Skybound Odyssey – Chapter 31: Solarius Rising
The seas near the equator burned with unnatural heat. Steam pillars rose miles into the sky, forming stormclouds that turned sunlight red. Beneath the waves, ancient hulls cracked open—remnants of a forgotten Empire starship, once thought lost to myth.
But Solarius… had never been lost.
It had been waiting.
---
Above the Boiling Sea
The Skywing Falcon skimmed the edge of the storm front, its wings creaking as the heat warped metal and fried circuits.
Juno yelled from the cockpit, "If we get any closer, we're flying inside a volcano!"
Sena studied the rising spire of golden alloy ahead. "That's not a volcano. That's the Solarius Citadel—and it's activating."
Ryo stood at the open hatch, his red coat flapping in the wind, eyes glowing faintly. "It's calling… just like Nexus did. But louder. Hotter. Like it's burning my name into the sky."
Arashi joined him. "This Citadel's not like the others. I can feel it. It's alive."
Ryo nodded. "And someone's already inside."
---
Deep within the Citadel – The Lightborn
The throne room of Solarius was unlike any other. Instead of metal, it was made of crystallized sunlight—liquid glass frozen mid-ripple.
Sitting in the throne was a figure wrapped in solar cloth, skin marked with golden glyphs, eyes like twin suns.
Vael Solon—the first Lightborn. The Empire's "perfect weapon." A child born from engineered starlight.
He had never failed a sync. Because he had never been human.
> "Ryo Stormheart," he said softly, gazing into a sunlike hologram.
"Your spark disturbs the balance. You were never meant to survive the labs."
"Now I must burn you from the equation."
He raised his hand.
And Solarius awakened.
---
Attack from the Skyfire
Suddenly, pillars of flame shot upward from the sea. A radiant shield ignited around the Citadel, and dozens of solar drones flew out like phoenixes of metal and heat.
> "We're under attack!" Sena shouted. "We've got incoming solar guardians!"
Arashi summoned a flame wall around the cockpit. "They're trying to keep us out. We need a direct drop!"
Ryo turned to Lyra. "Get the Falcon above the throne spire."
Lyra hesitated. "That's suicide."
He smiled. "Only if we miss."
---
The Solar Descent
With a burst of stormlight, Ryo leapt from the Falcon midair, Arashi beside him. Together they plummeted through heatwaves and plasma bursts, dodging solar drones as they spiraled downward toward the Citadel's glass crown.
Just as they were about to crash—
> BOOM!
The throne spire split open, revealing a glowing chamber. The Core of Solarius.
They landed inside in a thunderous blast of light and fire.
Vael Solon stood before them, unburned. Calm. Radiant.
> "You came," he said. "Good. Now kneel."
Ryo raised a fist. "I don't kneel for dead empires."
---
Clash of Suns and Storms
Vael raised both hands—sunlight condensed into blades. He struck faster than sight, teleporting with light-pulses. Ryo blocked with arcs of lightning, each hit ringing like war bells.
Arashi flanked him, her fire dancing to the rhythm of Solarius' heat. But Vael's power was overwhelming.
> "I am not bound by the flesh," Vael hissed. "I am Solarius."
Ryo grinned. "Then let's overload the sun."
He threw Leviathan's sync crystal into the Core. It pulsed. The chamber cracked.
Arashi followed, plunging her Vyrae shard into the floor.
The system glitched—power surged wildly.
> "Incompatible source energy detected…"
"System destabilizing… Pilot sync corrupted…"
Ryo and Arashi locked hands. Their elements fused—flame and lightning roaring into the heart of the throne.
And then—
> "New Protocol Accepted."
"Stormflare Sync Achieved."
Solarius flared white—so bright it seared the sky.
---
Outside
The drones dropped. The sea cooled. The barrier faded.
Sena watched in awe. "They did it… they synced Solarius."
Lyra exhaled. "Four Citadels down. Two left."
---
Vael Solon knelt… flickering.
"You… reprogrammed the light…" he said, fading. "You've broken the code…"
Then he vanished—like a dying star.
---
Back aboard the Falcon
Ryo stood on the deck, holding the fourth sync crystal—now glowing gold.
"We have the fire," he said. "But I saw something inside the throne. A vision…"
Arashi looked at him. "What did you see?"
"A ship," Ryo whispered. "Not from this world."
And behind it—an eye. Watching from beyond the stars.
---
Far away… in a desert of ash
A Citadel buried in red sands stirred.
> CITADEL FIVE: TITANUS—ARMING.
And somewhere nearby, a boy with white hair smiled at a crater of molten glass.
> "Time to see if Stormheart remembers me."