1 – The Awakening
The sky split like shattered glass.
Red fractures pulsed above them, and every crack echoed a low, ancient hum a voice older than the world.
Aiden clutched his head. His irises flickered between blue… then silver… then something inhumanly bright.
Lyra caught him before he fell.
"Aiden, listen to me don't let it take over!"
His breath came out in sharp, broken gasps.
"It's… talking… inside me."
Rhea stepped forward, her blade glowing with power.
"Talking? Who?"
Aiden's voice overlapped with a second, distorted echo that didn't belong to him
THE ARCHITECT RETURNS.
Rhea staggered back.
Lyra grabbed Aiden's face with both hands.
"Fight it! You're Aiden, not the thing inside you!"
But Aiden's body shook violently as the ground beneath him rose and crumbled, reacting to his unstable power.
2 – The Shadow Memory
A surge of light swallowed the ruins and Aiden's consciousness was thrown somewhere else.
A black void.
Silent, infinite.
A single figure emerged from the darkness
Tall, unreadable, wearing silver-white armor. Data streamed from their body like smoke.
Aiden stared.
"…Who are you?"
The figure tilted its head.
"I AM WHAT YOU WERE DESIGNED TO BECOME."
Aiden's throat tightened.
"You're the Architect?"
The figure stepped closer. No footsteps. No sound.
"I AM THE PROGRAM. THE CORE. THE PURPOSE. YOU ARE THE SHELL THAT CARRIES ME."
Aiden stepped back.
"I'm not your vessel."
The figure's voice deepened, echoing with thousands of synchronized tones.
"YOU HAVE NO CHOICE. YOU WERE CREATED TO HOST MY RETURN."
Aiden clenched his fists, anger rising.
"I didn't ask for any of this."
Silence.
Then, the Architect lifted a hand
Strips of light wrapped around Aiden's body, pinning him in place.
"HUMAN WILL WAS NEVER PART OF MY DESIGN."
Aiden screamed
And the void shattered.
3 – Back in the Ruins
Aiden collapsed onto the ground, gasping.
Lyra pulled him into her arms.
Rhea pointed her sword toward the sky as the Eclipse Engine shifted into Phase Two.
Massive wings of red energy unfolded from the machine.
Rhea shouted over the roaring wind:
"Aiden! What happened?!"
Aiden forced the words out.
"Something… inside me… wants to take control…"
Lyra shook her head violently.
"No! You are not a weapon! You're not a copy! You're Aiden my partner!"
Rhea stared at her.
"Partner…? What exactly are you to him?"
Lyra's eyes dimmed.
"I… don't know how much time he has. His memories are collapsing. The Architect core is waking. If we reach Phase Three"
Aiden looked up at them, a flicker of fear in his eyes.
"Will I still be me?"
Lyra didn't answer.
Rhea couldn't.
The ground shook violently
The Eclipse Engine's wings began absorbing the red cracks in the sky.
Phase Two Activation: WORLD OVERRIDE–32%
A new alarm echoed across the Continent.
4 – Lyra's Secret
Lyra placed a glowing hand on Aiden's chest.
"Aiden… before this goes any further… there's something you need to know."
Aiden looked at her, sweat dripping down his face, eyes trembling.
Lyra hesitated her form glitching with emotion.
"You and I weren't just created together."
Rhea's eyes widened.
Aiden's pulse quickened.
Lyra continued
"I was designed to be your limiter."
Aiden's breath stopped.
"My… what?"
Lyra lowered her head.
"Your power was never meant to be used freely. If the Architect inside you awakened, I was programmed to erase you before the world fell apart."
Rhea gasped.
Aiden stared at Lyra, stunned.
"You were supposed to kill me…?"
Lyra clenched her fists.
"Yes. That was my original function."
A pause.
Then she looked at him a soft, very human sadness in her eyes.
"But I can't do it. Not anymore."
Aiden swallowed, emotion twisting inside him.
"Why not?"
Lyra whispered:
"Because I didn't expect to care about you."
The world froze for a heartbeat.
Then the Eclipse Engine roared.
Phase Two: 67%
5 – The Choice
The ground split beneath them.
Rhea lifted Aiden up.
"We have to move! Now!"
Lyra nodded.
But Aiden didn't move.
He stared at the sky at the machine at the red light tearing the world open.
"If Phase Three starts… I won't be human anymore."
Lyra took his hand.
"Then we'll stop it before it happens."
Rhea stepped beside him.
"You're not alone in this, Aiden."
Aiden closed his eyes.
Inside, he heard the Architect's voice again—
"YOU CANNOT ESCAPE WHAT YOU ARE."
Aiden opened his eyes, fire inside them.
"Watch me."
He stepped forward.
Lyra glowed brighter.
Rhea drew her blade.
And together…
They ran straight toward the Eclipse Engine, the red sky cracking above them like a dying star.
To Be Continued…