They ran.
David hit the corridor first, boots slamming against ancient stone as June followed only a step behind him.
The whispering came with them.
Hundreds of voices overlapped somewhere behind them, too faint to understand individually yet somehow loud enough to fill the narrow passage.
David didn't look back.
He didn't need to.
Purple light crawled across the walls around him.
Faster.
"David!"
"I see it!"
The glow swept past them.
David glanced over his shoulder.
The mist had reached the corridor.
It didn't drift anymore.
It poured through the circular doorway in a twisting mass, spreading across the floor, walls, and ceiling at the same time.
There was no wind.
No current.
Nothing pushing it.
It moved because it wanted to.
"That's not mist!" June yelled.
"Keep moving!"
"I was planning on it!"
They sprinted past the carvings.
Celestials.
Relics.
Worlds.
The ancient history blurred around them as the purple glow grew brighter.
David could hear June behind him.
Close.
Still there.
That was all that mattered.
They reached the first missing section of the carvings.
The corridor trembled beneath David's boots.
He nearly stumbled.
June grabbed his shoulder.
"Go!"
David caught himself.
They kept running.
The whispering grew louder.
Fragments began separating from the noise.
Words.
Not ones David understood.
Different voices.
Different tones.
Some angry.
Some terrified.
Some pleading.
Others whispered so softly that he couldn't tell whether they were speaking at all.
David's skin crawled.
"I AM!"
No response.
"You want to explain what this thing is?"
Nothing.
June glanced toward him.
"Tell me he's got something!"
"He told us not to let it touch us!"
"That's the entire plan?"
"Apparently!"
"I liked him better five minutes ago!"
The purple glow brightened.
David looked back again.
Mist filled the corridor from wall to wall.
And it was gaining.
Fast.
"Move!"
They burst through the circular doorway and entered the machinery chamber.
June immediately pointed.
"Left!"
David followed.
They cut between two enormous ring structures.
The mist spilled into the chamber behind them.
For a moment, the larger space slowed it.
The cloud expanded outward, spreading between the machines instead of remaining concentrated.
David saw the opportunity.
"Separate!"
June veered right.
David went left.
The mist hesitated.
Only for a second.
Then divided.
Half followed David.
Half followed June.
David's stomach tightened.
"Bad idea!"
"Noticed!"
June vaulted over a low conduit.
David ducked beneath another.
The mist flowed around every obstacle.
Nothing slowed it.
David reached the next machine and turned sharply.
The purple cloud followed.
Fast.
Too fast.
David planted one foot and spun toward it.
His right Claw Gauntlet snapped upward.
The mist surged between the ancient machines, spreading wider as it rushed toward him.
David's eyes narrowed.
"Spatial Severance!"
System:
Activating: Cosmic Spatial Severance
Power erupted through his gauntlet.
Space distorted around the extended claws.
David slashed.
The air split.
A razor-thin fracture tore across the chamber and struck the advancing mist.
The purple cloud separated violently.
One half twisted toward the ceiling while the other spilled across the floor.
David stared.
For a fraction of a second—
It looked like it had worked.
Then the two halves stopped.
Purple vapor curled backward.
Slowly at first.
Then faster.
The separated mist stretched toward itself, twisting together until the cut vanished completely.
David's expression changed.
"What?"
System:
Unknown Energy Form Detected.
System:
Physical Disruption Ineffective.
The restored mist surged toward him.
David backed away.
"Would've been useful ten seconds ago."
Then he turned and ran.
Across the chamber, June swung his baton.
The blue energy blade passed through another tendril.
The vapor separated around the weapon and closed immediately behind it.
June stared.
"Oh, come on!"
"Don't fight it!"
"Great advice!"
"Get to the door!"
June looked toward the far side of the chamber.
The exit.
They both ran.
Mist twisted between the machines.
David could see it calculating their path.
Not thinking like a person.
But reacting.
Learning.
Every time they changed direction, the mist adjusted faster.
June reached the central aisle.
David cut toward him.
"Go!"
They came together again.
The doorway was ahead.
Thirty feet.
Twenty.
Purple vapor dropped from above.
David saw it first.
"June!"
He grabbed the back of June's uniform and yanked him sideways.
A column of mist slammed into the floor where June had been.
June hit the stone shoulder-first.
David stumbled beside him.
The mist spread.
"Up!"
June rolled.
David grabbed his arm and hauled him to his feet.
They ran again.
Ten feet.
Five.
David crossed the doorway.
June followed.
The moment they entered the next corridor, David turned.
"Maybe we can close it."
"No controls!"
"There has to be something."
June swept his light across the wall.
Symbols.
Metal.
Nothing obvious.
The mist entered the corridor.
"Never mind!"
They ran.
The corridor climbed.
David remembered the route.
Back toward the star map.
Back toward the city.
If they could reach the open streets—
He didn't know what then.
But they would have space.
They wouldn't be trapped inside narrow corridors.
June breathed hard beside him.
"How far?"
"Not far!"
"That sounded like a lie!"
"It was!"
"Appreciate the honesty!"
The corridor opened.
They burst into the massive plaza containing the ancient star map.
June nearly lost his footing crossing the carved lines.
David caught him.
Behind them, purple mist poured from the passage.
It spread across the plaza.
June looked around.
"Which way?"
David pointed.
"Back toward the monument!"
They ran.
The mist followed.
But something changed.
The moment it touched the carved star map—
Purple light exploded through the lines.
David stopped.
June nearly ran into him.
"What?"
David stared.
The ancient routes carved into the plaza were glowing.
One after another.
Hundreds of lines ignited beneath the mist.
Purple light raced across the entire map.
Worlds illuminated.
Stars.
Routes.
Searches.
Relic symbols.
June stared.
"David..."
"I know."
The mist stopped chasing them.
It began circling.
Flowing across the map.
Following the ancient routes.
One line after another.
David watched as a strand reached a Relic symbol.
The symbol flared.
Then another.
Another.
The entire plaza came alive.
June stepped closer.
"It's activating the map."
"Or remembering it."
June looked toward him.
That possibility was worse.
The whispering changed.
No longer hundreds of meaningless voices.
One rose above the others.
Still impossible to understand.
But clearer.
David felt pressure behind his eyes.
He staggered.
June grabbed him.
"David?"
"I'm fine."
"No, you're not."
David blinked.
For a fraction of a second, the ruined city disappeared.
Light.
Sunlight.
A blue sky.
Buildings.
Then—
Ruins again.
David froze.
June stared at him.
"What happened?"
"I saw something."
"What?"
"The city."
June looked around.
"We're standing in it."
"No."
David's heartbeat accelerated.
"Not like this."
The purple mist continued moving across the map.
Another flash.
The city.
Alive.
Ships crossed the sky.
Thousands of figures moved through the streets.
Then it vanished.
David stumbled backward.
June grabbed him again.
"David!"
"I saw it before it was destroyed."
June's expression changed.
"How?"
"I don't know."
The mist rose from the map.
Slowly.
Hundreds of purple strands lifted into the air.
David backed away.
"Move."
June didn't argue.
They ran.
The mist followed.
They reached the road.
The ancient monument stood ahead.
Twelve figures watching over the intersection.
David sprinted toward it.
June remained beside him.
The purple cloud accelerated.
It moved above the road now.
No longer touching the ground.
June looked back.
"Faster!"
David pushed harder.
His lungs burned.
His legs ached from everything they'd already endured.
The Maneater.
The fall.
The cavern.
The city.
None of it mattered.
Keep moving.
The mist swept over the buildings beside them.
David heard the whispers again.
Louder.
Then—
A voice.
Clear.
"David."
He stumbled.
June grabbed him.
"What's wrong?"
David stared behind them.
Someone had said his name.
Not I AM.
Not June.
Another voice came.
"David Wyn."
June's expression changed.
"You heard that."
David looked at him.
"You did too?"
June nodded.
The mist surged.
"RUN!"
They turned.
The monument was close.
David spotted another road branching away.
"Right!"
They changed direction.
The mist anticipated them.
A wall of purple vapor dropped into the road ahead.
David skidded to a stop.
June nearly collided with him.
"Back!"
They turned.
Another cloud descended behind them.
June raised his baton.
"David."
"I know."
Mist flowed down both sides of the buildings.
Around them.
Above them.
The open street disappeared behind purple haze.
They were surrounded.
David extended both Claw Gauntlets.
June stood back-to-back with him.
"You said fighting doesn't work."
"It doesn't."
"Then why are the claws out?"
"Feels better."
"Fair."
The mist closed in.
David's eyes moved constantly.
Looking for a gap.
Anything.
There.
Between two buildings.
"Left."
June saw it.
They ran.
The opening narrowed.
David reached it first.
Purple mist dropped between them.
David spun.
"June!"
June disappeared behind the cloud.
David drove his claws through it.
Nothing.
He pushed forward.
Purple vapor wrapped around his arm.
Cold.
Not freezing.
Something deeper.
It felt as if the cold passed through his skin and entered his bones.
System:
WARNING
Unknown Energy Intrusion Detected
David ripped his arm back.
The mist clung to him.
"No."
He slashed at it.
Nothing.
System:
External Influence Increasing
"June!"
A shape appeared through the mist.
June stumbled forward.
Purple vapor wrapped around one shoulder.
David grabbed him.
June gasped.
"It's cold."
"I know."
David pulled.
The mist tightened.
June swung the baton.
The energy blade passed through harmlessly.
"David!"
"Hold on!"
David planted his feet and pulled harder.
The mist climbed June's arm.
Then his neck.
David grabbed the front of his uniform.
"I'm not letting go."
June's eyes met his.
"Good!"
The mist wrapped around David's legs.
System:
WARNING
Cognitive Interference Detected
The city flickered.
Ruins.
Sunlight.
Ruins.
A living city.
David shook his head.
"Not real."
June stared past him.
"What the hell..."
David looked.
June was seeing it too.
Buildings rebuilt themselves around them.
Broken towers rose.
Stone flowed backward.
Bridges restored themselves.
Light flooded windows that had been dark for ages.
Thousands of figures appeared.
Then everything shattered back into ruins.
June tightened his grip on David's arm.
"You're not the only one seeing that."
David stared at him.
The mist climbed higher.
System:
Cognitive Integrity Compromised
System:
External Influence Increasing
David tried to move.
His legs wouldn't respond.
June's baton slipped from his hand.
It struck the ground.
The blue blade disappeared.
"David."
"I'm here."
"I can't feel my legs."
David tried to reach June.
His arm moved inches.
The mist covered them.
Purple filled everything.
The whispers became deafening.
Hundreds.
Thousands.
Voices from a time long dead.
David forced his eyes open.
"June!"
"I'm here!"
David couldn't see him.
"Keep talking!"
"About what?"
"I don't care!"
"You're terrible at conversation!"
David almost laughed.
The sound never came.
The city vanished.
There was only purple.
Then—
Light.
Not the brilliant light of I AM.
Something else.
A memory.
David felt the world beneath him disappear.
His stomach dropped.
For one terrifying instant, he was falling again.
Then his feet struck solid ground.
David staggered.
The purple mist was gone.
Silence surrounded him.
He opened his eyes.
A sky stretched overhead.
Not cavern stone.
Not darkness.
A sky.
Brilliant.
Filled with stars visible even through daylight.
David slowly turned.
There was no ruined city.
No underground cavern.
No violet fungi.
He stood upon a vast white platform suspended above clouds.
Structures rose around him unlike anything humanity had ever built.
Towers of brilliant stone stretched upward until their peaks disappeared into light.
Enormous bridges connected floating structures across the sky.
Streams of luminous energy moved through the air like rivers.
David's breath caught.
He knew this place.
He had never stood here.
But he had seen it.
The Relic.
"This is..."
His voice disappeared.
Figures moved across the platform.
Celestials.
Hundreds.
Thousands.
They couldn't see him.
They walked through him as though he weren't there.
David turned.
The vision.
It had started again.
But not from the beginning.
He recognized the moment.
Ahead, twelve Celestials stood surrounded by light.
Relics burned within their hands.
David's heartbeat quickened.
"No..."
He remembered this.
This was where everything had changed.
This was where the Relic's vision had begun breaking apart.
Where he'd seen the rebellion.
Where he'd seen the theft.
Where he'd lost the rest.
David stepped forward.
Then stopped.
Something was wrong.
Someone stood twenty feet away.
Dark hair.
Steel-gray eyes.
Academy uniform.
June.
David stared.
For a moment, he didn't react.
June had to be part of it.
Another piece of the vision.
A memory using a familiar face.
That was the only explanation.
June looked around.
His expression shifted from confusion to disbelief.
Then he saw David.
"David?"
David froze.
June started toward him.
"Please tell me you're seeing this too."
David's breath caught.
"June?"
June stopped in front of him.
"Who else would it be?"
David stared.
He reached out.
His hand closed around June's shoulder.
Solid.
Real.
June looked down at David's hand.
Then back up.
"Yeah."
David slowly released him.
"You're actually here."
June glanced around.
"I was really hoping you were going to explain that part."
David looked toward the Celestials.
The twelve.
The Relics.
The impossible city of light surrounding them.
"I can't."
June followed his gaze.
His expression changed.
"Is this it?"
David nodded.
"The vision?"
"Yeah."
June looked toward him.
"The one the Relic showed you?"
"Yes."
June slowly turned back.
"But you said it ended."
"It did."
A sound rolled across the sky.
Not thunder.
Something greater.
The Celestials around them stopped.
Every head turned.
David's blood ran cold.
He remembered this.
The twelve figures tightened their grip on the Relics.
Across the enormous platform, another Celestial appeared.
Alone.
David couldn't clearly see the figure's face.
Light surrounded them.
Not ordinary light.
Power.
Enough that the entire vision seemed to distort around it.
June whispered.
"Who's that?"
David shook his head.
"I don't know."
The twelve moved.
The Relics ignited.
Power exploded across the platform.
Fire.
Storm.
Darkness.
Blood.
Stars.
Forces David couldn't name.
June stepped backward.
"David..."
"I know."
The lone Celestial raised one hand.
Everything stopped.
Not slowed.
Stopped.
Fire froze in the air.
Lightning hung motionless.
Darkness ceased spreading.
Even the Celestials seemed caught between moments.
Then the hand moved.
One motion.
A wave of brilliant energy erupted outward.
David threw an arm across his face.
June did the same.
The wave struck the twelve.
The world exploded with light.
The Relics tore free.
One after another.
Ripped from their grasp.
The twelve reached for them.
Too late.
The artifacts shot outward.
Across the platform.
Into the sky.
Then farther.
Faster.
The vision expanded.
David saw worlds.
Stars.
Entire systems.
The Relics became streaks of light crossing impossible distances.
One vanished into the atmosphere of a blue world.
Another disappeared toward a massive gas giant.
Another crossed into darkness.
Another fell toward a world covered in storms.
More scattered beyond anything David could follow.
June stared.
"That's how they lost them."
David couldn't look away.
"Yeah."
The vision shifted.
The brilliant city vanished.
Darkness swallowed everything.
Then—
Stars.
Countless stars.
Twelve figures drifted within the void.
The light that had once surrounded them was gone.
Their forms were darker now.
Changed.
Not completely.
Not yet.
But different.
David felt it.
Something had happened to them.
June stood beside him.
"What happened?"
"I don't know."
The vision moved again.
A barren world appeared.
Ships descended.
The twelve emerged.
They looked upward at the stars.
Then one raised a hand.
An image appeared above them.
A Relic.
Another Celestial pointed toward a different star.
Then another.
Ships launched.
The search began.
David understood.
"They're looking for them."
June watched the ships disappear.
"The Relics."
"Yeah."
The vision accelerated.
World after world.
Search after search.
Ships returned empty.
Others never returned.
Years passed.
Maybe centuries.
David couldn't tell.
The twelve kept searching.
Then the vision changed again.
A world appeared beneath them.
Green.
Wild.
Covered in vast forests.
David stared.
Something about it felt familiar.
The vision descended.
Mountains.
Rivers.
A jungle.
Then—
Stone.
Foundations spread across a valley.
Buildings rose.
Roads formed.
Towers climbed toward the sky.
June stepped forward.
"No way."
David already knew.
The great gateway rose.
Two enormous doors were placed within it.
Carvings covered their surfaces.
The same doors David had spoken before only hours earlier.
June pointed.
"That's..."
"Our city."
They watched it grow.
Not ruined.
Not buried.
Alive.
Ships crossed overhead.
Thousands moved through the streets.
Lights filled the towers.
Energy flowed through the metal lines beneath the roads.
The enormous star map was constructed.
Routes appeared.
Worlds were marked.
Relic symbols were carved.
June stared.
"This is what it looked like."
David nodded.
The city stretched farther than the cavern had allowed them to see.
Much farther.
District after district spread across the valley.
It hadn't been underground.
It had stood beneath an open sky.
June looked upward.
"So how the hell did it end up under us?"
David didn't know.
The vision shifted.
A vast chamber appeared.
The twelve stood around a star map.
One pointed toward a distant world.
Another argued.
David couldn't hear their words.
Then—
The purple mist appeared at the edge of his vision.
David turned.
A thin strand drifted behind them.
Not part of the memory.
He knew that immediately.
"June."
June followed his gaze.
His expression changed.
"You see that?"
"Yeah."
The mist moved closer.
The vision continued around them.
The Celestials argued.
Ships launched.
Searches continued.
But the purple mist didn't care.
It moved toward David and June.
David stepped backward.
"Stay away from it."
June gave him a look.
"Wasn't planning on hugging it."
The mist stopped.
Then spread.
Purple vapor crawled across the white floor of the vision.
David's System appeared.
System:
WARNING
External Influence Increasing
David looked toward June.
"We need to get out."
"How?"
"I don't know."
June looked around.
"Can I AM get us out?"
David focused inward.
"I AM?"
No response.
"I AM!"
The mist surrounded them.
The ancient city of light flickered.
The living city on the jungle world flickered with it.
Past and present collided.
June stepped closer to David.
"Something's wrong."
David knew.
The mist rose.
The vision began breaking apart.
And somewhere beyond the purple haze—
A man stood alone.
Crimson energy curled around his hands.
David stared.
The figure disappeared.
Then appeared again.
Closer.
A living creature screamed somewhere beyond the mist.
June slowly turned toward the sound.
"What was that?"
David didn't answer.
Crimson light spread through the purple haze.
The man lifted one hand.
Something writhed before him.
Changing.
Twisting.
Becoming something else.
June looked toward David.
"Who is he?"
David stared at the man.
He didn't know.
But somewhere deep within him—
I AM had gone completely silent.