Eclipsed Horizon — Chapter 78: "Into the Outer Vein"
The hour vanished faster than anyone expected.
By the time Cael and Lyra reached the eastern launch bay, the deployment teams were already assembled — rows of Eclipser units in sleek field gear, Pulsebands synced, armor humming with latent resonance.
The outer district, Vein Sector Twelve, shimmered on the holo-screens behind them.
A stretch of half-rebuilt structures, old turbine stacks, abandoned conduits, and open spaces where the city still hadn't fully regrown itself.
A place where the Echo could hide, distort, or strike.
Commander Arden was the last to arrive — her presence alone silenced every voice in the chamber.
"Operation Echo Hunt is now active," she said.
"Team deployment: five sectors, perimeter triangulation. Mireen, Jax, Sena — you're with Alpha Sweep. Seraphine leads the Anchor escort."
Seraphine stepped forward, her calm presence cutting through the tension.
"Anchors," she said, nodding to Cael and Lyra, "you remain at the center of the grid. The Echo will gravitate toward you. Do not attempt direct contact. Do not engage emotionally. Maintain synchronization. Stay together at all times."
Lyra swallowed.
Cael nodded.
"Move."
Teams surged into motion — tech units checking scanners, combat units loading Aether charges, Pulseband specialists aligning harmonic baselines.
---
On the Way to Sector Twelve
The carrier glided across Zephyr's lower skyline, a silent dart through shrouded scaffolds and half-lit towers. The city here felt different — less polished, less uniform. Raw edges. Old scars from the Collapse years.
Cael leaned against the window, watching the ground blur past.
Lyra watched him.
"You're thinking too loud," she said gently.
"…I can't shake the feeling it's already here," he murmured.
She didn't dismiss it.
"Stay close," she whispered.
The carrier jolted softly as it descended toward the district's landing ring.
---
Sector Twelve — Ground Deployment
The air tasted wrong.
Not polluted.
Not stale.
Just off.
Like static had a flavor.
Jax dropped from the carrier first, Pulseknife drawn and humming.
Sena followed, scanners deployed.
Mireen stayed near the rear, fingers already dancing over her portable resonance rig.
"Energy fingerprint is faint," Sena muttered. "But the displacement field is getting stronger."
"Then we're close," Jax said, cracking his knuckles.
Seraphine led Cael and Lyra down last, her steps silent.
As soon as both Anchors touched the ground—
Their pulsebands flared.
Bright. Sudden.
A resonance spike punched through the air like a shockwave.
Sena stumbled.
Mireen gasped as her scanner overloaded.
Even Jax cursed.
Lyra grabbed Cael's hand.
"Cael—"
"I feel it," he breathed.
A presence.
Cold and close.
The static rose — not from the environment.
From the Link itself.
Seraphine immediately stepped in front of them.
"Anchors. Focus. Breathe."
Lyra gripped Cael's wrist.
His pulse was racing.
So was hers.
"Center your resonance," Seraphine instructed. "Unify your harmonic baseline."
Cael exhaled.
Lyra matched it.
Their pulsebands synchronized — two rings of light in perfect unison.
The static sound warped, thinning into a tight, piercing whisper.
Not spoken aloud.
Injected directly into their thoughts.
> "Found you."
---
The Echo Arrives
The entire district's lights flickered.
The ground shivered.
Jax snapped into combat stance.
Sena raised her scanner.
Mireen braced her resonator.
Seraphine whispered, "Brace yourselves."
A ripple tore across the air — a distortion like heat over metal.
Then another.
Then a shape began forming.
A silhouette of black aether fractures. Limbs flickering between existence and afterimage. A half-mask of broken glass. And behind it—
A long spine of floating prisms, each rotating with impossible geometry.
Jax's eyes widened.
"That's not a ghost."
Sena whispered, "It's trying to become physical."
The Echo tilted its head, the movement unnatural, like a puppet learning its strings.
Its voice hissed across the Link:
> "Anchor Vance… still incomplete."
Lyra's pulseband flared violently.
She took a step back instinctively—
Cael caught her.
"Stay with me," he said.
The Echo shifted its gaze to Cael.
> "Anchor Drayen… the one who remembers."
Cael's jaw tightened.
He refused to flinch.
Seraphine moved between them, palms raised, energy coalescing.
"Echo," she said calmly. "You do not have permission to manifest. Withdraw."
The Echo flickered.
Then smiled.
> "Permission is irrelevant."
A shockwave blasted outward — a burst of raw resonance force.
Jax dove aside.
Sena slammed into a crate.
Mireen's rig went dark.
Cael and Lyra were thrown backward—
But something caught them.
A barrier.
Not physical.
Resonance.
It wrapped around them like a shield, humming like a heartbeat.
Lyra gasped. "This—this isn't us!"
Cael stared at the glowing arc around them.
"…Zephyr?"
The Echo screeched — a sound like tearing metal and broken memory.
Its limbs cracked open, releasing shards of white-blue aether.
It was ready to strike.
---
End of Chapter 78: "Into the Outer Vein."