Kael couldn't stop thinking about the vision.
The stars.
The figure.
The Devourers.
Even hours later, the memory remained crystal clear.
"Aetherion."
Silence.
Kael frowned.
"Aetherion."
"Present."
His voice echoed inside Kael's mind.
"Tell me about the Devourers."
A long pause followed.
Then—
"Access restricted."
Kael clenched his jaw.
"Restricted?"
"Information unavailable."
"Or you don't want to tell me."
No answer.
That answer was enough.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
Before Kael could press further, an alarm suddenly blared through the facility.
Red lights flashed.
The walls trembled.
Every host nearby immediately stopped what they were doing.
"What now?"
A voice echoed through the loudspeakers.
"All active hosts report to the central hall immediately."
The message repeated.
Again.
And again.
Kael exchanged glances with several others.
Nobody looked relaxed.
Even the stronger hosts seemed concerned.
That alone made Kael uneasy.
He followed the crowd.
Minutes later, dozens of hosts gathered inside the massive central chamber.
The stranger who had brought him here stood at the front.
His expression was grim.
"Listen carefully."
The room fell silent.
"We've detected an anomaly."
A screen activated behind him.
The image showed a city.
At first glance, everything looked normal.Then the footage zoomed in.
Kael's stomach tightened.
People were running.
Buildings were collapsing.
Dark energy spread across the streets like living smoke.
"What is that?"
No one answered.
The stranger's voice hardened.
"Three hours ago, an entire district disappeared."
The room erupted.
"What?!"
"Impossible!"
"How?"
The stranger raised a hand.
Silence returned.
"Our scouts found only one survivor."
The image changed.
A man appeared on screen.
His face was pale.
Terrified.
Broken.
"He kept repeating the same thing."
The footage played.
The man's voice shook violently.
"It ate them."
Silence filled the chamber.
"It ate everything."
The recording ended.
Kael felt a chill run down his spine.
Aetherion suddenly spoke.
For the first time—
Its voice contained urgency.
"Warning."
Kael froze.
"Unknown Core detected."
His heartbeat quickened.
"What does that mean?"
Aetherion answered immediately.
"It is here."
The lights flickered.
Once.
Twice.
Then every screen in the chamber went black.
The room fell silent.
Completely silent.
A second later—
A message appeared.
Not from the facility.
Not from any human system.
Words slowly formed across every screen.
The room stared.
Unable to breathe.
Unable to look away.
The message read:
FOUND YOU.
The entire facility shook.
And somewhere beneath the earth—
Something laughed.