"Miles's signal is gone..."
Aurora, who had shrunk and was flying the other two through the microscopic world at high speed, suddenly stopped. Her expression changed as she looked back into the distance.
At the far end of spacetime, Miles's figure was swallowed by a chaotic, twisting light. It flickered once, then vanished completely.
As though an eraser had rubbed him right out of existence.
"No..."
Aurora shuddered violently. She dropped Scott and Janet to the ground and instinctively started to rush back.
"Wait. Don't, Miss Aurora..."
Janet seized Aurora's hand. "You're no match for Kang. We need to leave first, then find another way..."
"I..." Aurora's lips moved, but she could not get a full word out.
On the distant battlefield, Conqueror Kang cast one last look toward where they had disappeared. Then he stepped through a portal that opened out of thin air and vanished.
Aurora stopped. She took a deep breath, trying to force her heart—a thing woven from data and emotion—to calm down.
But her body still would not stop trembling.
Calm down, Aurora...
You're a superintelligence. You should be able to stay rational. Janet is right. Going back now would only get you killed. You need to leave first...
But...
The deathly silence lasted a full three seconds.
Aurora turned her head with difficulty. The light in her eyes had dimmed considerably.
"I can sense that Miles is probably still alive, but he's in bad shape..."
"I recorded the energy signature and spacetime waveform from that instant. I need to analyze them carefully..."
"Hank and I can help!" Janet said at once. "Hank is an expert in quantum theory, and I... I worked with Kang before. I understand the theory behind his technology!"
"But where are we supposed to find them now?" Scott asked worriedly.