Light pulsed beneath his feet.
Steady.
Controlled.
Kael's body trembled as the energy continued to flow into him.
Not wild like before.
Not painful.
Precise.
Like something was… repairing him.
His breathing steadied.
The burning inside his chest eased.
The chaos—
Fading.
"…What is this place…?"
His voice echoed across the massive structure.
The response came instantly.
"Outpost… designation: forgotten."
Kael's jaw tightened slightly.
"Yeah… you said that already."
He looked around.
The pillars.
The broken machines.
The glowing symbols crawling across the walls.
Nothing about this place felt human.
"Who built it?"
A pause.
Longer this time.
Then—
"Data… fragmented."
"Origin… unknown."
Kael exhaled slowly.
"Of course it is…"
The light beneath him dimmed slightly.
The energy flow slowed.
His body felt… lighter now.
Stronger.
But something was missing.
"Aetherion?"
Silence.
His chest flickered faintly in response.
Weak.
"Still out…"
Kael clenched his fist.
"Great."
No answers.
No guidance.
Just him.
"Correction."
Kael froze.
"Support system active."
"…Support system?"
The light around the platform shifted.
Symbols began rearranging themselves—forming something new.
A shape.
A structure.
A figure.
It hovered above the platform—
Not solid.
Not real.
But visible.
A humanoid outline made of faint light.
Kael's eyes narrowed.
"…You're new."
"Interface unit initialized."
The voice came from it now.
Clearer.
More focused.
"You can talk like a normal person, right?"
A pause.
Then—
"Yes."
Kael blinked.
"Okay… that's better."
He straightened slightly, testing his body.
No sharp pain.
Just exhaustion.
"So… what exactly are you?"
The figure flickered faintly.
"Support system assigned to core-bearers."
Core-bearers.
Not just him.
Kael's expression darkened.
"There are more of us."
"Confirmed."
"And the Hunter?"
A brief pause.
"Threat classification: active."
"Yeah… figured."
Kael ran a hand through his hair, exhaling slowly.
This just got bigger.
Much bigger.
"So what does this place do?"
The figure shifted slightly, as if responding to the question itself.
"Outpost functions include:"
"—Host stabilization."
"—Energy regulation."
"—Data recovery."
Kael's eyes sharpened.
"Data recovery?"
"Information related to cores… entities… and external threats."
That was it.
Answers.
Finally,
"Then start talking."
The figure flickered again—
But before it could respond—
The entire structure trembled.
WARNING
The word flashed across the walls in glowing symbols.
Kael stiffened.
"What now—?"
"Intrusion detected."
The temperature dropped instantly.
The lights dimmed.
The air… shifted.
Kael's instincts screamed.
"That was fast…"
The Hunter?
No.
This felt different.
Worse.
A low sound echoed from the darkness beyond the pillars.
Not footsteps.
Not human.
Something moved.
Slowly.
Crawling into the faint light.
Kael's breath caught.
It wasn't a person.
It wasn't anything normal.
Its body twisted unnaturally—half-formed, like it wasn't fully… real.
Its surface flickered—like static.
And its eyes—
Locked onto him.
"…"
The system spoke.
"Corrupted entity detected."
Kael's heart pounded.
"You've got to be kidding me…"
The creature let out a sound—
Not a roar.
Not a scream.
Something broken.
Then—
It moved.
Fast.
Straight toward him.
Kael clenched his fists.
Weak or not—
He had no choice.
"Guess we're not done yet…"