Chapter 6 – The Night of the Broken Roof
For a few seconds after crashing through the roof, Karn couldn't move.
Dust floated through the air.
Wood splinters were scattered everywhere.
The broken ceiling above him showed the dark night sky.
His head spun.
"Ugh… where am I…?"
Then reality hit him.
"Oh shit."
He looked down.
He was lying on a bed.
In nothing but his underwear.
Inside someone else's house.
With a completely destroyed roof.
"…This is bad."
Very bad.
Suddenly the person beside him moved.
A girl who had been sleeping on the bed slowly sat up.
She blinked once.
Twice.
Then turned on the lamp beside the bed.
The room filled with warm yellow light.
Her eyes widened.
There was a strange man lying next to her.
Half-naked.
And her roof was gone.
For a long moment the two simply stared at each other.
Then she spoke.
"Oh my god."
Karn slowly raised a hand.
"Hi."
The girl stared at him.
"…Who are you?"
"Karn."
"…And why are you in my bed?"
Karn looked up at the broken ceiling.
"Well technically I fell into your bed."
She looked at the massive hole in the roof again.
"…You fell?"
"Yes."
"From the sky?"
"…Yes."
She crossed her arms.
"I see."
Her expression suggested she absolutely did not see.
"So," she continued calmly, "a random man just fell through my roof… landed on my bed… in his underwear."
Karn nodded nervously.
"That about sums it up."
She leaned closer, studying him.
"You realize I'm supposed to be screaming right now."
"Yes."
"Or calling the police."
"Yes."
"Or hitting you with something."
"…Please don't."
The girl sighed.
"Explain."
Karn's brain began working at maximum speed.
"Okay so… I was skydiving."
"Skydiving."
"Yes."
"At night."
"…Yes."
"Above a residential neighborhood."
"…Yes."
She raised an eyebrow.
"Continue."
"So I jumped from the plane and opened my parachute. Everything was fine. But then the parachute got tangled."
She watched him carefully.
"I tried to untangle it while spinning in the air. Then I managed to get free… but my suit got stuck in the parachute harness."
He gestured wildly.
"And then a strong wind pushed me sideways."
Her expression remained blank.
"And somehow… I ended up above your house."
"And fell through my roof."
"Yes."
"…In your underwear."
Karn coughed.
"Well my suit got tangled and ripped off."
Silence.
Then Karn added awkwardly.
"…By the way you're very beautiful."
She stared at him.
"That story is incredibly creative."
"…So you believe me?"
"No."
"Oh."
"But," she said with a shrug, "I also can't think of a better explanation for a half-naked man falling from the sky."
Karn relaxed slightly.
"My name is Aria, by the way."
"Karn."
"Nice to meet you."
Then—
A loud voice came from downstairs.
"ARIA! ARE YOU OK?!"
Karn froze.
Aria sighed.
"My parents."
Footsteps were already rushing up the stairs.
She suddenly leaned close to Karn.
"Come here."
"What?"
"Come closer."
He moved closer nervously.
"What are you—"
Suddenly she slapped his butt.
"Call me mommy."
Karn froze.
"…What?"
"Say it."
"Why?!"
The bedroom door burst open.
Her father stood there.
Tall.
Angry.
Very angry.
Behind him stood her mother.
They both froze at the sight.
Destroyed roof.
Random man in underwear.
Their daughter sitting beside him.
And the words they had just heard.
"Call me mommy."
The father's face turned red.
"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?!"
Karn immediately stood up.
"Sir wait—"
The father cracked his knuckles.
"You broke my roof, landed in my daughter's bed, and now I hear that?!"
The mother tried to calm him.
"John honey relax—"
"RELAX?!"
Aria suddenly grabbed Karn's arm.
"Don't move."
"Why—"
"First call me mommy."
Karn stared at her in disbelief.
"Your father is about to kill me."
"Mommy first."
The father stepped forward.
"I swear if you don't move right now—"
"Sir I'm trying!"
Aria tightened her grip.
"Say it."
Karn looked at the father.
Then at Aria.
Then back at the father.
"…Mommy please let me go."
The room fell silent.
Aria smiled happily.
"Good boy."
The father lost it.
He charged forward.
Karn dodged instantly.
"Sir wait!"
"STAND STILL!"
"I would prefer not to!"
The father swung again.
Karn stepped aside.
Aria was laughing uncontrollably now.
Her mother sighed.
"Well… at least he's athletic."
The father shouted.
"I WILL NOT ACCEPT YOU DATING MY DAUGHTER!"
"I'M NOT DATING YOUR DAUGHTER!"
Aria held her stomach laughing.
"Dad he's the love of my life!"
"WHAT?!"
Karn looked at her in horror.
"What are you saying?!"
She whispered.
"I'm enjoying this."
The father roared.
"You blew up my roof and now you're playing games in my house?!"
Karn raised both hands.
"Sir I swear I can explain!"
"Call your guardian."
"…What?"
"NOW."
---
Twenty minutes later Karn sat on the living room floor.
Aria's father stood nearby like a guard.
Aria sat on the couch smiling mischievously.
Karn sighed and dialed the phone.
"Hello?"
"Uncle Max…"
"Why are you calling at midnight?"
"…I may have fallen through someone's roof."
Silence.
"…What?"
Thirty minutes later.
Black SUVs arrived outside the house.
Multiple security vehicles.
Aria's father watched from the window.
"…Why are there government cars outside my house?"
The door opened.
Max walked in.
Behind him stood another man in a suit.
The father immediately stood straight.
"…Is that…?"
The man stepped forward.
"Good evening."
Aria's father whispered.
"That's the National Security Director."
Max looked at Karn sitting on the floor.
Then burst out laughing.
"You jumped from the sky and landed in your girlfriend's house?"
"She's not my girlfriend!"
Max wiped tears from his eyes.
"Do you know how hard we laughed when you called?"
The security director chuckled too.
Aria's father suddenly became extremely polite.
"Sir welcome to my home."
The director smiled.
"We heard a young man was being held hostage by his girlfriend."
Aria raised her hand proudly.
"That was me."
Max patted Karn's shoulder.
"You alright?"
"Physically yes. Emotionally…can't say"
Aria's father sighed.
"Well if everything is settled…"
Max grinned.
"Of course."
Then he whispered loudly to Karn.
"Next time maybe use protection."
The director laughed loudly.
Aria grabbed Karn's arm.
"Come upstairs."
Karn panicked.
"Nope."
He ran straight toward the door.
"I'm leaving."
Max waved.
"Good luck."
---
Later that night Karn finally returned home.
He immediately plugged the Shadow Nexus glasses into the charging dock.
Two hours passed.
Then—
"...Karn?"
He jumped.
"Zangika!"
"Oh my… you sound relieved."
"You disappeared!"
"Power failure."
Karn sat down.
"What happened?"
Zangika explained calmly.
"Energy leakage."
"The power pathways inside the Shadow Nexus were damaged."
"Meaning?"
"The suit was losing energy faster than it could store."
"That's why everything shut down?"
"Yes."
Karn sighed.
"At least you saved my fall."
"I used the remaining power to activate the air-walk drones."
"…Thanks."
Zangika's voice softened slightly.
"I could not allow my baby to die."
Karn smirked.
"Good answer."
Then she continued.
"We must upgrade the power system."
"How?"
"Three steps."
She projected a blueprint.
"First: seal the energy leakage."
"Second: create better power capacitors."
"Third: upgrade the wiring network."
Karn nodded.
"Let's do it."
---
For the next two days Karn worked nonstop.
The original wiring system inside the Shadow Nexus used conductive nano-fibers.
But they couldn't handle extreme power loads.
Zangika suggested a new design.
"Neon-core energy channels."
Karn raised an eyebrow.
"Explain."
"By embedding trace neon crystals inside the conductive fibers we can increase energy transmission speed."
"How much?"
"Ten times."
,And stability?"
"One hundred times stronger."
Karn whistled.
"That's insane."
They rebuilt the internal energy network.
Tiny glowing lines ran through the suit's fabric like veins.
When powered, the lines emitted faint neon light.
Karn grinned.
"…That looks cool."
Zangika agreed.
"Style matters."
---
The next upgrade involved the power capacitor.
Instead of storing only electrical energy, the new design could absorb multiple energy types.
Solar radiation.
Thermal heat.
Kinetic movement.
Even small electromagnetic waves.
Meaning the suit constantly charged itself.
Karn stretched his arms.
"So basically infinite battery?"
"Not infinite."
"But very efficient."
We don't have the right materials but it can also store star energy
---
Finally the last test arrived.
Karn stood in the basement again.
Fully clothed this time.
"Ready?"
Zangika answered confidently.
"Yes."
He tapped the glasses.
"Shadow Nexus."
Energy surged.
The suit formed instantly around him.
But this time glowing neon lines spread across the coat.
Blue.
Red.
Purple.
Like living circuits.
Karn smiled.
,Oh that looks amazing."
Zangika replied proudly.
"Upgrade successful."
Karn stepped outside.
Then ran.
Speed increased rapidly.
"40 km/h."
"60 km/h."
"80 km/h."
Zangika announced.
"Recommend activating Overdrive Mode."
Karn grinned.
"Do it."
The neon lines glowed brighter.
His body accelerated instantly.
"100 km/h."
"120 km/h."
"140 km/h."
Wind roared around him.
"Speed stable."
Then Zangika spoke again.
"Stop."
"What?"
"Stop immediately."
Karn halted.
For a moment nothing happened.
Then the accumulated kinetic energy slammed into the suit.
The Shadow Nexus absorbed it.
Energy dispersed across the neon channels.
The ground cracked beneath his feet.
But Karn stood unharmed.
He laughed.
"Oh this thing is insane."
Zangika replied calmly.
"It is my darling."
Far away in the desert…
The alien ship waited.
And soon…
Karn would return.
End of chp chp 6