2026-01-05 05:16:37
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CHAPTER 27: THE OTHERS
Kade didn't sleep.Every time he closed his eyes, he saw the list. Names that shouldn't exist. People who survived what should have killed them.People like him. Or worse.The relic unlocked more memories on its own—or maybe Kade's damaged mind was just following old pathways, pulling up data buried under years of trauma.He couldn't tell the difference anymore.Mila sat beside him as holographic files filled the small room, projections flickering in the dim light."These are... people?" she asked quietly."Yes," Kade said. His throat was dry. "Survivors."The files scrolled past. Some faces were human. Some weren't. But all of them carried the same mark in their neural scans—the distinctive pattern of relic integration.Mila leaned closer, reading the data streaming past. "How many?""Thirty-seven confirmed," Kade said. "Maybe more."The first file opened fully.A man floated in a glass chamber, suspended in clear fluid. Alive. Breathing. Eyes open but completely empty, staring at no
CHAPTER 26: WAR MEMORIES
The relic did not show Kade the future.It showed him the past.And it didn't ask permission.Kade fell.Not physically—his body stayed still, eyes open, breath slow and steady. But his mind was dragged backward through time like a drowning man pulled into deep water.Through fire. Through screaming skies. Through memories he'd buried and labeled survival.The neon city vanished. The stars turned red.The battlefield stretched forever.Broken cities floated in the vacuum like corpses. Ships burned like dying suns, their hulls split open, atmosphere pouring out in frozen clouds. Alien weapons tore holes through reality itself—not metaphorically, literally. Space folded wrong where they fired.Humans weren't winning. They were surviving. Barely.Kade was younger then. Thinner. Harder around the edges.A soldier, not a symbol."Move!" someone shouted.He ran across shattered metal plating, boots clanging, stepping over bodies—human and alien mixed together in death.The Aurelian War didn
CHAPTER 25: DECLARATION
The city waited.It did not know it was waiting but it was.After the broadcast, after the blame, after the silence, people stayed near screens. Near broken radios. Near anything that could still speak.They waited to see if Kade would disappear.He didn’t.Kade stood alone in a small control room. One screen. One camera. One chance.Mila stood behind him.“You don’t owe them this,” she said softly.Kade shook his head. “I do.”The relic stirred.This path ends in loss.“I know,” Kade replied. “That’s still my choice.”He placed his hand on the console.The screen lit up.Across the city, screens flickered.In homes.In shelters.In Concord-controlled zones.Kade’s face appeared.Not armored.Not heroic.Just tired.“I know you’re angry,” he began.No shouting followed.Only silence.“I watched the city burn,” Kade said. “And I was too slow. Too unsure. People died.”He swallowed.“That truth won’t change. I won’t rewrite it. I won’t hide from it.”People leaned closer.“They say I wa
CHAPTER 24: THE WEIGHT OF FAILURE
The city did not forgive quickly.It woke up quiet.No cheers.No protests.Just silence that pressed down on everyone.Kade felt it most.Kade sat alone in an empty room underground. The lights were dim. The walls were bare.Once, this place was full of plans. Voices. Hope.Now it felt like a grave.He stared at his hands.They were clean.That made it worse.Every time he closed his eyes, he saw the square. The bodies. The blood before dawn.You failed them, the relic whispered.For once, it did not sound proud.“I know,” Kade said quietly.He stood up and walked out.The resistance base was still active, but it had changed.When Kade walked past, conversations stopped.Some people looked at him with anger.Some with fear.Most with disappointment.That hurt the most.Jonah stood near a wall, guarded but free. He did not speak.Elira stood with other leaders, her voice low, her posture confident.She did not look at Kade.Kade realized something then.They were already moving on wit
CHAPTER 23: BLOOD DRAWN
The city was already burning when Kade arrived.Not from alien weapons.Not from Concord ships.From humans.Gunfire echoed between buildings. Fires climbed broken towers. Sirens screamed until they died out one by one.Kade stood on a rooftop and looked down.Too late.The street below was filled with people.Some wore resistance colors.Some wore civilian clothes.Some wore nothing but fear.They were shooting at each other.A man dragged a wounded woman behind a car. Another man pulled the trigger without looking. Blood ran along the broken road like rainwater.Kade felt the relic stir inside his mind.You saw this, it whispered.You chose delay.“Shut up,” Kade muttered.He jumped.Kade landed hard, cracking the pavement.“STOP!” he shouted.No one listened.A group of armed civilians turned toward him, eyes wild.“They’re with the council!” one yelled.“They sold us out!”Another voice screamed, “No—they’re Concord sympathizers!”No one knew who the enemy was anymore.Kade moved
CHAPTER 22: THE VOICE OF ORDER
The message arrived at dawn.No alarms.No warnings.No hacking traces.Just a single line glowing on Kade’s screen.REQUEST FOR DIRECT COMMUNICATION.— CONCORD ENVOYKade stared at it for a long time.“They don’t ask,” Mila said quietly. “They announce.”Kade stood. “Then let’s hear what order sounds like.”The Concord envoy did not come in armor.That was the first shock.No weapons.No machines.No visible guards.Just a human-looking figure standing calmly in the center of an abandoned civic hall.Tall.Clean.Eyes too still.“Leader Kade Reyes,” the envoy said. “Thank you for agreeing to speak.”“I didn’t agree,” Kade replied. “You invited yourself.”The envoy nodded. “Yes. That is how order begins.”Mila stiffened beside him.Kade crossed his arms. “Speak.”THE ARGUMENT FOR CONTROL“You believe freedom is natural,” the envoy said. “It is not.”Kade scoffed. “We survived thousands of years without you.”“And nearly destroyed yourselves,” the envoy replied calmly.It gestured to t
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