Chapter 13: Awakening the Forgotten

The monolith split apart with a deep, resonant crack, releasing a pulse of cold, blue light that spread through the chamber like an icy wind.

I staggered back, shielding my eyes as the glow intensified. The whispers in my head surged into a chorus of voices, each speaking in a language I didn’t know but somehow understood.

Ny’Vara growled low in her throat, her feline ears flat against her head. “This is wrong.”

I couldn’t argue.

As the light dimmed, something stepped forward from the monolith’s depths.

A towering figure—humanoid, but ... wrong. Its form was clad in shifting black armor, its face obscured by a smooth, featureless mask. Ethereal energy swirled around it, tendrils of blue mist coiling and dissipating like breath in cold air.

It spoke.

“At last ... you return.”

The voice wasn’t just heard—it was felt, resonating deep in my bones.

I gritted my teeth. “I don’t know who the hell you think I am, but I’m not ‘returning’ from anywhere.”

The entity tilted its head, as if studying me. Then, it took a step closer.

Ny’Vara tensed, hand on her weapon, but something in me said that would be a very bad idea.

“You wear the mark of the forgotten ones,” the entity continued. “You command their vessel. And yet ... you do not know.”

I felt my pulse quicken. “What do you mean? What vessel?”

Its glowing eyes bore into me. “The ship you call yours. It was never meant for mortal hands.”

A chill crawled up my spine.

Ny’Vara shot me a sharp glance. “Harper. I do not like this.”

“Nor should you.” The entity’s voice turned cold. “For you stand before the last sentinel of a war that should never have been lost.”

I narrowed my eyes. “What war?”

The entity’s mask split apart, revealing a face that was not a face at all—a swirling void of shifting patterns and distant stars.

“The war that ended existence.”

And then the walls began to collapse.

### The Vault’s Wrath

The chamber shook violently, cracks splitting through the ancient stone. The energy pulsing from the monolith destabilized, spiraling out of control.

Ny’Vara snarled, grabbing my arm. “We need to go. Now!”

I didn’t argue.

We sprinted toward the exit as the vault tore itself apart, blue fire erupting from the walls. The entity remained motionless, watching us flee like a specter from the abyss.

As we reached the shuttle, a final wave of force erupted from the monolith—a pulse that sent a message straight into my mind.

“You cannot run from what you are, Harper.”

And then we were airborne, the ruins of the vault vanishing beneath clouds of ice and fire.

### Back on the Ship

The moment we touched down on the dreadnought, G’Lan’s voice greeted us.

“Captain, sensors detected an unstable energy surge from the surface. The structure is collapsing.”

I collapsed into my chair, trying to catch my breath. “Yeah, we noticed.”

Ny’Vara stood beside me, arms crossed, tail flicking. “That was no mere artifact, Harper.”

I looked at her, my mind still racing. “No. It wasn’t.”

It was something far older. Far worse.

And it knew me.

Somehow ... it knew me.

I stared at the swirling debris field on the viewscreen.

What the hell had I just woken up?

And why did I have the sinking feeling that this was just the beginning?