The cold bit deeper as Kael ran.
The creature behind him — mechanical, monstrous — shrieked like rusted iron tearing apart. Each of its steps crushed the concrete, echoing through the dead corridors like a storm of claws. He turned left, then right, slipping over debris and frozen puddles.
His breath burned. His lungs screamed.
Why the hell is it after me?
The Memory Core pulsed violently in his jacket, heating his chest like a second heartbeat. His hand burned from the earlier contact — lines of pale blue light traced up his forearm now, alive and glowing beneath his skin. He had no time to question it.
The beast — Warden-13 — burst through a wall behind him, crashing with the weight of a collapsing god. Sparks flew. Kael dove forward, rolled, and scrambled down a maintenance tunnel. The Warden shrieked, scanning the route, then gave chase.
Kael's voice trembled:
"Think, damn it. Think!"
He slid into a room filled with ancient terminals — dead, lifeless. No help. Then his eyes caught it.
A charging port. Old Guardian tech.
Kael yanked off the Memory Core, shoved it into the slot. The system blinked.
"Core connection established. Rebooting interface…"
A hum. Then… light.
The terminals flickered to life. Lines of alien code flashed across the walls. A holographic figure rose from the center — the same AI woman from before, clearer now. She looked at him with unreadable eyes of pure white.
"Designation: Kael. Compatibility confirmed. Dawn Code 09 — activated."
"What… what the hell does that mean?!" Kael shouted.
Behind him, the Warden was tearing through the hallway, seconds away.
The AI's voice echoed calmly:
"You were created to reignite what was lost. This world forgot the light. But it still burns within you."
The room shook. The Warden arrived, raising a massive blade.
Kael turned—ready to die.
But the Core flared. Time slowed. A pulse of light expanded from him like a wave, freezing the monster mid-motion. The light carved through its frame like holy fire.
In the silence that followed, only his own heartbeat remained.
Kael collapsed to his knees. The Warden's pieces sizzled in the frost.
He looked at his hands, still glowing faintly. A whisper left his lips:
"…What am I?"
The AI knelt beside him, her voice soft this time.
"You are the beginning of the end. Or the end of everything."
Kael looked up at the ceiling — the layers of metal and ash hiding the stars. Something had changed. He could feel it. As if something up there had noticed.
Far above the Earth, in orbit, alarms echoed through a forgotten machine fortress.
Red lights flared.
A single eye opened.
"Subject 09 has awakened. Dispatch Revenants. Initiate Eclipse Protocol."
End of Chapter 2