The wind stirred faintly at the edge of the crater.
The Forerunner stood motionless, surrounded by a faint aura of shifting light, its silver eyes like calm fire. Argolaith faced it, sword still lowered but not sheathed, his thoughts spinning like storm winds behind his calm expression.
There were too many questions.
But he chose the one that burned most urgently.
"Where did the rest of your kind go?"
The Forerunner looked toward the sky. Not at the sun. Not at the clouds. But beyond. Past them.
"Elsewhere," it said.
Argolaith frowned. "Where is elsewhere?"
A pause.
Then—
"Another world. Far from this one. One untouched by the gods. One that remembers us still."
Kaelred blinked and stared at the being, one eyebrow raised. "Wait… you're saying you're aliens now?"
The Forerunner tilted its head at him slowly, its expression unreadable.
"I am saying we left when this world no longer had room for what we were."
