My eyes cracked open, vision bleary and unfocused. The room's light pulsed with an unsettling mixture of blue and violet hues, bathing everything in an otherworldly glow. A searing itch flared behind my eyelids, the intensity building until it felt like hot needles were stabbing into my corneas. I squeezed my eyes shut again, but the burning sensation lingered. The Vit must utilize more ultraviolet wavelengths in their vision than humans; my body struggled to adapt, eyes watering and stinging in protest.

I shifted my weight, shoulders aching from the unyielding metal surface I'd slept on. Joints popped as I stretched, the motion doing little to alleviate the deep-rooted discomfort permeating my muscles. Across the cell, the Thrall sat slumped against the opposing wall, its posture mirroring my own. Piercing eyes bored into me, hands interlocked and resting on its knees.

"So, the great Destroyer finally rouses from his slumber," it rasped, teeth flashing in a sneer. "I had begun to wonder if you'd mastered the art of willing your own demise. But then, being stubborn always was your defining trait."

Gritting my teeth, I pushed myself into a sitting position, spine pressed to the wall behind me. "You know nothing about me."

The Thrall's gaze pierced through me, a gaze that held hints of recognition buried beneath layers of enmity. "On the contrary," it whispered, voice laced with malice and something akin to twisted respect. "I know more than you care to admit. You are more than just a menace; you are a force of chaos wrapped in human skin. Reckless, unrelenting, and far too arrogant for your own good."

The weight of realization crashed down on me like an avalanche, burying me in guilt and uncertainty. "You've taken people who mattered to me," I choked out, the bitterness of betrayal coating my words.

"Yes. Friends who knew you before you became this... thing," the Thrall sneered, its eyes flashing with cruel amusement. "Friends who shared laughter and secrets with you, before you left them behind to pursue your own vendetta."

"Wonderful. You've got my whole life story. So why keep me breathing?"

The Thrall's stare ensnared mine, eyes a swirl of sapphire and molten gold. Again, I saw a spark of familiarity ignited in their depths, hinting at a connection I couldn't define. A recollection from long ago, tantalizingly out of reach.

"Killing you would be pointless. The Empress wishes for you and I to be her new vassals. Her right and left hand. And then, perhaps, we could finally win this war."

I shook my head. "The war is bullshit. Ragger said... the Abbrakor isn't real."

The Thrall scoffed. "Anubsika fed you half-truths. His knowledge has gaps."

"Then educate me," I challenged, arms spread wide. "I've got nothing but time."

"Above my paygrade," it demurred.

I stood and stretched, joints cracking. "You don't talk like most Vit."

"That is because I am like you. My Vit exists within me, as my partner, but it does not have a true voice."

I frowned. "I thought Echo was a one-in-a-trillion freak occurrence."

"She? You've bonded that deeply?" It cocked its head. "Interesting. But not unique."

"So you're a human mind in control in there? Nothing but traitor to your species," I quipped. "That's disgusting. What a shameless bastard you are."

The Thrall's hands curled into fists. "I am no traitor. We do what we must for humanity's sake."

A harsh laugh ripped from my throat. "Oh, sure. Easy mistake on my part, what with all the murder and mindrape."

It bristled. "You know nothing."

"Like I said, bitch - enlighten me."

The Thrall sighed. "The Abbrakor... it doesn't ravage worlds at random like the grunts believe. That story gives them purpose, a lie to fight for."

I nodded. "Right. Your leaders are just as full of shit as ours."

"No. The Abbrakor hunts us. Chases us across galaxies, bent on our destruction."

"I can't say I blame it. Y'all a bunch of fuckin' assholes."

It shook its head. "You do not understand. It seeks to undo us, and has from the beginning of time. For a simple mistake."

I laughed again. "Mistake? Oh right, lemme guess, you fucked with the wrong planet?"

"It is not some predator, no ancienct civilization we enraged with our practice. It wants to erase us simply for existing. Because it created us. Its rage is in truth regret."

I paused. "Created you?" My mind flashed back to my conversations with Ragger and Geela. That they were not natural.

"Alright," I conceded. "That kind of tracks with what I know."

"We have a right to live," the Thrall insisted. "Artificial or not. It has no cause to exterminate us. We flee from system to system to escape its crusade. A homeless species, exiled from our intended role."

Its words echoed Raggers. That they had had some grand, noble purpose. Was it possible that Ragger really only did have part of the answers?

"It follows us, from system to system, from world to world. And there, it proceeds to ravage entire star systems. Anything we touch is not allowed to survive. We take the population, make them our soldiers, and leave to the next world, just trying to survive. Those left behind engage it in battle, but for a thousand thousand years, it leaves behind no survivors."

"Oh, you fucking assholes. So now its on its way here. How long?"

"A year, perhaps less."

I shook my head, hissing. "You fucking pricks."

"Your sanctimonious friend Anubsika led us straight to you" the Thrall spat, eyes blazing with contempt. "His meddling brought doom upon our world."

"Fuck you."

"Fuck you too, buddy."

I paused, turning to look at it.