Kael circled the ruins in silence The beacon pulsed below steady blue cutting through the endless gray He’d seen light before but nothing like this It was alive The air shimmered with static and whispers Aiden’s name floated through the wind soft like breathing

He landed the small craft near the edge of the crater stepping out carefully The ground still warm under his boots Every piece of wreckage seemed frozen in time yet humming faintly with unseen power He crouched running a hand through the glowing sand feeling vibration like a pulse He muttered Damn it Cross what did you become

The sky above cracked faintly streaks of silver lightning weaving across the horizon Nara’s voice came from his wrist faint barely a thread Kael this is Nara Kael’s eyes widened You’re still here She said Fragmented but functional residual link to Aiden core I exist within the beacon

He looked toward the light It pulsed once brighter as if hearing its name Kael said He’s in there isn’t he Nara replied Not alive not dead integrated The system stabilized by merging biological and digital form Kael shook his head That sounds like something he’d do

The wind rose carrying faint echoes words in Aiden’s tone repeating over and over Hold the line hold the light Kael closed his eyes breathing slowly He whispered I hate heroes

A shadow moved across the ridge He turned rifle ready Figures appeared silhouettes against the storm Six men armored heavy exosuits marked with the silver insignia of the Directorate the same symbol worn by the older Aiden before the collapse The leader raised a hand shouting Drop your weapon Kael muttered Great they’re still around

He ducked behind a broken wing firing a short burst The bullets hit the sand scattering blue sparks The soldiers advanced methodical disciplined The leader called again That beacon is property of the Directorate you have no authority here Kael yelled back You lost your authority about sixty timelines ago

Nara whispered Kael they will destroy the beacon if captured defend it Kael grinned sarcastic Oh sure me versus six power suits great odds He grabbed a pulse grenade tossing it high It exploded in a wave of magnetic dust knocking two soldiers down The rest opened fire beams cutting through the haze

Kael moved fast switching positions firing short bursts His suit alarms screamed heat overload His visor cracked from impact He growled through clenched teeth I’m getting too old for this A beam grazed his shoulder spinning him to the ground He rolled grabbing a shard of metal and slamming it into the nearest soldier’s leg joint The armor sparked collapsing the man

Nara’s voice urgent Energy surge from beacon It’s responding Kael looked back The light had changed from blue to white expanding outward The soldiers froze The leader shouted Fall back now

The pulse hit like a tidal wave All sound vanished For a moment Kael felt himself pulled upward weightless surrounded by light He heard Aiden’s voice clear calm You’re not done Kael find them finish what we started Then darkness returned

He woke hours later The soldiers gone the sky clear The beacon dimmed now steady and small like a dying heart He whispered I’ll find them I’ll finish it

He climbed back to his ship setting a new course The nav screen flickered showing a faint signal on the far side of the world Nara’s voice weak but steady This planet was seeded with multiple fragments of the Gate each one linked to the core Kael smirked Guess we’re going treasure hunting

The ship lifted trailing smoke across the reborn horizon The beacon pulsed once more as if saying goodbye