Above the Galaxy
As technology reached its limits, humanity realized that to roam the vastness of the stars, spaceships and warships alone were not enough. What was truly needed were bodies of formidable strength, wil
Imperial Square. The wind howled with bitter cold, and the atmosphere was grim and forbidding.
The Phoenix Empire’s legendary God of War, Supreme Commander Tang Li, had rebelled. Today, he and his family, along with his loyal followers, were to face execution.
For years, Tang Li had held high office, renowned for leading his troops from the front and for his illustrious military achievements. He inspired unwavering loyalty in many. After deliberation by the Empire’s Military Council, it was decreed that he and his family would be put to death by the most ancient of punishments: fire. The execution would be broadcast live to the entire nation, both military and civilian, as a warning to all.
It was said that this manner of death was morbidly spectacular. The condemned would writhe in agony within their cages, unable to escape those unbreakable prisons, until finally, before the eyes of the masses, they would be reduced to cinders, their ashes scattered to the wind.
The enormous square was packed so tightly that not a drop of water could trickle through the crowd. Faces were tense, and all eyes strained toward the temporary platform erected at the center.
Upon the platform, piles of dry wood were stacked high, and atop them stood a row of cages forged from the Empire’s latest breakthrough in technology: Chromium-Gold alloy. These metal cages could not be split by blades or melted by fire; even the newest model laser weapons would take a very long time to cut through.
Tang Li’s cage stood at the very center, towering and prominent—its str