The stone door groaned.
Ancient mechanisms awakened for the first time in thousands of years.
Dust filled the air.
Blue light poured through the widening gap.
Nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
The entire team watched as the massive seal slowly opened.
Aetherion remained silent.
Kael could feel it.
The Core was tense.
Nervous.
Something he had never felt before.
"What is it?" Kael whispered.
No answer.
The door finally stopped.
Darkness waited beyond.
Cold.
Silent.
Ancient.
The stranger stepped forward.
"Stay alert."
The team entered cautiously.
Their lights swept across the chamber beyond.
Kael's breath caught.
It wasn't a room.
It was a city.
An underground city.
Broken towers stretched into the darkness above.
Ancient roads crossed the cavern floor.
Statues stood everywhere.
Most were damaged.
Some completely destroyed.
But every single one carried the same symbol.
A glowing star.
Aetherion's symbol.
"No way..."
The scientist behind him stared in disbelief.
"This place is older than recorded history."
Kael slowly walked forward.
His footsteps echoed across the stone.
The entire city felt abandoned.
Yet not empty.
Something remained.
Watching.
Waiting.
Then—
A pulse echoed through the cavern.
Blue light erupted across the city.
The statues lit up.
The roads glowed.
The buildings awakened.
The dead city came alive.
Everyone froze.
At the center of the city—
A single figure stood.
Motionless.
Bathed in blue light.
Kael's heart pounded.
The figure looked human.
Young.
Perhaps seventeen.
Silver hair.
Golden eyes.
And a strange black uniform covered in ancient symbols.
The figure slowly opened its eyes.
The entire city trembled.
"Aetherion..."
Its voice echoed through the cavern.
The figure smiled.
A sad smile.
A lonely smile.
"I knew you would return."
Kael felt Aetherion react instantly.
Shock.
Disbelief.
Recognition.
"No..."
The Core's voice sounded almost broken.
"It can't be."
The figure looked directly at Kael.
Then at the glowing Core inside his chest.
Its smile widened.
"You survived."
Silence filled the cavern.
Then the figure took a step forward.
Blue energy exploded around the city.
The pressure alone forced several hosts to their knees.
Even the stranger looked stunned.
Because the energy wasn't weaker than Aetherion's.
It was equal.
Ancient.
Overwhelming.
Kael's eyes widened.
"What are you?"
The figure stopped.
For a moment, sadness appeared in its eyes.
Then it answered.
"My name is Orion."
A pause.
The city trembled.
"And I am the Second Core."
Nobody breathed.
Nobody moved.
Because according to everything they knew—
The Second Core should have been dead.
Yet here it stood.
Alive.
Waiting.
And smiling.