When Aren opened his eyes, the world smelled like rain and ash.
He was lying on cold metal, the floor of the old storm tunnels beneath Sector Eleven. The ceiling dripped steadily, each drop echoing like a heartbeat. His entire body ached — every muscle felt scorched from the inside out.
For a moment, he couldn't move. The air shimmered faintly around him, golden dust still floating in the dark. Then he realized — it wasn't dust. It was Astralis residue. The same light that had poured out of him still lingered, slow and alive, like stars refusing to fade.
"Easy…"
A soft voice pulled him back. His mother knelt beside him, her hands trembling but gentle. Lira Vale's face was pale, eyes rimmed red. She had found him somehow — dragged him here, hidden him beneath the city before the soldiers could finish the sweep.
"You burned for hours," she whispered. "Your body— it was glowing, Aren."
He tried to speak, but his throat was raw. "Where's Dad?"
The silence that followed said everything.
Lira looked away, clutching her son's hand tight. Her tears fell without sound.
Aren closed his eyes. For a long time, he didn't move. The only sound was the steady rhythm of water hitting the floor, like a clock counting down to something unseen.
Above them, the city burned.
The Ascendancy's official broadcasts called it a "containment breach." They claimed a rogue anomaly had destabilized the outer grid — that it was under control. But in the streets, rumors spread like wildfire.
People whispered of a boy who survived the Abyss. A light that devoured the storm. A monster born from the stars.
The Vanguard Directorate sealed off the district. Patrols increased. Energy scanners swept every home. And deep beneath the chaos, Aren Vale hid in the dark — his heart still flickering with golden light.
Sometimes, when he closed his eyes, he could feel the forest breathing again.
And in those moments, he heard voices — faint, endless, intertwined with the hum of the world.
> "The Primal Node has awakened…"
"The stars remember their child."
Outside, Novara was changing.
The winds carried new energy. The plants along the sector's border glowed faintly in the night. Machines began to fail for no reason. The balance between nature and machine trembled.
And far beyond the clouds, something vast stirred among the stars — as if answering a signal it had waited centuries to hear.
Aren sat up slowly, watching his reflection shimmer in a pool of faint golden water.
His eyes burned with light once more.
> "If the world's going to hunt me…" he whispered,
"…then I'll make sure it remembers my name."
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