The ancient doors remained open behind them.
David looked back once.
From this side, they seemed even larger.
Two immense slabs of stone stood buried within the cavern wall, their surfaces covered in carvings that had survived longer than anything had a right to survive. The pale violet light within the symbols had already begun to fade, leaving only thin traces of illumination between the ancient markings.
Beyond them lay the passage David and June had followed through the cavern.
Beyond that...
Somewhere impossibly far above...
Gamma.
Castiel.
Nyra.
Lucian.
Mira.
David reached for his communicator.
"Gamma One to Gamma."
Static.
He waited.
"Cass, do you copy?"
Nothing.
June tried his own.
"Gamma Six to Gamma. If any of you can hear me, we'd really appreciate confirmation that you haven't abandoned us to live underground forever."
Only static answered.
June lowered the communicator.
"Tough crowd."
"We're too deep."
"I know."
June looked back through the doors.
"Still worth trying."
David nodded.
"Every few minutes."
"Agreed."
They turned toward the city.
For several seconds, neither moved.
Their field lights swept across an ancient road descending from the massive gateway.
Calling it a road almost felt inadequate.
It was wider than some military landing strips David had seen, paved with enormous dark stone slabs fitted together with extraordinary precision. Centuries—or perhaps far longer—had broken portions of it apart. Roots pushed through the gaps. Sections had buckled upward. Other areas had disappeared beneath layers of mineral deposits and pale underground vegetation.
But the road remained.
And it led directly into the city.
David raised his field light.
The beam caught the lower levels of enormous structures lining both sides.
Buildings rose from the cavern floor like mountains of carved stone.
Some had partially collapsed.
Others leaned dangerously against neighboring structures.
One tower had broken near its middle, its upper section lying across several smaller buildings.
Another remained almost completely intact.
David couldn't see its top.
June slowly turned in a circle.
"This place is enormous."
David nodded.
His voice came quietly.
"Yeah."
"How many people lived here?"
"I don't know."
June looked at him.
"Thousands?"
"Probably."
"Tens of thousands?"
"Maybe."
June raised his light toward the dark towers.
"More?"
David didn't answer.
The thought was unsettling.
A city this large hadn't been built for a handful of people.
Whoever had lived here had existed in numbers.
They had built roads.
Homes.
Monuments.
Structures whose purpose David couldn't begin to guess.
And now...
Nothing.
No voices.
No movement.
No lights except their own and the violet glow of underground fungi.
David remembered I AM's warning.
Do not mistake silence for emptiness.
His grip tightened around the field light.
June noticed.
"What?"
"Nothing."
"That didn't look like nothing."
David started down the road.
"Keep moving."
June watched him for a second before following.
Their footsteps echoed between the buildings.
Every sound seemed amplified.
Boots against stone.
Equipment shifting.
The occasional click of June's baton against his leg.
Water dripping somewhere in the distance.
David kept his Claw Gauntlets ready.
June carried the Kinetic Baton in one hand, though he hadn't activated the blade extension.
Neither lowered their guard.
The city might have been dead.
That didn't mean it was safe.
They passed the first structure.
Its entrance alone stood nearly twenty feet tall.
The doorway had no visible door remaining.
Only darkness.
June directed his light inside.
The beam revealed a wide chamber filled with collapsed stone.
Rows of raised platforms stretched across the interior.
Several had broken apart.
Others remained intact.
June stopped.
"What do you think that was?"
David looked inside.
"I don't know."
June glanced at him.
"Ask your scanner."
David's eyes shifted toward him.
June raised an eyebrow.
"You know. The scanner that somehow didn't recognize the writing but might recognize an ancient building nobody's ever seen before."
David ignored the comment.
He stepped inside.
June followed.
The air felt different within the structure.
Still.
Dry.
Dust covered everything.
David swept his light across the nearest platform.
It was waist-high and stretched almost twelve feet from one end to the other.
Several shallow grooves had been carved into its surface.
June approached another.
"Workbenches?"
"Could be."
June brushed away a layer of dust.
More grooves appeared.
Then several circular depressions.
His expression changed.
"No."
David looked over.
"What?"
June moved his light across the room.
"Not workbenches."
"How do you know?"
June pointed toward the grooves.
"These aren't random."
He traced one with his finger.
"They're guides."
"For what?"
"I don't know."
June walked toward another platform.
"Look."
The same grooves.
The same circular depressions.
Then another.
Identical.
June's interest immediately overtook his caution.
He crouched beside one of the platforms.
"Something sat here."
David watched him.
June ran his fingers along a narrow channel.
"Whatever it was, these probably held it in place."
"You sure?"
"No."
June grinned.
"But unlike you, I'm comfortable admitting when I don't know something."
David gave him a look.
June returned his attention to the platform.
He found a small recessed panel along the side.
Most of it had been covered by mineral buildup.
June pulled a compact tool from his equipment.
David stared at him.
"What are you doing?"
"Looking."
"At something that's probably thousands of years old."
"Exactly."
"June."
June carefully scraped dirt from the edge.
"I'm not going to break it."
"You don't know what it does."
"It currently does nothing."
"That's not the same thing."
June paused.
He looked at David.
"My parents own a repair station."
"I know."
"I've been taking things apart since I was old enough to hold a tool."
"That doesn't make this a good idea."
June looked at the ancient panel.
Then at his tool.
Then back at David.
"Fine."
He put the tool away.
David nodded.
June brushed the remaining dust off with his glove instead.
David sighed.
"That's still touching it."
"I'm adapting."
The panel revealed several symbols.
June's humor faded.
"Same writing."
David approached.
It was.
The symbols were smaller than those on the doors but unmistakably from the same language.
June pointed.
"Can you read those?"
David hesitated.
"No."
That was true.
He couldn't.
June stared at him for a second longer than necessary.
Then stood.
"Let's keep moving."
They returned to the road.
The city stretched ahead.
As they descended farther, more structures appeared.
Some looked almost residential.
Others were enormous complexes occupying entire sections of the cavern.
Bridges crossed overhead.
Several remained intact.
Others ended abruptly where entire sections had collapsed.
David's light moved across one bridge.
Something had been carved along its side.
Figures.
Dozens of them.
He stopped.
June followed his gaze.
"More carvings."
They approached.
The relief stretched nearly the entire length of the surviving bridge.
The first figure stood alone.
Tall.
Humanoid.
Its arms extended outward.
Above its hands were several circles.
Stars.
Or worlds.
Behind it stood others.
Twelve figures.
David counted them twice.
His expression changed.
June noticed.
"What?"
"Nothing."
"There's that word again."
David moved closer.
The carvings continued.
The twelve figures stood around something circular.
A sphere.
Light appeared to radiate from it.
Then the next section had been destroyed.
A crack split the bridge from top to bottom.
Everything beyond it had fallen away.
June studied the figures.
"Twelve."
David said nothing.
June looked at him.
"You noticed."
"Yeah."
"Think it means something?"
"Probably."
"Helpful."
David stared at the figures.
Twelve.
The number could have been coincidence.
Except after what the Relic had shown him...
David wasn't sure he believed that.
His attention remained on the carving.
Then I AM spoke.
I AM:
The Hall of Passage.
David's eyes shifted.
He didn't move.
June was still examining the carving.
David focused inward.
"What?"
I AM:
You asked what this place was.
David looked back toward the structure they'd just left.
"The building?"
I AM:
Yes.
David frowned.
"What was it?"
A pause.
I AM:
Those who traveled beyond this world prepared there.
David glanced toward June.
June was still looking at the bridge.
"A staging area?"
I AM:
In your language...
A brief pause.
I AM:
That would suffice.
David looked toward the massive structure.
So it hadn't been a workshop.
Not exactly.
June turned.
"What?"
David blinked.
"What?"
"You were staring at that building."
David looked away.
"Thinking."
June stared at him.
"Right."
They continued.
Several minutes passed.
David tried the communicator.
Nothing.
June tried his.
Nothing.
The road descended into a massive open plaza.
Their lights spread across the space.
June stopped.
"Whoa."
Statues surrounded them.
Not one.
Not ten.
Hundreds.
Most had been damaged.
Some were missing heads.
Others had lost arms or entire sections of their bodies.
Several had fallen and shattered across the plaza.
But enough remained standing to reveal what they depicted.
Humanoid figures.
Tall.
Elegant.
Each wore flowing garments carved with extraordinary detail.
Some carried objects.
Books.
Blades.
Staffs.
Tools David didn't recognize.
Others stood with empty hands.
David approached the nearest statue.
It towered nearly thirty feet above him.
The face had been damaged, but enough remained to see that the figure looked almost human.
Almost.
Its proportions were slightly different.
Longer limbs.
Sharper features.
June moved beside him.
"Who are they?"
David looked upward.
"I don't know."
June glanced at him.
David felt it before the voice came.
I AM:
The Remembered.
David's brow furrowed.
"The Remembered?"
June turned immediately.
"What?"
David froze.
He'd said it aloud.
June stared at him.
"What did you just say?"
David looked toward the statue.
"I said maybe they're supposed to be remembered."
"No, you didn't."
David looked at him.
June's eyes narrowed.
"You said, 'The Remembered.'"
David said nothing.
June waited.
"That's pretty specific."
"I was guessing."
June stared at him for several seconds.
Then looked toward the statues.
"Right."
He didn't sound convinced.
They moved deeper into the plaza.
June stopped beside a fallen statue.
A section of its base remained intact.
Writing covered it.
"David."
David approached.
"What?"
"More of it."
Several lines of ancient symbols had been carved into the stone.
June crouched.
"Think it's a name?"
David looked at the writing.
Before he could ask—
I AM:
A name.
David closed his eyes briefly.
June looked up.
"What?"
"Nothing."
"You keep doing that."
"Doing what?"
"That."
David looked at him.
June stood.
"You stop."
"So?"
"You stop moving. You stare at something. Then you get this look on your face like you're listening."
David felt his stomach tighten.
"You're imagining things."
June laughed once.
"No, I'm really not."
David turned away.
"We need to keep moving."
June watched him go.
For once, he didn't make a joke.
They crossed the plaza.
At its center stood a circular platform.
Most of it remained intact.
Twelve paths extended outward from it like spokes from a wheel.
Each led toward a different district of the city.
June climbed onto the platform.
"Now this looks important."
David followed.
A large circular symbol had been carved into its center.
Twelve smaller symbols surrounded it.
David recognized none of them.
I AM did.
I AM:
The Crossing.
David remained silent.
June looked around.
"Which way?"
David checked the compass.
East remained ahead.
One of the twelve roads continued in that direction.
"That one."
June looked toward him.
"Compass?"
"Yeah."
June glanced at David's wrist.
The compass display wasn't visible from where he stood.
He said nothing.
They continued east.
The architecture changed.
Buildings grew larger.
More elaborate.
Carvings covered their facades.
Several structures were connected by elevated walkways.
At one point, they passed beneath an arch so enormous that David's field light barely illuminated the top.
June stopped beneath it.
"Tell me you don't know what this is."
David looked at him.
"What?"
"The arch."
"I don't know."
June nodded slowly.
"Good."
David frowned.
"Good?"
"Yeah."
June started walking again.
"For a second I thought you might."
David watched him.
June knew something was wrong.
That much was obvious.
David followed.
They continued for nearly twenty minutes.
Every few minutes, David tried Gamma.
Nothing.
The deeper they traveled into the city, the more complete the structures became.
The outer sections had suffered tremendous damage.
Here, buildings still stood.
Doors remained intact.
Carvings were clearer.
Even portions of the road were almost untouched.
Then June noticed something.
"David."
He pointed toward the ground.
A thin strip of metal ran between the stone slabs.
David crouched.
Unlike everything else around them, the metal showed almost no corrosion.
June immediately knelt beside him.
"Now that's interesting."
"Don't touch it."
"I wasn't going to."
David looked at him.
June sighed.
"I was thinking about it."
David raised the field light.
The metal strip continued along the road.
Then branched.
One line entered a nearby building.
Another continued forward.
June's eyes followed it.
"Power distribution?"
David looked at him.
"You think it's electrical?"
"No idea."
June leaned closer.
"But if I were building a station and needed to run power between structures..."
He pointed.
"Something like that."
"This isn't a repair station."
"Engineering doesn't stop being engineering because somebody made it a million years ago."
David looked at the strip.
"Million?"
June shrugged.
"Ten thousand. Hundred thousand. Million. Pick something ridiculous."
David looked toward the ancient city.
He had the uncomfortable feeling June's ridiculous guess might not be ridiculous enough.
I AM:
He is correct.
David's eyes narrowed.
"About what?"
I AM:
The path carried power.
David stared at the strip.
"What kind?"
Silence.
"I AM?"
Nothing.
June stood.
"There."
David looked up.
"What?"
"You did it again."
David froze.
June pointed at him.
"That."
"I didn't do anything."
"You absolutely did."
David stood.
June's expression had changed.
The humor remained somewhere beneath it, but suspicion had taken its place.
"You looked at the metal."
"So did you."
"Then you went completely still."
David said nothing.
"Then your eyes moved."
David's jaw tightened.
June tapped the side of his own head.
"Like you're listening to somebody."
"I'm thinking."
"No."
June shook his head.
"I know what thinking looks like."
"Apparently you're an expert."
"I grew up around mechanics."
"What does that have to do with anything?"
"Have you ever watched six mechanics stare at a broken engine for forty minutes?"
Despite himself, David almost smiled.
June didn't.
"I'm serious."
That erased it.
June stepped closer.
"You knew those doors would open."
David remained silent.
"You knew what to say."
"I told you—"
"No."
June cut him off.
"You told me you thought you knew how to open them."
David watched him.
June continued.
"You couldn't read the writing."
"No."
"Your scanner couldn't read it."
"No."
"Mine couldn't either."
David didn't answer.
June pointed back toward the city behind them.
"Then we get in here and you start knowing things."
"I don't."
"The Remembered."
"I guessed."
"Bullcrap."
David's expression hardened.
June held his gaze.
"That wasn't a guess."
Neither spoke.
The dead city surrounded them.
Water dripped somewhere inside a nearby structure.
Their lights cast long shadows across the road.
June's voice softened.
"I'm not accusing you of anything."
David looked away.
"Sounds like it."
"I'm asking."
David started walking.
June followed.
"David."
"We need to find a way out."
"I know."
"Then focus on that."
"I am."
June caught his arm.
David stopped.
He looked down at June's hand.
June released him.
"Then tell me what's going on."
"Nothing's going on."
June stared at him.
"Do you really think I'm that stupid?"
"I didn't say that."
"You didn't have to."
David's jaw tightened.
June shook his head.
"I've watched you since the Academy."
That caught David's attention.
June continued.
"You notice things before everyone else."
"So does Mira."
"Mira predicts movement."
June pointed toward David.
"You know things."
David said nothing.
"Creatures. Threats. Sometimes directions. Sometimes things nobody's told us."
"Training."
"Not all of it."
David looked away.
June wasn't finished.
"And now we're standing in a city nobody knew existed, surrounded by writing neither of us can read, and you're acting like somebody's whispering answers into your ear."
David's eyes snapped toward him.
June saw it.
There.
That reaction.
June slowly nodded.
"Someone is."
David's expression went still.
June stared at him.
For several seconds, neither spoke.
Then June asked quietly.
"Who are you talking to?"
David looked toward the road.
"We should keep moving."
"No."
"June."
"No."
June stepped in front of him.
"You don't get to dodge that one."
David's voice hardened.
"Move."
June didn't.
"Who are you talking to?"
"Nobody."
June stared at him.
"You're a terrible liar."
"June."
"You stop in the middle of conversations."
David said nothing.
"You answer questions I haven't finished asking."
"Move."
"You knew how to open a door written in a language you've never seen."
David's fists tightened.
June saw that too.
His voice became quieter.
"I'm not trying to expose you."
David looked at him.
"I'm not trying to trap you."
June's expression was completely serious now.
"I'm asking because we're down here together."
That landed differently.
June gestured around them.
"Nobody else is here."
He pointed back toward the distant gateway.
"We can't reach Gamma."
Then toward the city.
"We have no idea what's ahead."
Finally, he pointed toward David.
"And you're hiding something that clearly has something to do with this place."
David stared at him.
June lowered his hand.
"If it's dangerous, I need to know."
David didn't answer.
"And if it's not dangerous..."
June paused.
"...then maybe you need to stop carrying it by yourself."
David went still.
The words hit harder than June knew.
For a moment, the ancient city disappeared.
David remembered a book.
A room.
His parents gone.
The Book resting in his hands.
His name appearing where no name had been before.
Blue light.
The first System window.
The first time he'd heard a voice that wasn't the System.
Everything that followed.
Everything he'd hidden.
Castiel didn't know.
Nyra didn't know.
Nobody knew.
Not really.
June waited.
He didn't push again.
David looked away.
"I can't."
June's expression softened.
"Can't or won't?"
"Both."
"Why?"
"Because you don't understand what you're asking."
"Then help me understand."
David shook his head.
"You can't tell anyone."
June blinked.
David realized what he'd said.
Too late.
June's expression changed.
"I knew it."
"June—"
"No jokes."
That surprised David.
June stepped closer.
"I'm serious."
David looked at him.
June held his gaze.
"If you tell me something, it stays with me."
"You don't know what it is."
"Doesn't matter."
"It might."
"It doesn't."
David looked away.
He wanted to believe that.
More than he expected.
But secrets had consequences.
His lineage alone could change everything.
The System...
I AM...
The Relic...
If any of it reached the wrong people—
I AM:
David.
David froze.
June immediately noticed.
"There."
David ignored him.
His attention turned inward.
"You told me to keep this hidden."
I AM:
I did.
David looked at June.
June was watching him carefully.
Waiting.
"Then why is he noticing?"
I AM:
Because you have ceased hiding as carefully as you believe.
David almost became irritated.
"Helpful."
A pause.
Then—
I AM:
You fear what follows truth.
David's expression changed.
"Shouldn't I?"
I AM:
Often.
David waited.
The ancient presence continued.
I AM:
There are those who would covet what they cannot understand.
I AM:
Those who would fear it.
I AM:
Those who would seek to control it.
David thought of the Great Families.
The military.
The Academy.
The people who would do almost anything for power.
"What makes June different?"
Silence.
David looked at him.
June stood several feet away.
Dirty.
Bruised.
Uniform torn from the fall.
Kinetic Baton hanging loosely from one hand.
Waiting.
Not demanding anymore.
Just waiting.
Then I AM answered.
I AM:
I have seen his heart.
David's breathing slowed.
"What does that mean?"
I AM:
Exactly what I have spoken.
David frowned.
"You trust him?"
Another pause.
I AM:
He would carry your secret beyond his final breath.
David stared at June.
For once, the ancient voice wasn't speaking in riddles.
There was no hidden warning.
No vague half-answer.
I AM had given him something almost unheard of.
Certainty.
David swallowed.
"You're sure?"
I AM:
Yes.
David looked toward the city.
"What about the System?"
I AM:
Tell him.
"The Book?"
I AM:
Tell him.
"The Relic?"
I AM:
Tell him.
David's eyes widened slightly.
Everything.
I AM was telling him to reveal everything.
David looked back at June.
"Only him?"
The answer came immediately.
I AM:
Only June.
David stood silently for several seconds.
June finally spoke.
"David?"
David looked at him.
June's brow furrowed.
"You just did it again."
"I know."
June blinked.
That wasn't the answer he'd expected.
David looked around.
They were standing in the middle of an ancient road surrounded by buildings belonging to a civilization neither of them understood.
Not the place for this conversation.
He noticed a wide staircase leading toward a raised structure overlooking the road.
Part of its roof had collapsed, but most of the platform remained intact.
David nodded toward it.
"We should sit down."
June stared at him.
"Why?"
David started toward the stairs.
"Because this is going to take a while."
June didn't move at first.
Then his expression changed.
The questions.
The suspicion.
Everything he'd been pressing David about suddenly became real.
"You're actually going to tell me?"
David stopped at the bottom of the stairs.
He looked back.
For several seconds, he said nothing.
Then—
"Yeah."
June's humor disappeared completely.
David climbed the first step.
Then another.
June followed.
Neither spoke.
They reached the top.
From there, the ancient city stretched before them.
Dark towers disappeared into the cavern above.
Broken bridges crossed silent streets.
Violet light glowed faintly between buildings.
Somewhere beyond all of it waited whatever had been buried here for countless ages.
David sat on the edge of the platform.
June sat beside him.
For a while, they simply looked out over the city.
Then June turned.
David stared down at his hands.
He knew exactly where the story had to begin.
Not with the System.
Not with I AM.
Not with the Relic.
With two people who had disappeared before any of it started.
His parents.
David drew a slow breath.
"My parents left me something before they disappeared."
June said nothing.
David looked toward him.
"This starts with them."
And for the first time since the Book had awakened...
David prepared to tell someone the truth.