Leon's heart pounded as the guards rushed toward him.
The space bus's engines flared, dust and sparks flying as the final boarding ramp began retracting. This was it—his last chance.
But Dorian Valence stood firm, his piercing gaze unshaken.
"End this foolishness, Leon."
"Come back, and I might show mercy."
Leon's grip tightened around his bow.
"Like hell I'm going back."
His mind raced. There was no way he could fight through the guards. But he didn't have to.
Instead, he turned his aim toward the control panel by the docking gate.
"One shot."
He let the arrow fly.
It struck true.
Sparks erupted, and the entire docking bay's security system short-circuited.
"What—?!" Dorian's expression darkened as the alarms blared.
The malfunction triggered the automatic lockdown, forcing the guards to retreat as blast shields began sealing the bay.
Leon didn't wait to see what happened next.
He ran.
With a final leap, he grabbed the retracting boarding ramp just as it closed. His fingers burned, muscles screaming as he pulled himself inside.
The hatch sealed behind him.
And just like that
He was gone.
Leon collapsed onto the cold metal floor, gasping for air. The ship rumbled beneath him as it prepared for takeoff. He had done it.
But as he stood and looked through the nearest window—
His breath caught.
For the first time in his life, he saw the stars.
Not through the distorted, artificial sky of Mars. Not through the hazy, light-polluted air of the slums.
The real stars.
They were endless. Cold. Beautiful. Unreachable.
And yet, for the first time, Leon felt like he was reaching toward them.
The space bus shook as it broke free from Mars' gravity.
Leon pressed his forehead to the window, watching as the red planet shrank behind him.
"I did it."
"I'm leaving Mars."
"I'm coming, Iris."
His journey to Earth
Had finally begun.