He touched the wound on his chest, which still throbbed faintly, lost in thought.
"If he collects more marks, the consequences will be unimaginable."
"We must accelerate the plan."
Scopio turned to the communications officer on the bridge.
"Contact every legion immediately and launch a full-scale search for the remaining marks."
"Seize them before that brat finds them, no matter the cost."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Lin Ye's warship drifted helplessly through the void. Its thrusters had long since shut down, and the life-support system sounded intermittent alarms.
He slumped against the pilot's seat, his face white as paper, his silver-white hair clinging untidily to his forehead.
The cost of using the Genesis Star Sword was even worse than he had expected. His life force was draining slowly but steadily.
"Fuel reserves below 5%. Oxygen will last six hours," the AI system reported mechanically, delivering the bleak figures.
Lin Ye closed his eyes, sensing the faint fluctuations of the five constellation powers within him.
They were still struggling to keep him alive, but even they could not stop the aging process.
Just as he was about to lose consciousness, a faint signal suddenly came through the communications system.
"Static... this is... Seraphina... does anyone... read me?"
The familiar voice jolted Lin Ye awake, and he forced himself to sit up.
"Seraphina? It's Lin Ye! Where are you?"
"Lin Ye? Thank goodness... I'm at... coordinates X-447... low fuel... can't move..."
The signal was weak and kept cutting out, but it was enough for Lin Ye to determine her direction.
Gritting his teeth, he activated his last emergency thrusters and flew toward the source of the signal.
It was an abandoned star system ravaged by war, strewn with drifting warship wreckage and shattered asteroids.
Once, it had been a thriving commercial transit hub,