Flesh Without Blood. World Princess II.

In the aftermath of the Teenage Solar Space Races, where Kenny—full name Ken-Yah Tannit—had outraced the villainous Felix and his crew to protect the Quantum Transcender, the Cyber Planet XYZ buzzed with a new ambition. The precious weapon, capable of unraveling the universe, had been secured, but its existence had sparked a greater dream: to colonize the uncharted Sigma Galaxy, the sprawling cosmic sea that cradled their neon-lit home. Kenny, now a legend among the racers, stood at the forefront of this venture, her heart still pounding with the thrill of the chase.

The Sigma Galaxy was an enigma, its nebulae swirling with emerald and amethyst hues, its stars pulsing like ancient glyphs. No one knew what lay beyond the Nebulae Arcana, the celestial racetrack where Kenny had bested Regulus Shadow Blade in a duel that crashed servers and hearts alike. But the elders of Cyber Planet XYZ, wary of the Quantum Transcender’s power, decreed that the galaxy must be tamed, its secrets mapped, and its dangers subdued. Kenny, with her Lightning Siren—a sleek, stardust-forged ship she’d designed with Jarvien and Santino—led the first expedition.

The fleet launched from XYZ’s chrome-plated docks, a constellation of silver ships glinting against the planet’s neon skyline. Kenny’s crew included Jarvien, the wiry tech genius who’d woven the Siren’s circuits, and Santino, a strategist with a knack for reading cosmic currents. Regulus Shadow Blade, once Kenny’s rival, had joined them too, her pod now a sleek ally rather than a menacing silhouette. The truce was uneasy, but Regulus’s skill was undeniable, and Kenny respected the fire in her eyes.

Together, they ventured into the Sigma Galaxy, where no racer had dared to linger.

Their first stop was a planet they named Erythra, a crimson orb wreathed in storms of iron dust. The scanners detected no life, only ruins—towers of obsidian etched with the same glyphs that lined the Nebulae Arcana’s racetrack. Kenny piloted the Lightning Siren to the surface, her fingers steady on the controls as the ship sliced through howling winds. The ruins whispered of a civilization long gone, one that had harnessed energies akin to the Quantum Transcender’s. Jarvien, poring over the glyphs, uncovered fragments of a warning: “Flesh without blood shall rise, and the stars will weep.” The words sent a chill through the crew, but Kenny pressed on, her resolve unshaken.

Days turned to weeks as they mapped Erythra’s terrain, establishing a small outpost powered by solar relays. The planet resisted them—its storms disrupted their tech, and the glyphs seemed to shift when no one watched. Regulus, ever the skeptic, argued they should abandon Erythra and seek greener worlds, but Kenny sensed a purpose in the ruins. One night, as the crew slept, she returned to the central tower alone. There, in a chamber lit by a pulsing crystal, she saw it: a humanoid figure, its body woven of light and metal, its eyes hollow yet alive. It spoke in a voice like static: “We are the Flesh Without Blood, the keepers of the Sigma. You race for glory, but you tread on graves.”

Kenny’s heart raced, but she held her ground. The figure revealed that the Sigma Galaxy had once been home to the Arcanites, a race that fused flesh with machine, achieving immortality but losing their souls. They had built the Quantum Transcender, only to see it fracture their empire. The Arcanites were gone, but their sentinels—beings like the one before her—remained, guarding the galaxy’s secrets. It warned Kenny that colonizing Sigma would awaken these sentinels, unleashing chaos. Yet it offered a choice: leave, or prove humanity’s worth by racing through the galaxy’s core, a track woven into the fabric of time itself.

Kenny returned to her crew, the warning heavy on her shoulders. Jarvien and Santino urged caution, but Regulus’s eyes gleamed with defiance. “We didn’t come to cower,” she said. Kenny nodded, her own fire reigniting. They prepared the Lightning Siren and Regulus’s pod for the ultimate race, a gauntlet through the Sigma Galaxy’s heart. The sentinels watched, their presence a hum in the void, as the ships launched into a track of pure light, its curves bending reality itself.

The race was brutal. Cosmic winds tore at the ships, and illusions of fallen Arcanites flickered across the path, testing their nerve. Kenny and Regulus flew as one, their rivalry now a partnership, their pods weaving through collapsing stars and temporal rifts. At the finish, a singularity loomed, its pull threatening to erase them. Kenny activated the Siren’s core, a spark of the Quantum Transcender’s power, and surged forward, Regulus at her side. They crossed the line as the singularity collapsed, leaving only silence.

The sentinels appeared, their forms countless, filling the void. “You have raced with heart,” they said. “Sigma is yours, but guard it well.” The colonization began anew, with Erythra’s outpost as the first of many. Kenny, forever changed, knew the galaxy’s secrets came at a cost. The Flesh Without Blood watched, and she swore to honor their legacy, racing not for glory, but for the stars themselves.

Written by Dr. Keren Obara.