Cal smiled. "It is not just a claim, Ix'Grom; it is a simple statement of fact."
Ix'Grom chuckled, "You have an unwarranted level of confidence for someone facing a god."
"If I were facing a true god, I might hesitate, but as far as I know, there are no gods, only pretenders such as yourself. You will not be the first I have slain; if I have anything to say about it, you will not be the last."
"Oh-ho? Not the first; please tell me which of my brethren you have slain? I have absorbed all the others of my kind in this galaxy. So for you to make such a claim is preposterous." Ix'Grom said with a cruel chuckle.
"I am not from this galaxy, and as far as which I have slain, I am personally responsible for the deaths of no less than four hundred and twenty-one flare entity deaths. The most recent one was named Ja'Kora. She fought valiantly, but she perished nonetheless. The flare entity in my home planet's star was named So'Laru; he was the first to die when we decided to purge the flare entities. So I repeat," Cal took a breath, calm, cool, and collected, "I will kill you should you attempt to interfere with me."
Each flare entity had a unique name that was intrinsically tied to the star that birthed them and to who they were as a person. So, by giving him specific names, Cal had proven to a certain extent that he knew what he was talking about. Some part of Ix'Grom screamed in fear and rage, but the logical part of his brain refused to acknowledge it. Ix'Grom chuckled again, "Very well, prove to me that you deserve even a modicum of respect, and I shall not interfere. Impress me, mortal."
Cal smiled and spoke. "Artie, activate the Sword. Display at my location."
In front of Cal, a screen of pure psionic energy appeared, showing The Jix home world and the star that had birthed Ix'Grom. Cal spoke as the Sworb came into view. "We realized quite quickly when fighting the flare entities in our galaxy that your power is directly tied to the visible and non-visible light emitted from the star that births you. As you absorb others of your kind, you gain an increased efficiency in utilizing the light from other stars. As you are the only flare entity in this galaxy, you most likely have perfect energy usage from every star. So we came up with this to help bring flare entities down to our level."
Cal smirked; he did love seeing the pretend gods that were flare entities grow pale as she spoke. But he simply gestured to the display, and they all watched. The Sworb, upon achieving orbit, positioned itself between the planet and the star, and then it glowed bright white. It stopped being an orb, and as best as anyone could perceive, it became a two-dimensional white hole in the very fabric of reality. From this hole poured a stream of strange octopus-shaped machines. In a matter of moments, a wall of these machines formed a shell around the planet and extended their tentacles before a sudden pulse that made everyone on the planet shudder involuntarily.
As the world's populace panicked, a black sheen of energy contained by the machines spread to encapsulate the planet, plunging it into complete darkness, and light on the EMF spectrum could be seen being pulled into it. Visible wafts of energy began leaving Ix'Grom and floating up into the sky. Cal smiled as he suddenly pulsed with a light, unlike anything any of them had ever seen.
"We wondered how to block out all light from a star, but nature provided a solution. The one thing that you flare entities will never approach. A black hole. So we learned and mastered the art of manipulating black holes and made a way to completely coat a planet or any area in a nanometer-thick coating of a black hole. You are now one hundred percent isolated from the light and energy of the stars of reality. That is where I come in."
The part of Ix'Grom's mind that had been screaming in warning earlier had shut down in panic, and the logical part was screaming at him to do something. But all he could do was watch as Cal closed his eyes and seemed to relax.
Nyla, who had, of anyone present, known Cal the longest other than Artie, quickly walked to Pinetil and her Mother, who had quietly slipped to stand behind Cal. "Can you feel it?" Nyla asked as quietly as she could.
Without speaking, Pinetil and her Mother, both with wide eyes, nodded. At that moment, the three of them felt a bubble of psionic energy form over them, and then Cal began to radiate energy. The remaining priests were compressed into a fine mist in moments. And Ix'Grom was driven to his knees. Cal smiled as if he were on a Sunday stroll.
"I am the antithesis to everything you are Ix'Grom. So, have I impressed you yet?" Cal asked a look on his face that begged the flare entity to fight.
"You have. I will not interfere." Ix'Grom said hoarsely.
"Good!" Cal said, and with a sudden thought, the massive pressure was gone, "Artie, wrap it up and recall."
Moments later, light energy rushed back into Ix'Grom and flooded the planet again. Cal turned to Pinetil and her Mother. "Now then, Empress, please gather what you need, and if you need any of your attendants, we understand that even though you are a prisoner, you are entitled to certain concessions as the leader of a species."
After a flurry of activity that lasted twenty minutes, Cal, Nyla, Pinetil, and the Empress, along with a host of fifteen attendants, walked towards the gates of the palace.
Ix'Grom stopped them. "you know this is not the end, don't you?"
Cal smiled and locked eyes with Ix'Grom, "I can't wait."
Without any further ado, Cal led the strange ensemble back to his ship and began the jump process to go to Earth.
