The man approached.
He was tall, gray-haired, distinguished. He wore a suit—simple, elegant, expensive. He smiled as he approached, his eyes fixed on the cockpit.
"Welcome," he said. "I'm President Aldric. Thank you for your help."
Aurelion stared at him through the cockpit's viewscreen.
"Noah," he whispered. "What do I do?"
"Talk to him. But be careful."
"Careful how?"
"He's the President. He's powerful. He's... dangerous."
Aurelion opened the cockpit.
The hatch hissed, the seals breaking, the metal groaning. He climbed out slowly, his small body moving carefully, his eyes fixed on the President below.
The crowd gasped.
They had been expecting a soldier. A pilot. An adult. Instead, they got a child—a small boy in worn clothes, his face pale, his eyes tired.
President Aldric's smile didn't waver.
"Interesting," he said. "I wasn't expecting a child."
Aurelion jumped down from the Godframe, landing on the ground with a soft thud. He straightened, his small body trembling, his eyes fixed on the President.
"I'm not just a child," he said.
Aldric raised an eyebrow. "No?"
"No."
"Then what are you?"
Aurelion paused.
"I'm... someone who wants to help."
Aldric studied him for a long moment.
Then he nodded.
"Follow me," he said. "We have much to discuss."
They walked through the capital.
The building was massive—towering ceilings, gleaming floors, endless corridors. Soldiers lined the walls, their weapons ready, their eyes fixed on Aurelion. He ignored them. He kept his eyes on the President, on the man who led this city, on the man who held all the answers.
They reached an office.
It was large—a sprawling space filled with books and screens and data crystals. A massive desk sat at the center, its surface covered in papers and reports. A window looked out over the city, showing the towers, the streets, the people.
Aldric sat down behind the desk.
"Please," he said. "Sit."
Aurelion sat.
"You pilot a Godframe," Aldric said. "A very old one. One that hasn't been seen in decades."
"Yes."
"How?"
Aurelion paused.
"I found it," he said. "In the wasteland. In an abandoned factory."
Aldric's eyes narrowed.
"The wasteland is forbidden. No one is allowed beyond the walls."
"I know."
"Then why did you go?"
Aurelion met his gaze.
"Because I needed to understand."
"Understand what?"
"Everything."
Aldric studied him.
Then he leaned back.
"You're not from here," he said.
It wasn't a question.
Aurelion's blood went cold.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean you're not from this city. Not from this world. You're... something else."
Aurelion didn't answer.
Aldric smiled.
"Don't worry," he said. "I'm not going to hurt you. I'm not going to imprison you. I'm not going to do anything... unpleasant."
"Then what do you want?"
Aldric leaned forward.
"I want to know what you are. And I want to know why you're here."
Aurelion was silent.
He didn't know what to say. He didn't know what to do. He didn't know if he could trust this man—this President, this leader, this stranger.
"Noah," he said. "What do I do?"
Noah was silent for a moment.
"Tell him the truth," he said. "Or part of it."
"What part?"
"The part that won't get us killed."
Aurelion took a breath.
"You're right, I'm not from here," he said. "I'm from... somewhere else. Somewhere far away. I don't know how I got here. I don't know why I'm here. But I'm trying to figure it out."
Aldric nodded slowly.
"And the Godframe? How did you pilot it?"
"It was designed for two pilots. Two minds. In sync."
"And you had two minds?"
Aurelion paused.
"Yes."
Aldric's eyes narrowed.
"Interesting."
This kid's just insane huh, retorted Aldric in his mind.
He stood.
"We've been trying to figure out what went wrong for decades," Aldric said. "The Godframes were built to fight the Colossi. And they were originally piloted by humans. Every single one of them."
He walked toward the window, looking out at the city.
"But something happened. We don't know what. Some kind of... resonance. A corruption. It affected the pilots, and through them, the machines. They went haywire. Turned on us. Destroyed everything they were supposed to protect."
"All of them?" Aurelion asked.
"All of them," Aldric confirmed. "Except Echocore."
Aurelion leaned forward.
"Who made Echocore?"
Aldric was silent for a moment, his gaze fixed on the skyline.
"We don't know," he admitted. "It's older than the Godframe Program. Older than our records. We think it was probably another country—one of the ones that fell during the first waves. They built it before they were wiped out. But we have no designs, no blueprints, no records of its construction."
Aurelion frowned.
"Have you ever met its pilots?"
Aldric turned to look at him.
"No," he said. "No one has."
"Noah," Aurelion thought. "Did you hear that?"
"Yes."
"If every Godframe needs two pilots... and no one has ever met Echocore's pilots..."
"Then who's piloting it?" Noah finished.
Aurelion looked at the President.
If Echocore was the only one that didn't go rogue, and its pilots were a complete mystery... what did that make it?
"Noah," Aurelion thought. "This doesn't make any sense."
"I know."
"If Echocore is that old, and its pilots are unknown... how has it been fighting for so long?"
"I don't know," Noah said. "But maybe the President is right. Maybe it's just... a weapon. A weapon left behind by someone else."
Aurelion didn't believe that. Not for a second. The way Echocore had looked at him—the cold, empty stare that seemed to pierce right through the Godframe's armor and into his very soul—it wasn't the look of a mindless machine. It was the look of something that understood far more than it let on.
But he couldn't say that to Aldric. Not yet.
Aldric turned from the window, his eyes sharp and calculating as he looked down at Aurelion. "Regardless of its origins, you have done something no one else has been able to do in decades. You piloted a Godframe. You fought a Colossus and survived. And that is a resource this city cannot afford to ignore."
"A resource," Aurelion repeated flatly.
"A hero," Aldric corrected smoothly. "And heroes deserve recognition. Which is why I'm granting you a place in the Seraph Academy."
Aurelion blinked. "The what?"
"The Seraph Academy," Aldric repeated. "It is where we train those chosen to wield the power of a Seraph. You will learn to harness the light, to control your abilities, to fight on a level beyond what any normal human could achieve."
"Noah," Aurelion thought, his heart pounding. "He wants to make me a Seraph."
"I heard," Noah replied, his voice tinged with awe.
"I... I'm not a Seraph," Aurelion said aloud.
"Not yet," Aldric agreed. "But you have the potential. You survived a neural link that should have killed you. You fought a Colossus and survived. You have a will that is... exceptional." He smiled. "The Academy will shape that will. It will give you the power to fight alongside Aegis Radiant and the others. To protect this city."
Aurelion didn't know what to say.
He didn't want to become a Seraph. He didn't want to be a hero. He didn't want to be the weapon this man was trying to shape him into.
But he needed answers. And the Academy—the Seraphim Program—was where those answers would be.
"Noah," he thought. "This might be our only chance to find out the truth."
"I know," Noah said. "But it's dangerous."
"Everything's dangerous."
"Then be careful."
Aurelion looked up at the President.
"I'll do it," he said. "I'll join the Academy."
Aldric's smile widened. "Excellent. I'll have the paperwork drawn up immediately." He turned back to his desk, his mind already moving on to the next task. "As for the Godframe you brought in—it's old. Outdated by decades. But the Academy's engineers can upgrade it. Make it faster. Stronger. More deadly."
He looked at Aurelion.
"We'll call it Heatblade," he said. "A fitting name for a Godframe piloted by a warrior of the Academy."
Aurelion didn't care what they called it. It was just a machine. A tool. A means to an end.
But the name sent a chill down his spine.
"Thank you," he said.
Aldric nodded. "You'll begin your training tomorrow. Until then, you'll be assigned quarters in the Academy's dormitories. Soldiers will escort you."
Aurelion stood.
He walked toward the door, his small body moving carefully, his mind reeling. He had a place now. A purpose. A way to find answers.
But as he reached the door, he paused.
"President Aldric," he said.
Aldric looked up. "Yes?"
"When you said the Godframes went rogue... did any of the pilots survive?"
Aldric's expression didn't change. But something flickered in his eyes—something dark, something hidden.
"No," he said. "None of them survived."
Aurelion nodded slowly.
He walked out of the office.
And he wondered what other lies the President was telling.