Ratchet and Clank: The Iron Devil(Discontinued)

Chapter 28

Alister holds in high regard and friendship. It took Alor many months, and a few extra months after he betrayed Alister and was forgiven, but that's a story for another time. Runaan and Ethari also was gaining this honor and vice-versa for many months. But Kaden...he was like Alister's closest brother.

Despite more widely accepted knowledge, it was Kaden who actually created the Alliance. Despite being a member of the Exile caste and obtaining Imperial citizenship for his services, it was he who discovered that the Emperor is a monster who devours the souls of dead beings from the entire known universe in order to gain power and become a God-like being. It was he who gathered people to fight under one banner and gave them a common enemy.

And hearing that Alliance members call him a traitor hurts Alister the most.

The leader of the Alliance remembers this day like it was yesterday. One night, an alarm went off at their base. Soldiers ran back and forth, looking for danger. But they couldn't find anyone. Alister also joined the search and didn't notice anything either. However, as he was returning to his office, he heard noises coming from the hangar. He went there and saw Kaden talking to the soldiers of the Lombax Empire. There were also a children next to them,all of them unconscious. Surprised by all this, Alister confronted his friend, asking him what was going on.

Kaden then smiled and laughed at the Alliance leader. He ordered the Imperials to load the children onto the ship while he dealt with their obstacle.

At this point, Alister had mixed feelings. The first was fear for the children's lives. The second was a surprise, because suddenly Kaden was able to manipulate reality thanks to some technological gloves. The third feeling was the pain of betrayal. They both went through so much together and now they are each other's enemies? This couldn't be true.

Despite his greater combat experience, Alister was defeated by Kaden. The spells the man used were out of this world. Yes, some of them resembled the spells used by Imperial magicians, but nobody can create bubbles that stop time or create portals to the core of the sun.

As Alister lay on the ground in pain, Kaden walked up to him and looked at him mockingly.

"For your information, my dear boy, but your friend has been long dead. I took his body. You probably recognize me. Albrecht Entrati, at your service. And these children will become perfect soldiers of the Empire. Including Kaden's son."

With these words, Albrecht boarded the ship and flew away with the members of the Empire. Alister was still lying on the ground. Sore, tired, but above all disappointed, desperate and angry. The knowledge that his friend was dead shocked him greatly. He promised himself that he would catch Albrecht and save his godson.

He felt another thing inside him. Fear. You see, Albrecht is not the person he saw for the first time now. He had known about him for a much longer time. A mysterious scientist of unknown origin who upgraded Lombax technology by hundreds of years. Armors, weapons, ships, faster interstellar travel and much, much more. He created all of it. In fact, he even spread a kind of ritual among the noble caste that allows their members to prolong their lives. The only requirement is a young person to whom nobles can transfer their consciousness.

With this knowledge, Alister realized that Kaden'a had probably become a victim of this ritual, a Continuity it is called, and vanished forever from the known universe, and his place was taken by a mad scientist.

Fortunately, after more than a year, they managed to save the kidnapped children from the hands of the Empire. However, they were much older, some almost reaching adulthood. Their behavior was unusual, almost like a kind of religious caste, and they also spoke among themselves in a language unknown to anyone and drew strange symbols everywhere. They told how "Kaden" sent them to the realm between dimensions and what horrors they saw there. Wanting to relieve them, Alister allowed them to establish a small settlement at the foot of the base, allowing them to live in peace.