SoulBound Ch 4: Too Big for My Own Good!

(KAIDA) The moment my feet touched the surface of Veridia, I knew I'd overdone it. I sank—deep—into the planet's crust, the ground giving wa

(KAIDA)

The moment my feet touched the surface of Veridia, I knew I'd overdone it.

I sank—deep—into the planet's crust, the ground giving way beneath me like wet clay. Heat surged up my legs, a molten pulse that told me exactly how far I had gone.

Oh. Oh no.

I had literally punched through the planet's skin and could feel the warmth of its core licking at my soles.

Lifting my foot, I winced at the sight. Liquid fire clung to my skin, glowing red and gold—Veridia's lifeblood, clinging to me like an accusation. Tiny, insignificant cracks spread outward from where I had landed, spiderwebbing into full-blown chasms as the land shifted and split beneath me.

Carefully, I lowered my foot back down, making sure not to press too hard this time.

Even then, the impact sent shockwaves rippling through the terrain.

"Yeah... still too big."

I exhaled slowly, scanning the land below me. From up here, the vast terrain of Veridia stretched out in breathtaking detail—patches of gray clusters dotted the land, unmistakably cities. I could see the tiny bumps of mountains, the snaking rivers carving paths across the land, and further out, the vast ocean that shimmered under the planet's sun.

And yet, despite all that beauty... I knew I had just made a mess of it.

Even from this height, I could see it—the scars my arrival had left behind. Deep, violent fissures tore across the land, some belching smoke while others bled lava like open wounds. The sudden shift in terrain had upended entire regions, creating deadly slopes that sent people, vehicles, and buildings tumbling into the fiery depths below.

I forced myself to look away.

Not because I cared.

Okay—maybe I cared a little.

But my priority wasn't the little things scurrying across this world, screaming in terror. No, my focus was on the one person who mattered—the one who had drawn me here in the first place.

My Soulbound.

I could feel him, even now. That familiar pull, the undeniable tug at the center of my being. But he wasn't here. Not in this ruined land beneath my feet.

That was lucky—for him, at least.

But I knew these creatures had bloodlines—connections. Kin? Family? I think that's what they called them.

Did my other half have family here? Were they among the ones now struggling to survive the chaos I had caused?

I scanned the nearest city, my enhanced vision zooming in on the desperate figures below.

Tiny things, running in a pointless frenzy. From up here, their movement was almost comical—like watching insects scatter when a foot hovers overhead. But I knew how fragile they were. Knew that if I took even one careless step, they would be gone.

It was... unsettling.

I had never given much thought to the smaller beings that populated galaxies like this. I didn't toy with them, didn't destroy them for fun like some of my kind.

But now? Now I had to consider them—because one of them was mine.

And I had no idea if I had just killed his kin.

I inhaled deeply, forcing my emotions down.

None of that mattered right now.

I had to find him first.

Everything else—the mess I had made, the lives I had just upended—could come later.

For now, I could only hope that my arrival hadn't wiped out the ones my Soulbound might have cared about.

***

(Somewhere else on the planet)

The First Strike

Squadron Silver Wing had been flying for hours.

Commander Dante Raines gripped the controls of his F-89 Striker, his knuckles white against the stick. His HUD flickered with incoming distress signals, desperate radio calls, and emergency broadcasts—all reporting the same impossible thing.

A woman. A monolithic woman, stepping onto Veridia's surface like she owned the place.

It sounded insane, like something out of a bad sci-fi novel. But Dante had seen the footage. He had watched as cities were swallowed whole by chasms that erupted from nowhere. He had witnessed oceans drain, turned into boiling pits of steam as molten lava surged up to consume the land.

And worst of all—he had seen his home sink into the planet's depths.

His entire city—gone. Just like that.

All because this thing had the audacity to land here.

His radio crackled as one of his squadmates, Jenkins, spoke up.

"Commander, this is insane. Are we really about to fight a woman from space? I mean, think about it. That sounds stupid as hell."

"Yeah, well, tell that to everyone she just wiped off the damn map," Dante shot back.

Silence followed.

No one could deny the destruction.

And now, at last, there she was.

She stood in the distance, her form dominating the sky like a god descending from the heavens.

The closer they flew, the more impossible her size became.

Her legs—massive pillars of smooth, flawless skin—stretched down into the wounded earth, standing like twin obelisks above entire landscapes. Her hands, with fingers the size of warships, flexed idly, as if she weren't even aware of the destruction she had caused.

And then there was her face—perfect, irritatingly perfect. Huge blue eyes, framed by long waves of dark brown hair, gazed down at the world beneath her, unbothered.

And her clothes? A thin, form-hugging white ensemble that barely left anything to the imagination.

Dante clenched his jaw as he felt something very, very wrong stirring in his gut.

No. Absolutely not. Not happening.

This was the enemy.

And they had a job to do.

"Silver Wing, form up. We keep her away from the cities—hit her with everything we've got."

"Yes, sir!" came the chorus of responses.

Dante flicked his comms and barked the attack order.

The assault began.

Jets screamed through the sky, weaving through the vast space between the Titaness's legs, cutting past the gargantuan canyons of her arms. Missiles launched, white streaks painting the air as they slammed into her stomach, her back, her shoulders, even her face.

BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.

Explosions erupted across her skin. Bullets pounded against her with pinpoint accuracy. The air filled with the roar of engines and the rapid tat-tat-tat of heavy artillery unloading round after round into her body.

And yet...

Nothing happened.

Not a single scratch.

Dante pulled up sharply, circling around her towering torso just in time to see Jenkins unload a barrage of missiles directly into her left breast. The warheads detonated against the massive jiggling expanse, sending a ripple through the soft flesh.

That was it. A ripple.

Her clothes weren't even torn.

Not a single burn mark on her flawless body.

Dante growled.

"Are you kidding me?! What are we supposed to do, tickle her to death?!"

"Maybe if we focus all fire on one spot—"

"We just DID that, Carter!"

A shadow loomed over Dante's cockpit as he flew past her face.

For a brief moment, he locked eyes with the monolith.

And that was when he realized—she had barely even noticed them.

Her massive golden gaze flicked toward them, as if mildly intrigued by the buzzing specks that dared to attack her.

She didn't even look angry.

If anything... she looked annoyed.

And for some reason, that pissed Dante off even more.

"Sir, what's the plan?! Nothing's working!"

Dante clenched his teeth.

"Dammit. I don't know!"