"Death may be glorious, but only the living can witness true

redemption."

In an uncharted remote starfield of the Koprulu Sector, a colonial planet known to the Protoss as Kares floated silently amid the sea of stars.

Viewed from orbit, the entire planet possessed a distinctive indigo hue. Its surface was covered in vast "crystal forests," natural Psychic Power conductors that refracted dreamlike halos beneath the starlight.

Three Protoss Motherships guarded the planet's orbit in a triangular formation. Ancient Purification runes were engraved upon their golden hulls, while their Psychic Power engines glowed softly blue at the stern.

Passing through Kares's atmosphere, the outline of a Protoss outpost gradually came into view.

The entire outpost—or rather, the entire city—had been built upon floating Crystal platforms. Psychic Power-driven antigravity devices kept those platforms suspended like islands a thousand meters above the ground.

Its architecture combined elegant curves with an even more ancient design language. The runes flowing across its walls were not the traditional blue, but a rare silver-white.

Within the central command nexus, the High Templar Kores Ta was presiding over the daily Psychic Power synchronization ritual.

His silver-white armor bore the distinctive geometric patterns of the Kares Faction, and tiny Khaydarin Crystals were set into the ends of his nerve cords.

As Kares's supreme Archon, he bore the responsibility of protecting every outpost on the planet, as well as its colony and research facilities.

"Bishop."

Kores Ta saluted Artanis in the holographic projection. His nerve cords pulsed rhythmically as he reported, "Kares's Psychic Power suppressors are functioning normally, but the crystals in Sector Seven have developed abnormal resonance."

Artanis's form in the hologram distorted slightly.

The former leader's eyes now flickered with an unnatural light, and even the frequency of his nerve cord pulses seemed far faster than usual when he spoke.

"There is no need for excessive concern, Kores."