Charles Valois

The air of Or'Zah is thick, charged with electricity. My scales, hidden beneath my human skin, vibrate with the energy that heralds the end of this cycle. I have rested here for twenty years, among reptilian temples and emerald skies. Twenty years of enforced leave after ages of service… and now, finally, the call has come.

I take a deep breath. Billions of years weigh on my shoulders, and yet, every time Reginald—my ancestral leader—speaks my name through the cosmic web, I feel the same thrill I felt when I was young. The message was clear: “It’s time, Charles. Return. The mission awaits.”

I walk down the crystalline hallway of my home. I stop in front of Jane's room. She doesn't yet know what it means to move among stars, nor the weight of an ancestral oath. But she must be ready.

I gently knock on the door frame and my deep, gravelly voice fills the space:

—Jane… get ready. Pack your bags. We're leaving this planet.

I pause and let my eyes take on their deep blue, reptilian glow for a moment.

—Our destination is Earth, far away from here. It's part of a mission I must fulfill.

My words hang in the air. I don't give him any more details; there's no time. I turn on my heels and look at the emerald green horizon of Or'Zah. Twenty years on this reptilian world have come to an end. Reginald called me. The mission awaits me.

The time has come.