The fleet hung silent in the void. Hundreds of warships, their glyphs burning like a constellation of fire, all turned toward Maya. For the first time since the collapse, the Archive was quiet in her veins. Not gone — waiting.
Vector paced the shattered bridge, restless, his jaw clenched. "We need to move before they regroup. The Architects don't just throw one fleet and quit."
Rei sat slumped at a console, eyes still burning with reverence. "They'll come back harder. Stronger. But it doesn't matter. Don't you see? The Ghost Fleet is ours now. With Maya at the center, nothing can stop us."
"Us?" Vector snapped. "You mean her. And if you had half a brain left, you'd realize it's killing her."
Maya tuned out their voices, her gaze fixed on the viewport. The debris of the Architect fleet floated like bones, glowing faintly red. But something else shimmered there too — a signal, faint but deliberate.
The Archive stirred, and the derelict's broken systems came alive, projecting it across the bridge.
A transmission.
Dozens of faces flickered into view — commanders, governors, soldiers from distant outposts. Not allies. Not enemies. Just witnesses. The Architects' broadcast had reached them all.
And the message was simple.
"Echo lives."
Gasps, curses, cheers erupted across the channels. Some voices swore vengeance, others swore allegiance. Armies stirred, factions shouted over one another. The chaos wasn't battle — it was the birth of war.
Vector slammed his fist into the railing. "Damn it. They played us. We didn't stop anything — we just lit the fire all over again."
Maya's chest hollowed. The Ghost Fleet glowed brighter, their engines waiting for her command. And in that glow, just faint enough for her alone to hear—
Kiran's voice.
"They'll come for you, Maya. All of them. And when they do… they'll use me."
Her throat closed, her breath stuttering.
The transmission ended. Silence crashed back.
The war wasn't coming. It had already begun.
🔥 Next up: Arc V begins — The Carriers. Maya will learn she isn't the only heir to Echo's legacy, and the war will draw new enemies… and rivals.