Far above the island—within the unseen web of coded architecture tying every empire, failed or forgotten—a ripple spread from Darius's last move. The signal pulsed through buried nodes, past broken empires and sealed memories.
And it reached them.
---
> [Remote Terminal – RED CLASS ACCESS]
User: Unknown_Protocol // Sector: Obsidian Heart
Status: Active Breach Detected
Empire Rank: Reawakening Detected – Tier I]
User ID: DARIUS-0871 | Status: Engaged
Override Request: Pending
Within a dark space, lit only by hovering code fragments, a voice cracked through silence.
"…he's unlocked a Node?"
Another replied, deeper, calm.
"Yes. And he's done it without system intervention."
The first voice hissed. "That's not possible. He's not one of ours."
The deeper voice rumbled like ancient stone shifting. "Then someone… or something… reconnected him to the forgotten thread."
---
Somewhere else—beneath a buried empire tomb, where a throne once ruled over ten thousand programmed souls—an eye opened. Not flesh. Not metal. Something else.
> [Sentient Protocol 06 – Rebooting]
Subject: DARIUS-0871
Category: Disruption Variable
New Directive: Observe. Test. Extract.
Deploying: Herald Protocol
---
Back on the island, Darius's system flashed—just for a second.
A black message, not from any interface he knew.
> "You are being watched."
Then it vanished.
Darius blinked. "What the hell…?"
Rowan looked at him. "What?"
"…nothing," Darius muttered. "Let's finish the Guardian first."