Skybound Odyssey – Chapter 13: The Whispering Vault
Later that night, the Stormchaser rested in the shadows of a Skygrave hangar, patched up just enough to fly.
Ryo leaned on a railing above the city, watching the neon haze and drifting embers of a place that had long since stopped believing in heroes.
Lyra joined him, her jacket dusty and torn. "Razor's out cold. Word's spreading fast—you're kind of a legend here now."
Ryo gave a tired grin. "Great. Another place I can't show my face in."
She hesitated, then said, "You've been quiet since the fight."
Ryo looked down at his sparking hand. "Selena said I wasn't supposed to exist. I think… she meant it literally."
Lyra frowned. "You think you were… created or something?"
"I don't know." He looked at her. "But there's someone who might."
---
Hours later…
They slipped through the undercity of Skygrave—past rusted tunnels, forgotten vaults, and beneath flickering neon signs.
Their destination was deep beneath the ruins of an old Skyborne research tower.
There, hidden behind layers of rock and scrap, was a door sealed with an emblem—a glowing mark that responded to Ryo's touch.
Click.
The door creaked open.
Lyra raised an eyebrow. "How did you know this place existed?"
Ryo gave her a sideways look. "I didn't. I just followed a memory I didn't know I had."
Inside was a long-forgotten vault—dusty machines, flickering lights, and in the center… a man.
He sat on an old chair beside a rusted terminal, his body frail, his eyes glowing faintly with synthetic light.
When he looked up and saw Ryo, he smiled.
"Took you long enough, Prototype Zero."
Ryo froze. "What did you just call me?"
The man chuckled weakly. "They told me you died during the uprising. But I knew better."
Lyra stepped in. "Who are you?"
The man straightened, wincing as he stood.
"My name is Dr. Kairo Voss. I was the lead engineer of Project Stormheart… and I made him."
He nodded at Ryo.
Ryo's breath caught. "What are you saying?"
Kairo stepped forward and placed a hand on Ryo's shoulder.
"You weren't born, Ryo. You were built. Designed to hold the power of the skies. The last of a line of living weapons meant to control the storms."
Lyra gasped. "That's why the Empire wants him… they're afraid he'll remember."
Kairo nodded slowly. "And if he does… he could bring down the entire Skyborn throne."