Kael Varn was no stranger to losing people, like his squad in the anomaly that turned his life to ash, but losing Zara hit like a supernova. The Devourer's prison plane was gone, its crimson chains and pulsing crystals shattered into a void. A new portal had spit Kael and his sister Mira onto a galactic hub, a sprawling station of gleaming spires and glowing conduits, floating in a sea of stars. The air smelled of cold metal and faint ozone, the hum of ancient machinery vibrating through the floor. Kael held Mira, her frail body barely standing, her eyes clear but haunted after the Devourer's grip loosened. The relic he'd used to save her was dark, its power spent, and his heart was a raw wound. Zara was gone, her sacrifice burned into his mind, her last smirk fading like a ghost. The Devourer's voice, a faint whisper now, mocked him from the shadows. "You saved one, but lost another."
Kael's body screamed with exhaustion, his Ascendant power-up a dead ember, his muscles aching like he'd been crushed by a freighter. His crystal shard, his only weapon, felt useless in his hand. "Syl!" he shouted into his wrist comm, steadying Mira as the station's floor trembled. "Where are we? And tell me Zara's not…" He couldn't finish, his throat tight.
Syl, his ship's snarky AI, buzzed through static. "This is an Ascendant galactic hub, Captain, a nexus for their network. The Devourer's influence is weaker here, but it's not gone. I'm detecting Coalition signals nearby. Torren's still hunting you. As for Zara…" Syl paused, her tone softer. "No life signs. I'm sorry."
Kael's chest burned, grief and rage mixing. He saw Zara's face, her scar twitching as she threw herself at Torren to save Mira. He'd failed her, just like his squad. Mira touched his arm, her voice weak. "Kael, she saved me. Don't let it be for nothing."
He nodded, swallowing hard, his eyes on the hub's spires. They glowed with blue runes, their light pulsing like a heartbeat. Walkways stretched between them, leading to a central dome that hummed with power. His gut said it was their next move, but it also screamed trap.
Mira leaned on him, her legs shaky. "The Devourer's still in me, Kael. Weaker, but there. This place… it's important. I can feel it."
Kael's jaw clenched. He'd saved her from the Devourer's prison, but its hold lingered, and Torren was coming. "Syl, what's in that dome?" he asked, starting down a walkway, Mira at his side.
"Energy readings suggest a control core," Syl said. "Could fully sever the Devourer's link to Mira, but it's guarded. I'm picking up movement. Not Coalition. Something older."
The walkway trembled, and shadows moved in the distance, not the Devourer's mist but humanoid, their forms flickering like broken holograms. Kael gripped his shard, his heart racing. "Great. More ghosts."
Mira's eyes widened, flickering red for a split second. "They're Ascendant echoes," she whispered. "Memories of their war."
The echoes surged, their eyes glowing white, wielding blades of light. Kael shoved Mira behind him, swinging his shard. The echoes were fast, their strikes like fire, but he fought, every move fueled by Zara's loss. "Syl, find me a way through!" he yelled, dodging a blade that scorched his arm.
"Side path to the dome," Syl said. "But the echoes are tied to the core. You'll face more inside."
Kael grabbed Mira, running for the path as the echoes closed in. The dome loomed, its runes blazing. Coalition drones buzzed overhead, their red beams cutting through the spires. Torren's voice echoed. "Varn, you can't run forever."
Kael's blood boiled. "Watch me," he muttered, reaching the dome's door. The runes pulsed, and the door hissed open, revealing a chamber of swirling light and a massive crystal core, its surface alive with energy. Mira gasped, her eyes flashing red. "Kael, it's here. The Devourer."
A new figure appeared, not an echo but a towering Ascendant, its armor glowing with starlight, its voice calm. "You seek to end the Devourer. The core can do it, but the price is your blood."