The jungle gave way to scorched rock—cracked ground, red veins glowing beneath the surface. Steam hissed from vents. They were nearing the third Core Marker.
Darius's system pulsed.
> [Signal Strength: 86%]
Warning: Core Zone Active – Thermal Hostiles Detected]
He raised a hand. "Slow. There's something up ahead."
They crept forward through the sulfur-scorched air.
Then—movement. Not from the front.
Behind them.
"Stop," Darius whispered. Rowan turned, blade ready. Aric gripped his shield.
A figure stepped out of the mist and smoke—lean, scarred, walking like she owned the world beneath her boots.
Kaelira.
Behind her, the air shimmered. A massive shape—the Ashdrake—crawled into view, glowing faintly with embers along its flanks.
Rowan immediately moved to protect Darius. "Who—"
"I wouldn't," Kaelira said calmly, eyes locking on Darius. "He's the one I came for."
Darius held his ground. "You tracking me?"
She smirked. "More like watching the wake of your mess. You cracked a Node. Woke a Guardian. That's not small."
"And you are?"
"Survivor. Like you."
Her system flickered briefly—only Darius caught it. Fractured. But still there.
He didn't lower his weapon. "You're not with the system."
"Nope."
"What do you want?"
Kaelira's gaze flicked to the obsidian shard strapped to Darius's belt. "Maybe to talk. Maybe to kill you. Depends what you do next."
Aric stepped forward. "Try it and we find out."
But Kaelira just stared at Darius.
"You're not the first to think you can restart the empire," she said quietly. "But you might be the last who gets the chance."
Then, without another word, she turned her back on them—and walked past, straight toward the Core Marker signal.
The Ashdrake paused beside Darius. Its eyes glowed orange. Then it followed.
Darius exhaled. His fingers curled tighter on the core shard.
"…We follow her," he said.
Rowan stared. "You sure?"
"She knows more than we do."
"And if she turns?"
Darius's eyes narrowed.
"Then we turn faster."
---