The silence stretched between them, heavy with unspoken truths.
Albert's fingers twitched at his sides, his breath slow, controlled. He hadn't heard that name before—The Architects—but it carried weight. Power. A history he was only now glimpsing.
And they had killed his mother.
He took a step closer, his gaze locked onto the hooded figure. "Who are they?"
The figure tilted their head slightly. "A better question is—why has your father never told you about them?"
Albert's chest tightened. His father.
Was this another secret? Another carefully buried truth hidden beneath EvoTech's towering empire?
"Answer the question," he growled.
The figure exhaled, as if expecting his reaction. "The Architects are the ones who built the foundation of power that EvoTech and the Quantum Shroud stand on today. Before there were corporations, before the factions split, before the war in the shadows… there was only them."
Albert frowned. "That doesn't explain why they killed my mother."
The stranger studied him for a moment, then gestured to the frozen image of the lab. "She was working on something. Something that threatened them. If you want the truth, you'll need to follow the path she left behind."
A memory surfaced—his mother's warm voice, her quiet strength, the way she'd held him as a child. And then, the emptiness that followed her death.
If she had left behind a trail—he would find it.
"Where do I start?"
A pause. Then, the figure's voice was measured, final. "Mars."
Albert's brow furrowed. "Mars?"
"Her last known project was buried beneath the Martian surface. Your father shut it down after she died." The figure's voice dropped. "Ask yourself why."
The thought sent a chill down Albert's spine. If this was true—if his father had hidden this from him—then how much of his past had been rewritten?
How much had been a lie?
---
Albert returned to his interceptor, his mind burning with questions. The journey to Mars wasn't just a simple flight—it was a direct step into hostile territory. EvoTech controlled vast sectors of Martian space, but the Quantum Shroud wasn't far behind.
And if the Architects were truly behind this, then there was no telling what he'd find.
As he powered up his ship, his comm-link buzzed.
Liana.
He hesitated, then answered. "I'm fine."
A sharp breath. "You never answer like that unless you're definitely not fine."
Albert exhaled. He should've known she'd catch on. "I have a lead. But I need to handle it myself."
A beat of silence. Then—"Where?"
"Mars."
Another pause. Then, quietly, "Albert… if you're digging into this, you know what that means."
He did.
It meant the truth wouldn't come without a cost.
And he was ready for it.
"I'll contact you when I have answers." He closed the comm-link before she could argue.
He locked in his trajectory, and within moments, the ship's thrusters ignited, pushing him toward the unknown.
Toward Mars.
Toward the truth.
---
Far beyond the edge of the station, a lone figure stood in the shadows, watching Albert's ship vanish into the abyss. Their visor flickered with data, tracking his departure.
A second voice crackled through their communicator.
"He's taken the bait."
The figure didn't respond immediately. Instead, they turned, their gaze shifting toward the void beyond.
"Let him dig. The past is a grave. And soon, he'll be buried in it."
The transmission cut.
And the shadows swallowed them whole.