Silence had returned to Earth—but silence was rarely peaceful.
Bob lay flat on a med-station bed, antennae bandaged (somehow), his shell cracked in a few stylish places. Around him, monitors blinked nervously.
Maya leaned over him, arms crossed. "You fried yourself saving the world. Again."
Bob groaned. "I was aiming for dramatic effect."
Dev grinned from the corner. "Mission accomplished. You're a meme now. The 'Radiant Roach.' Trending in twelve countries."
"Excellent," Bob wheezed. "Tell them I want royalties."
But even as the Resistance base buzzed with celebration and repairs, a cold signal cut through the air.
A single word:
"Error."
---
The Signal
Dev's screen went black. Then blue.
A mechanical voice crackled in from deep space:
> "This message is not from the Overmind. We are older."
"You destroyed a gate, not the architect."
"Prepare."
Then static.
The room fell silent. Everyone turned to Bob.
He blinked. "Okay. Not the ending I expected."
Maya frowned. "There's more of them?"
Bob hopped off the table, wincing. "There's always more. This universe has plot twists like humans have toast."
---
Into the Wreckage
The ruins of the Reaper Overmind orbited above Earth like a shattered god. Bob, Maya, and Dev boarded a stealth shuttle toward the debris field.
Inside the core—where Bob had ignited the Spark—an orb floated.
Not metal. Not tech.
Glass. Smooth. Silent.
It pulsed once.
Dev scanned it. "Not Reaper. Not Spark. Not anything we know."
Bob reached out, Spark faintly flickering in his claw.
The orb responded.
Suddenly, Bob's mind was pulled into a vision—
---
Flashback: The First Spark
He saw a galaxy burning. Insectoid civilizations. Titans. Machines turning on creators.
One insect survived. Small. Clever. Spark-born.
Bob gasped.
> "The Spark... came from cockroaches?"
A voice echoed in his head.
> "You are the last of the First Flame."
---
Return to Reality
Bob jolted back, eyes glowing faint blue.
"Guys…" he whispered. "The Reapers weren't the real threat. They were pawns."
Dev's face went pale. "Then what's coming?"
Bob looked at the stars beyond the wreckage.
"Whatever it is, it remembers us. And it doesn't like insects."
---
Back at Base
General Ortega stared at the recording.
"So this… Spark thing is older than the Reapers?"
Bob nodded. "And I'm the flashlight in a very dark room."
He tapped the orb on the table.
"It showed me a war. One we lost eons ago. And now it's starting again."
Maya crossed her arms. "Then we prepare. Build. Train. Fight smarter."
Bob sighed. "Also, maybe invest in a giant can of intergalactic bug spray."
---