Velkorr — Dark And Barren #3
The Harrow was quiet.
Electrical pulses snapped through its massive internal structures, streaks of white-blue energy crawling along exposed conduits like nervous system spasms. The ship’s interior lighting flickered unevenly, long corridors breathing in dim intervals of light and shadow.
Velkorr moved through the ship slowly.
The damage was real.
One of the primary thrusters had been completely torn away during the lightning being’s attack. The Harrow’s structure itself remained intact—its armor had been engineered for far worse than planetary magma—but the loss of propulsion had rendered the war platform immobile.
The Harrow sat half-buried in the planet’s crust, part of its hull resting in a deep lake of glowing magma.
The heat did nothing to it.
Autonomous repair units crawled across the ship’s inner systems like insects, some operational, some still lifeless. A few machines worked tirelessly, welding fractured conduits and reconnecting damaged systems. Others remained inert where they had fallen.
The Harrow was durable.
But not invincible.
Velkorr continued through the ship’s interior.
Something still worked.
The planetary scanner.
A single large display flickered to life.
Velkorr activated it.
The screen populated slowly.
Planetary Surface Composition:
Dark mineral density. High volcanic history.
Solar Distance:
Far from primary star.
Surface Temperature:
Stable.
Not frozen.
Lifeforms detected.
But sparse.
Very sparse.
Animal life.
Small.
Low population density.
Water signatures.
None.
Civilization signatures.
None.
Velkorr stared at the readings.
Something was wrong.
Then—
Whispers.
Quiet at first.
Barely audible.
Whispers.
Whispers.
Whispers.
Velkorr turned his head slowly.
The scanner room was empty.
The whispers continued.
Whispers.
Whispers.
Whispers.
Then—
Where is it coming from—
Velkorr turned.
The statue.
The small amphibian-shaped relic sat sealed inside its containment field.
The whispers continued.
Whispers.
Whispers.
Whispers—
Velkorr collapsed.
Darkness.
He awoke violently.
His eyes snapped open.
Velkorr sat upright.
He was not on the ship.
He stood alone.
Only his armor remained.
No weapons.
No technology.
No artifacts.
No Harrow.
The air was thick.
The forest around him was suffocatingly dark.
Twisted trees.
Dense woodland.
Thick groves.
The moon above produced almost no light.
Velkorr could barely see.
Whispers.
Again.
Closer now.
Velkorr ignored them.
He began walking.
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The whispers grew louder.
Whispers turned to voices.
Voices turned to screaming.
Velkorr stopped moving.
Time passed.
Seconds.
Minutes.
Hours.
Velkorr stood completely still.
Then suddenly—
He snapped out of it.
His helmet turned slowly.
Confused.
Then he moved again.
Forward.
Not his thought.
But it had to be done.
Velkorr suddenly slammed both fists into the ground.
The impact shook the forest.
A violent quake surged outward through the soil.
Trees snapped.
Earth cracked.
Then—
Laughter.
Lots of laughter.
Small feet pattering rapidly through the darkness.
Running.
Everywhere.
Velkorr turned.
Something was moving.
Fast.
Velkorr launched forward.
The ground shattered beneath his feet.
He caught it instantly.
A small creature.
Imp-like.
Thin red skin.
Sharp teeth.
Devilish eyes.
The creature screamed and bit down violently on Velkorr’s arm.
Velkorr did not react.
He grabbed the creature.
And threw it.
The Imp struck a tree at high speed.
It burst apart.
Matter splattered across the forest.
The laughter returned.
Whispers again.
Then—
The screaming began.
Massive sonic screams erupted from every direction.
Velkorr grabbed the sides of his helmet.
The sound was unbearable.
The screams did not stop.
They grew louder.
Louder.
Louder.
Velkorr slowly forced himself upright.
His hands pulled back.
Then—
CLAP.
A hyper-pressurized thunderclap detonated from his palms.
The shockwave ripped through the forest.
Trees exploded.
Debris launched in every direction.
The screaming stopped.
For a moment.
Then the Imps revealed themselves.
Dozens.
Maybe hundreds.
Leaping between trees.
Crawling over branches.
Laughing.
Velkorr shook his head violently.
Blood ran from the seams of his helmet.
His hand reached to his neck.
Tiny nails.
Dozens of them.
Driven into his armor gaps.
Velkorr ripped them free.
One by one.
When the final nail came loose—
His eyes ignited inside the helmet.
Orange light.
Through Velkorr’s vision—
The forest changed.
Before the perception could be explained—
BOOM.
Every Imp charged.
Screaming.
Velkorr moved.
One stomp crushed three instantly.
He grabbed another mid-leap and squeezed until its body burst.
Another was punted across the forest.
One tried to claw his back.
Velkorr reached behind his shoulder and smashed it into the ground.
Imps flew everywhere.
Their speed meant nothing.
Velkorr was faster.
Stronger.
Relentless.
Bodies shattered.
Trees snapped.
Creatures exploded against rocks.
Within minutes—
The forest was silent.
The surviving Imps ran.
Velkorr pursued.
Bursting through trees like a predator.
He scooped two creatures off the ground and crushed them together.
Another was snatched mid-air.
Another stomped into the soil.
Then—
The ground changed.
Velkorr slowed.
The massive crater appeared before him.
The Harrow impact site.
Velkorr stood at its edge.
Hundreds of meters deep.
Imps were flying upward from the crater.
Carrying things.
His equipment.
Velkorr raised his hand.
An energy orb formed in his palm.
It grew.
Then stopped.
He lowered his hand.
Instead—
Velkorr jumped.
He dropped straight into the crater.
Landing like a meteor.
The impact crushed dozens of Imps instantly.
The survivors dropped their stolen equipment and scattered.
Velkorr landed on the hull of The Harrow.
He entered the ship.
Dead stop.
A group of Imps sat in a circle.
Praying.
To the statue.
Velkorr moved.
He opened a hidden compartment.
A long-barrel assault rifle slid into his hands.
Gunfire thundered through the chamber.
The Imps were erased instantly.
Velkorr walked forward.
He grabbed the statue.
And locked it back inside its containment field.
Velkorr moved again.
Down long corridors.
To the defense room.
A single button waited on the console.
Velkorr pressed it.
Across hundreds of miles—
His equipment activated.
Magnetic systems ignited.
Every tagged item violently launched back toward The Harrow.
Imps holding the gear were dragged with them.
Metal.
Armor.
Bodies.
Everything slammed into the ship’s hull.
The noise echoed for minutes.
Silence returned.
The Harrow remained partially offline.
Velkorr prepared himself.
It was time to explore.
He ascended from the crater.
Walking across the dark planet.
Scanning terrain.
Collecting samples.
Running chemical tests.
The planet remained strange.
No water.
Minimal life.
Magnetic irregularities.
Velkorr moved over a hundred miles from the crash site.
Recovery drones began deploying behind him.
Then—
An Imp screamed from a tree.
Velkorr fired.
The creature dodged with unnatural speed.
It saw something on the ground.
An artifact.
The Amulet of Shii.
The Imp grabbed it.
And ran.
Velkorr followed.
But slower now.
More tactical.
The Imp hit a dead end.
Cornered.
Velkorr held out his hand.
Return it.
The Imp smiled.
Then threw the amulet high into the air.
And ran.
Velkorr fired.
The shot was perfect.
The Imp’s head disappeared.
Then—
A voice.
Deep.
Unbelievably deep.
The ground trembled.
"So…"
"You have been killing my tiny demons."
Velkorr turned.
A shadow towered before him.
375 meters tall.
And rising.
