The sea wind hit Kael's face with a chill that no Void energy could buffer.
Veylin Reach loomed ahead—an island shrouded in dense fog and broken by jagged cliffs. It was said to be abandoned after the Aether Collapse, sealed off due to exposure to raw, unstable energies. But if Tessa's decoded data was right, it wasn't just a quarantine zone—it was a graveyard of forbidden experiments and the original staging ground for the Nexus Seed Project.
The air was thick with residual Aether—the kind that made metal hum and bones ache. Rai squinted from the helm of the drop-ship they'd stolen, piloting it manually as Dominion sensors still scoured the skies for them.
"Remind me why we're going into a place that glows like a failed nuclear womb?" Rai muttered, scanning the island's decayed infrastructure.
Kael, standing beside him, didn't flinch. "Because this place holds the truth behind why I exist."
Iria, adjusting her cloak to account for the static-charged atmosphere, added, "And possibly why Cipher's been watching you."
Kael turned. "You saw him?"
"In the ruins. Watching from the walls after the Titan fell. He didn't intervene—but he chose to watch."
Kael exhaled slowly. "He's not done with me."
The drop-ship coasted silently toward a jagged outcrop. Tessa's voice crackled through their comms from a distant safe point.
"You're coming up on the vault entrance," she said. "Dominion classified it as 'Site Null.' I'm sending you a map overlay now. Expect traps—this place was built to keep things in, not just people out."
The ship landed with a hiss of steam, and they stepped onto the ashen sand. The ground beneath them shimmered with fractured Aether lines—veins of unstable power that cracked like lightning underfoot.
As they approached the vault gates, the old Dominion logo came into view—worn but still glowing faintly with residual power. Kael stepped forward and placed his palm against the biometric scanner.
It lit up immediately.
"Subject recognized," a synthesized voice said. "Kael Veyrn. Access level: Founder-class override."
Iria's eyes widened. "Founder-class?"
Kael's voice was quiet. "I think… I was born here."
The gates hissed open, revealing a descending corridor illuminated by flickering lights. The walls bore etched symbols—arcane and scientific, intertwining like a fusion of mysticism and engineering.
As they walked deeper, the air grew colder, denser. The architecture shifted. The further they descended, the less it resembled Dominion tech and more something… ancient. Alien.
Rai paused beside a large mural etched into the wall—depicting a humanoid figure standing before a swirling Nexus, surrounded by fractured timelines and shattered realities.
"This wasn't just a lab," Rai said. "It was a shrine."
Kael nodded. "They weren't just building weapons. They were reaching for godhood."
Suddenly, lights flared red.
"Containment breach detected," the facility AI announced. "Warning: Subject Sigma-X is no longer in stasis."
Iria drew her blade. "What the hell is Subject Sigma-X?"
A deep, rhythmic thud echoed through the walls.
Kael's voice dropped. "Something that never should've woken."
The team broke into a sprint, following the AI's voice as it updated in real-time. Tessa's voice buzzed in again. "I'm reading a pulse from the lower chamber—Kael, there's a signature matching your Nexus frequency, but it's distorted. Wrong. It's like… a reverse mirror."
They reached the vault's inner sanctum.
The chamber was massive—circular, with walls lined by suspended containment pods. Most were shattered. Wires dangled like vines from the ceiling, and glowing glyphs lit the floor.
In the center stood a being—humanoid, tall, and armored in spiraling black chrome. Its face was hidden behind a mirror-like visor, and Void energy bled from its body like smoke.
It turned to them.
Kael froze. "No…"
Iria whispered, "Is that…?"
"It's me," Kael said, voice cracking. "Or what I could've been."
The being spoke, voice like Kael's—but colder, hollow. "You escaped your programming. I did not. I am the culmination. Nexus Prime."
Kael stepped forward. "I'm not your enemy."
"But I am yours," Nexus Prime replied. "You are a deviation. An anomaly. I was built to maintain order. You represent entropy."
Kael clenched his fists. "I represent choice."
The ground shook as Nexus Prime lifted a hand, and black Aether erupted. The floor shattered, and Rai was blown back. Iria dashed in, clashing blades with the Prime—each strike sending shockwaves through the chamber.
Kael leapt in, matching the Prime move for move. But as they fought, he realized something terrifying—he was the Prime's equal in strength, speed, and technique. Every ability, every instinct—it was like fighting a perfect reflection of himself with no hesitation or mercy.
"You were never meant to feel," the Prime said, driving Kael into a pillar. "You were meant to obey."
Kael coughed, blood trickling from his mouth. "Then they failed."
Rai roared, firing a condensed bolt of lightning that disrupted the Prime's armor long enough for Iria to slice through its left arm. The Prime didn't scream. It recalculated.
"Aberration detected," it said. "Recalibrating."
Kael rose, his eyes burning. "You're not me."
He summoned the Void, not as a weapon, but as an extension of will. The chamber shifted. The glyphs beneath them responded to him now—not the Prime. They lit with Kael's signature, pulsing in sync with his heartbeat.
The Prime faltered.
"No," it said, voice cracking. "The code is bound—"
"I rewrote it," Kael growled. "And now I'll finish what they started."
Kael raised both hands. The glyphs surged, forming a containment circle. The Void collapsed inward, trapping the Prime in a stasis field that fed off Kael's pulse.
The Prime struggled, glitching violently. "You… will become me."
Kael shook his head. "I choose not to."
With a final command, the glyphs sealed—and Nexus Prime was frozen, mid-motion, eyes locked on Kael in eternal defiance.
The chamber went silent.
Rai helped Kael to his feet. "You okay?"
Kael nodded weakly. "No. But I will be."
Iria looked around. "There's more here. Files. Truths. We need to dig."
Kael approached the central console. As he touched it, a holographic display flared to life—detailing the entire Nexus Seed Project.
Thousands of names. Hundreds of failed experiments.
One success.
Kael Veyrn: Subject Zero.
A message played, from a voice Kael didn't recognize—but it chilled him.
"If Subject Zero awakens fully, he will unmake the balance. The Void Nexus is not a tool. It is a god-seed. And we planted it in him."
Kael stepped back, trembling.
Rai swallowed. "What does that make you, then?"
Kael stared at the frozen Prime, then at his own reflection in the console.
"Something new," he whispered. "Something dangerous. To everyone."