Opening – The Silent March
Two days have passed since the battle.
The surviving warriors and Awakened march east across the ridge-lined barrens of Ar'Vareth, heading toward the location revealed by the encrypted scroll. The terrain is harsh—ashen hills, blackened by some ancient fire, and canyons carved by time and war. The sun is a pale disc overhead, and even the wind seems to carry whispers.
Kaelen walks at the head of the column.
The weight of leadership clings to him more now. Warriors look to him with new eyes—not just as a fighter, but as something more. Some say "he was touched by the Old Flame." Others say "Vael'Ruun rides within his shadow." Kaelen ignores them. He has no room for myth. Only purpose.
Inside, Vael'Ruun's memories hum like a second heart.
A Private Conversation – Doubts on the Trail
That night, as the camp rests among jagged stones, Kaelen sits with the Awakened—the one who's remained his quiet compass. They share a meager fire, too tired for warmth to matter.
Kaelen finally speaks.
"When I was younger, I used to think destiny meant certainty. That it was something written for you. Now it feels like a chain I forged myself—and locked to my own throat."
The Awakened pokes the fire thoughtfully.
"You think destiny is a script. It's not. It's a choice made louder by those who believe in it. The chain only tightens if you stop pulling against it."
Kaelen studies them. "Would you pull against it? If you had something ancient waking inside you?"
A pause.
"Only if it tried to make me forget who I am."
Discovery – The Vault Beneath the Hills
At dawn, scouts return with news. A structure—half-buried in stone, veiled by illusion tech—lies less than a league ahead. Not a city. A vault.
Kaelen recognizes the name etched into the metal when they arrive:
"The Conduit of Reversion."
An Isu relay station. Built to store pre-fall intelligence—data, memories, even partial consciousness fragments. The last one Kaelen encountered left him reeling for days. This one… feels alive.
They descend into the vault with care. Inside: perfect preservation. Smooth gold-veined walls, columns humming with low energy, and a central platform made of obsidian glass.
"This place wasn't just a relay," Kaelen mutters. "It was… a lens."
He steps forward—again compelled—and activates the central console with a thought.
The room darkens.
A projection flares to life.
Not a map. A figure.
Zarxes.
Not present, but recorded. His voice echoes through the chamber—ancient, steady, and scornful.
"To those who awaken after me: know that I offered peace. They refused. Know that the war was born from cowardice. That Vael'Ruun sealed our fate. But I… I will rewrite it."
The projection flickers—then shifts.
A new face appears. A woman. Isu. Regal. Eyes burning gold.
Kaelen staggers back.
"Eryalis…"
Vael'Ruun's consort. Strategist of the Old Rebellion. Supposedly killed in the Betrayal of Elun'Kai.
She speaks.
"If you are hearing this… then he has begun again. Zarxes always planned for a return. A second shaping. But he cannot do it alone. He needs a vessel."
"He needs… a Spark."
Closing – The Realization
The projection fades. Silence falls.
The Awakened steps beside Kaelen. "What does that mean?"
Kaelen doesn't answer immediately.
But inside, the answer is already burning through him. The memory. The truth.
Zarxes doesn't just want to conquer the world.
He wants to reignite the Isu Age—by resurrecting his kind through hosts.
And Kaelen…Kaelen isn't just a threat.
He's a key.