The Odyssey was only a few hundred meters away, its hull glinting faintly through the red haze. The sight of it gave Daniel a burst of hope—until the ground convulsed with a violent roar.
A deafening crack split the air. The earth beneath them gave way like shattered glass.
"Jump back!" Commander Hayes shouted, but it was too late. The ridge crumbled, and the entire team tumbled downward in a cascade of dust and stone.
Daniel's world spun. He felt weightless for a heartbeat, then slammed onto a sloping surface of rock. His helmet jolted hard, his vision bursting into stars. He rolled, bounced, and slid until finally—darkness swallowed him.
---
When Daniel opened his eyes, silence hung heavy in the air. His suit's HUD flickered weakly, warning of minor damage but still intact. He groaned, forcing himself up.
Around him, the others were stirring—Hayes clutching his side, Okafor pushing himself upright, Marquez coughing into her helmet. They had all survived the fall, though shaken and battered.
"Everyone sound off," Hayes rasped. "Status?"
One by one, voices answered. Bruised. Exhausted. But alive. Relief swept through the group—until they noticed where they had landed.
The chasm wasn't just a crack in the ground. It was a vast, hidden chamber beneath the Martian surface. The walls shimmered faintly, dust clinging to smooth surfaces that didn't look natural. They looked carved. Ancient.
And at the very center, half-buried in the red soil, was the source of the glow.
A crystal.
It pulsed with a faint, bluish light—its facets humming softly, as if alive. It was far larger than any mineral Daniel had ever seen, its surface etched with strange patterns that caught the eye but slipped from memory the moment you tried to study them.
Dr. Marquez's breath caught. "This… this isn't geological. This was placed here."
"No way," Okafor muttered, shaking his head in disbelief. "This is impossible. NASA never… we never recorded anything like this."
Daniel's eyes widened as he staggered closer. The light of the crystal reflected in his visor, casting ghostly shadows across his face. Though he wasn't the protagonist of any prophecy, he couldn't shake the feeling that this crystal had been waiting. For centuries.
Commander Hayes raised a hand. "Don't touch it. Nobody lays a finger on that thing until we figure out what we're dealing with."
But the crystal seemed to hear them.
It pulsed brighter, humming louder, until the entire cavern vibrated in rhythm with its light. Dust rained from the ceiling. The crew staggered back, fear rising in their throats.
Daniel whispered, "What the hell… is it doing?"
And then, like a heartbeat answering its own call, the crystal shone with blinding brilliance—flooding the cavern with an otherworldly glow that swallowed them whole.