The white beam remained connected to the Harbinger's chest.
Kael stood perfectly still.
Around him, the battlefield raged.
Crystal dragons clashed with swarms of Devourers pouring from fresh crimson portals.
The Azure Dominion warships filled the sky with blue streaks of energy.
Yet Kael saw none of it.
His consciousness had crossed into the Harbinger.
...
Darkness.
Cold.
Silence.
Kael slowly opened his eyes.
He stood inside a vast chamber made entirely of black crystal.
Towering pillars disappeared into the darkness above.
Crimson chains stretched across the room like veins.
At the center...
A young man hung suspended inside a glowing crystal prison.
His silver hair covered part of his face.
His wrists and ankles were bound by crimson chains.
Every few seconds, the chains pulsed, draining blue light from his body.
The young man slowly lifted his head.
"So..."
"You really came."
Kael stepped closer.
"You're the pilot."
The stranger gave a weak smile.
"My name..."
"...is Arion."
"I was the Guardian of the Eighth Frontier."
Kael looked around.
"How long have you been trapped here?"
Arion laughed bitterly.
"I stopped counting after the first thousand years."
Kael's eyes widened.
"A thousand..."
"Veyrath captured me during the Ancient War."
"He couldn't control the Harbinger while I lived."
"So instead..."
Arion looked at the chains around him.
"...he turned me into its prison."
Outside, the Harbinger fired another devastating beam.
The capital shook violently.
Kael clenched his fists.
"We have to get you out."
Arion slowly shook his head.
"It isn't that simple."
He looked toward the ceiling.
"The Harbinger's core is bound to my life."
"If these chains break the wrong way..."
"The entire machine will explode."
Kael fell silent.
Millions could die.
Including everyone fighting outside.
Aetherion's voice echoed inside Kael's mind.
"The chains aren't ordinary."
"They're made from Devourer essence."
Kael stepped closer to Arion.
"There has to be another way."
Arion smiled sadly.
"There is."
He met Kael's eyes.
"But you'll have to trust me."
Suddenly—
The chamber trembled.
A crimson crack spread across the floor.
Veyrath's voice echoed through the darkness.
"So..."
"You've found him."
A shadow emerged from the crimson light.
Not the real Veyrath.
A projection.
Even so, his presence was overwhelming.
He smiled as he looked at Kael.
"I wondered how long it would take."
Kael stepped in front of Arion.
"I'm getting him out."
Veyrath chuckled.
"You misunderstand."
He raised a hand.
The crimson chains tightened around Arion.
The young man cried out in pain.
"Every second you hesitate..."
"The Harbinger grows stronger."
Kael's white Core blazed with fury.
"You monster."
Veyrath's smile only widened.
"No."
"I am simply willing to make sacrifices."
His projection slowly faded into darkness.
"But tell me, Heir..."
"When the time comes..."
"Will you?"
Silence filled the chamber.
Kael looked at Arion.
Then at the chains.
The answer wouldn't come through strength alone.
It would require a choice.
And every choice carried a price.