery."
The fusion of fire-based power with the mysterious energy not only resulted in a stronger and more destructive force when emitted but also amplified the muscles of his body. However, precisely because it was so powerful, destruction often lay just a thought away, making it difficult to adjust and precisely release and utilize it.
If he could perfectly control this fusion energy, Kyle could even traverse the universe with his own power. This wasn't just speculation; it was a conclusion drawn after testing by Vis, J.A.R.V.I.S, and Tony.
(End of Chapter)
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