The storm had passed, but the aftermath was colder than before.
Russ sat alone on the remains of a shattered skyship, watching the gray clouds swirl above the ruins. Below him, the impact crater still pulsed faintly with leftover void-energy. No birds. No wind. Just silence—and the faint hum of an exhausted world.
Meryl approached from behind, her footsteps light.
"Debrief's over," she said, voice tentative. "Vareon's in medbay. Cracked ribs, internal bleeding, mild plasma poisoning."
Russ didn't look at her. "But alive."
"Barely."
He exhaled. "I shouldn't have hesitated. When it used his voice—I froze."
"You're human. It used that against you."
Russ turned. "That's the problem, Meryl. I'm not sure I'm just human anymore."
She frowned. "You're not talking about your powers, are you?"
"No," Russ said. "I'm talking about that voice in my head. The one that whispered 'Progenitor.' It didn't feel like memory. It felt like... recognition. Like something waking up."
Meryl stiffened. "That's not good."
"Yeah, figured."
She stepped closer and handed him a datachip. "This might explain it. Pulled it from the creature's neural lattice before it disintegrated. Vareon's tech team decrypted part of the core code."
Russ took it, inserting it into his wrist module. A stream of fragmented data appeared on his HUD.
> [Subject: Talen_Clone_42. Status: Failed Integration.]
[Reason: Host Consciousness Rejection. Latent Progenitor Strain in Subject Russ Talen caused cascade failure.]
[Conclusion: Russ Talen is incompatible with Echo Synthesis. Progenitor lock detected.]
Russ's mouth went dry.
"Progenitor strain?"
Meryl crossed her arms. "According to Vareon's archives, the Progenitors weren't just ancient. They were the architects of mana. Thought extinct. Myths. But this says you're... part of that lineage."
Russ looked up. "So what does that make me?"
She hesitated. "A weapon. Or a key."
"Maybe both."
Before she could respond, his HUD flickered—then went black. A symbol appeared, glowing white: an eye, surrounded by rings of geometric runes.
> Incoming Transmission – Unknown Source
> Do not trust the Concord. You are not their savior. You are their replacement.
Russ blinked. "Did you see that?"
Meryl shook her head. "See what?"
"It was a message. Direct neural pulse. Someone—or something—sent it straight into my link."
He pulled the chip out. The screen returned to normal. But the message echoed in his mind.
Not their savior... their replacement.
Back at base, alarms began blaring.
> Alert: Unauthorized Rift Detected. Coordinates: Sector 8 – Ruins of Kael-Dorn
Meryl looked up. "That's where your father's ship went down."
Russ nodded. "And where the Progenitor Vault was rumored to be buried."
She stared at him. "You're not thinking of going there alone, are you?"
"I don't have a choice."
"You always have a choice."
He looked at her, eyes glowing faintly.
"Not this time."
---
In the shadows of the Concord's data tower, a figure watched the Rift unfold. Cloaked in digital static, it smiled.
"So, the heir has awakened."
Another voice responded, filtered through ten thousand frequencies. "Shall we intercept?"
"No," said the figure. "Let him find the Vault."
It turned, revealing a face made of shifting code.
"And when he opens it... we take everything."