First Intergalactic Emperor: Starting With The Ancient Goddess-Chapter 433: Unknown Acquaintance

Meanwhile, it was morning on this side of Jupiter.

The light was softer, filtered through layered canopies stretched between buildings to keep the storms and glare away. The streets were already alive. Vendors were setting up stalls, steam rising from grills and pots, voices overlapping in half a dozen languages that blended into a steady murmur. It smelled like spices, oil, metal, and something sweet Lyra couldn’t place but kept pulling her toward it anyway.

Reva walked a step behind her, hood down, posture calm, face composed the way it always was in public. Anyone looking closely would notice the tension she never quite let go of, the way her eyes kept drifting ahead like she expected someone to appear out of thin air.

Lyra was back to her usual self on the surface, bouncing from stall to stall, stopping every few steps to stare at something new, but even she kept glancing over her shoulder more often than she realized.

Viola stayed close, eyes always moving, cataloging exits and faces out of habit. Requiem walked beside her, quieter than usual, hands clasped behind his back. His daughter, Iria, trailed a little behind them, half-awake and rubbing at her eyes.

Lyra stopped at a food stall piled high with skewers and flatbread. The vendor froze the moment he saw her.

His eyes widened. His posture changed instantly. He straightened, lowered his head slightly, and pushed the tray forward without waiting to be asked. "Please," he said, voice respectful. "Take whatever you want." 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

Lyra blinked. "Uh... I was just looking."

The vendor shook his head. "It’s nothing. We owe your kind more than this."

People nearby had noticed too. Conversations softened. A few heads bowed. Someone from the next stall over brought over wrapped fruit without saying a word. Another offered a drink, hands steady but reverent.

Reva watched it happen, expression unreadable.

Lyra hesitated, then accepted a skewer, murmuring thanks in a way that felt too small for the attention she was getting. She moved on, and it happened again. And again. Food. Trinkets. Small tools. Even a vendor selling fabric insisted she take a length of shimmering cloth, and refused payment.

Iria leaned toward Viola and whispered, "Does this always happen?"

Viola nodded faintly. "With Lykaios. Yes."

"They act like she’s—"

"A god," Viola finished quietly. "Because to many of them, she is."

Lyra finally slowed, arms full, laughter softer now. "This is awkward," she said under her breath. "I don’t even do anything."

"You exist," Requiem replied. "That’s enough."

Reva stopped near the edge of the market, watching Lyra laugh with a vendor who looked like he might cry from the honor of it. For a moment, the weight on her chest eased. They were safe and moving.

Still, her hand curled slowly at her side.

Xavier should have been here.

Lyra felt it too, even while smiling. Every stall, every smell, every moment felt like something she was supposed to be showing him. She kept imagining his comments, his complaints, the way he’d pretend not to be impressed and then buy too much food anyway.

Lyra slowed near a stall stacked with steaming parcels and glanced back at Viola. "Did Angel call again?" she asked. "Or Xavier?"

Viola didn’t stop walking. "I already told you. The last thing Angel said was that he’s out of prison. After that, nothing. He can’t contact us directly, and he can’t say where he is."

Lyra frowned but nodded, chewing on that.

Reva said nothing. Inside, the answer felt obvious. ’Xavier isn’t silent because he can’t talk. He is silent because he is choosing to be. If he had no plan, he would have reached out, even for a second. The fact that he hadn’t meant he was doing something reckless, complicated, or both.’

Viola’s thoughts went in a different direction entirely. ’I am sick of this. Tired of watching everyone, tired of pretending this is fine, tired of being the one in the middle. Xavier talks to Angel. Angel talks to me. And I talk to everyone else and absorb the frustration from all sides. Babysitting gods, vampires, warriors, and traumatized teenagers wasn’t what I signed up for. And on top of that, we are bored. We have nothing to do here.’

She was about to say something when the sound cut through the market.

The sound of hover engines.

The air shifted as several vans descended at once, pushing heat and dust outward. Armed figures poured out, fast and disciplined, spreading through the market and forcing people back without touching them. Stalls shut down mid-sale. Voices dropped. A wide corridor opened through the crowd as if the city itself knew to get out of the way.

Another vehicle followed.

Sleeker. Quieter. Black and silver, its surface reflecting the morning light in clean lines. It settled gently, doors opening upward.

Reva was immediately alerted and so was Viola. Both of them straightened without looking at each other, attention snapping forward.

A man stepped out.

At first glance, he looked human. Same proportions. Same face structure. But his skin held a faint opalescent sheen, like light caught beneath ice. His pupils were ringed with thin silver halos that didn’t quite move the way human eyes did. He wore tailored clothing that didn’t display rank or insignia.

Guards flanked him as he walked forward, their presence careful rather than aggressive. He stopped a few steps in front of Lyra and looked at her directly, head tilting slightly as if confirming something he already knew.

The man studied Lyra for a moment longer, eyes catching the light as if he were looking at something layered beneath her skin.

"So it’s true," he said finally. "I was starting to think the trails were wrong. But here you are. I finally found you."

Lyra blinked. "Found me... what are you talking about?"

Her voice came out steadier than she felt. Somewhere deep in her chest, something tugged, faint and uncomfortable, like a half-remembered dream. She had never met him. She was sure of that. And yet his face felt familiar in a way that made her stomach tighten.

Reva moved instantly.

She stepped forward, placing herself just slightly in front of Lyra without touching her, chin lifting. "You’re going to explain yourself," she said. "Right now."

The response was immediate.

Weapons rose with clean precision. Barrels aligned with Reva’s chest and head, targeting systems activating softly.

"You dare!"