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The stars became their own type of sea in the midst of a long journey, gently rocking the starship with their wispy astral magic. The starry void did little to ease your nerves, however– An ancient curse lingered over the ship and its crew.
The space around it looked completely empty… as it always did before the attacks, according to those whose ships had been raided. Space pirates always knew exactly when and how to stage their explosive attacks.
You believed the rumors, alright. Thieves were everywhere, and this ship was certain to be a target.
You'd only caught glimpses of the treasure onboard, but its value was undeniable. An artifact from Ancient times? And on a royal ship? They'd be sacked for sure, regardless of how many security measures were put in place.
It might have been thousands of years old, but it still glimmered pearlescently, its beauty undiminished by the scrapes and dents on its metallic surface. For an old mask, it was certainly beautiful… and priceless.
Your hand was on your weapon, and your eyes were on your fellow crew members. Extensive research on your "co-workers" had served its purpose– Now you were all too familiar with their stories and personalities.
No one batted an eye as you slipped past the guards outside the storage wing, flashing your fake ID at the sensors and nodding your hat at the cameras. They were perfectly clueless as you headed down the dimly-lit corridor, and didn't seem to notice when you slipped your blaster out of its holder.
Because space pirates were barely ever stealthy– until now.
There should still be another pair of guards deeper into the ship, near the more valuable cargo. You made sure your weapon was loaded with bullets and thanked the gods that this particular treasure was on one of the ship's upper levels– navigating the crate-filled cargo hold in the orlop would have been much too difficult for you.
Despite everything, you could barely contain your giddiness. Sure, your prize was worth millions and millions of coins, but there was a part of you that wanted it only for what it was. Since you were very young, you had been fascinated by stories of the Aeon Hero– An Ancient knight so powerful he could destroy planets.
And he had destroyed planets. You'd run your fingers across intricate illustrations of fiery wreckage, his violent rampages frozen in time. Even while he killed and maimed, he maintained an angelic appearance and wielded heart-shaped spears, as if the bloodshed had been a divine punishment from the heavens... Perhaps even out of twisted love.
Mostly though, you thought he was gorgeous. Even with his face obscured and his body covered in sweat and grime, he had a perfect build, and perfect wings, and perfect horns. It was no wonder he was the greatest warrior in the galaxy– He certainly looked the part. A kiss from a guy like that that might very well kill you.
You snapped back into reality, hoping your brief distractedness hadn't cost you anything. Not that you thought it had… The hall was oddly quiet. You should have heard the guards speaking or walking around by now.
How strange, you thought. The scheduled patrol must have delayed. It made sneaking in much easier, yes, but was disconcerting none the less– What if the patrol came later and caught you off guard?
You placed your hand on the trigger and crept around a corner, scrunching your nose at a strange smell. More cameras and sensors awaited you, but beyond them, the vault's guards did not respond to your appearance.
They were dead.
Their bodies were sprawled out on the floor, fresh blood trailing down the hall. The closer you were to them, the more they reeked… and the more evident it became that their burn scars were magical.
That was strange, you thought. That you knew of, nobody on this ship was a mage. Whoever had committed the murders must have been keeping it a secret from the authorities.
Unless…
You ran past the sensors, ignoring the alarms that blared at you in response. You typed a code into the vault's keypad and opened the door to find most of the "fragile" crates had been crushed into bits, and the glass display in the center of the room had been smashed open. The mask was gone.
You could feel a lump forming in your throat. It couldn't be.
The rest of the crew should have come to check on the vault by now, but they hadn't. Why?
A distant blast rattled the ship slightly. You ran through the sensors again and back onto the main deck, tensing in horror at the sight of even more bodies. A good amount of the furniture had caught fire, and there were more scorch marks all over the walls and floor.
A wiser half of your brain told you that you'd best evacuate now. After all, it was only a matter of time until the culprit found you, or until the entire ship fell apart.
The other half, consumed by something between greed and bloodlust and curiosity, was ready to lead you someplace else.
The airlock. Whoever this person was, they'd probably head there eventually in an attempt to escape. And when they did, you'd be there waiting for them– and possibly for your death, come to think of it.
No one gets in the way of a pirate of my caliber, you told yourself. You hurried up more stairs and turned a few corners, heat clinging to your skin as you narrowly avoided being burned by the fires. A white, flaming feather drifted past you and landed on the red carpet.
And there, hunched over a control panel, was an angelic, armored figure, coughing blood into its gloves. So much for divine punishment… this warrior was from hell. His pearly armor glinted in the scarlet fires, and his mask…
His mask was the same one you'd meant to steal.
He slowly straightened his posture, slowly turning toward you. His scarlet eyes narrowed beneath the mask.
"I could kill you in an instant," he said. His voice was raspier than you'd been expecting– Very dry and strained, as if he rarely spoke anymore. You'd expected something booming and showmanlike, that made the ground tremble with every word. "And yet you have a gun pointed at me."
He cocked his head slightly, fanning his feathered wings out behind him. You could barely hold back a gasp– They were iridescent too, practically glowing.
But mostly, you couldn't get your eyes off his lance. One wrong move, and he'd destroy the airlock entirely, killing you almost instantly.
Your head was spinning. This had to be a dream, or something.
Your finger pressed the trigger. Twice.
He dodged the bullets effortlessly, noiselessly making his way to you and disarming you with a soft pop of your hand. You screeched loudly, then pressed your broken wrist against your body. Before he could object, you broke loose from his grasp and dashed to the opposite side of the wall, hastily banging your shoulder against one of the walls.
Galacta Knight flew after you, and in what felt like an instant, he'd slammed you into the wall a second time. He pressed you tightly against the concrete surface, his breath hot on your face.
"Ple-ease," you begged. "I'll do anything. I swear eternal loyalty to you if you let me go."
He cocked his head again. In the corner of your vision, you spotted something rising up his back– A cluster of glistening pink crystals. You'd heard the rumors about his curse, about how he was always returned to his gemstone prison after a few hours of being freed. You weren't sure how much you believed it, until now.
He swore under his breath in a different language– Halcandran? Grimacing slightly, he returned his attention to you. "How noble. Treating me… My things. My legacy like a pretty prize," he mused. "Aren't you brave?"
Your face flushed red. Was this a game to him?
"I saw you sneaking around earlier. Foolish pirate." His paws claw into your arm. "You think you're so wise…"
That was when you noticed the fire was no longer flickering. Everything around you had stopped abruptly, as if you were trapped in a pocket outside of time. Whatever Galacta had done, it was reality-breaking… And you suspected he did it on the regular.
Without thinking, you punched his jaw with your good hand and ripped the mask away from his face, then pulled away from the anomalous pocket. Every cell in your organism stung as his magic was torn away, and your face was still unbearably red.
When he caught you again, it was in the air. His lance threw you above the fire and his magic captured you in mid-flight, this time freezing you completely.
"Silly me," he said sarcastically. "That's what I get for letting my guard down. Should've used more magical energy on that spell."
Now that his mask was gone, you could finally see his face. It was covered in scars and worn down by age, but still undeniably cute. His eyes and blush marks were perfectly round, and his face had a soft, plump look to it. If it weren't for your impending doom, you might have even thought it looked kissable.
What in hades was wrong with you?
Galacta Knight swiped the mask out of your hand and fastened it back onto his face. As he did, the cluster of crystals spread slightly, rising onto one of his horns.
"You're blushing," he said matter-of-factly. A hint of a smile was visible behind the mask. "But you wouldn't be the first person to find me pretty. It's a good thing I got the mask back… Can't have all my enemies swooning over me."
He leaned over your motionless body, wings flapping gently. You tried to move your jaw to respond, but it remained firmly in place– You weren't sure if your heart was even beating.
"Well, you put up more of a fight than most people do, and got further too. That's admittedly admirable."
All at once, those illustrations were rushing back into your head. The blood-soaked lance… the fiery landscape… You were such a fool.
He came to a stop a few inches from your face. "How about a kiss, pirate?"
Your eyes widened in terror. But despite yourself, you found yourself nodding your head– Galacta had allowed you that, at least.
A dim, pink glow formed over your mouth, finally crashing down like a sugar-sweet kiss. Your eyes rolled to the back of your head, finally thawing as the spell wore off and released you into the flames. You caught a glimpse of Galacta Knight flying away, leaving you burning in his oven.
The head of the spear sent a throbbing, suffocating sensation through your throat, rising to your head. You were choking on your own blood now, but it tasted like his spell… and the heart at the top of it seemed to beat with your own. Though the fire seared your flesh, it felt like the warmth of his grasp all over again.
It wouldn't stop circling your mind… What about a kiss, pirate?
You fell for heart magic so easily. At least you'd been right– That kiss really was to die for.