"Hunters... Planet Hunters... hundreds of warships... they specialize in devouring beings like us..." Pluto's consciousness was on the verge of collapse. "I can sense the terrifying weapons in their fleet... those weapons are specifically designed to extract the life essence of planets..."
Jupiter's Great Red Spot flickered violently. The elder's fear spread through the entire planetary network.
Saturn sensed his brothers' panic, and his rings began flashing irregularly. Their usually graceful rainbow radiance became agitated and restless.
"How many star systems have they already destroyed?" Saturn asked.
"Thousands... they've wandered the universe for millennia... specifically searching for planets like us that have awakened consciousness... then devouring everything..." Pluto's answer plunged every planet into despair.
The red glow across Mars's surface rapidly dimmed. The young planetary consciousness was crushed by fear.
"We've only just been reborn... only just gained consciousness... why would monsters like this come to hunt us?"
Even distant Neptune and Uranus felt the panic. The entire planetary network was shrouded in the shadow of death.
On Earth, at the Watchers Alliance headquarters.
Ace was guiding new recruits at the training camp when the flames in his hand suddenly changed.
The orange flames instantly turned deep blue, a color he had never seen before. The fire was no longer warm; it radiated a cold, despairing aura.
"Ah!" Ace dropped to his knees, clutching his head with both hands.
Intense pain surged from the depths of his consciousness, as though countless needles were piercing his soul. It was not his pain, but the cries of distant planets.
"Instructor Ace!" The trainees gathered around him. "What's wrong?"
Ace gritted his teeth and forced himself to endure, connecting with Mars through the flames. "What happened?"
"Pluto... Pluto said hunters have come... hunters that specialize in hunting planets like us... we're all going