✨ CHAPTER FORTY-SIX — THE NEW ORDER: VESSEL ASCENDED ✨
The dust hadn't even settled.
The crater still steamed. Aiden's wings still flickered with remnants of golden-white light. Maya's threads were barely holding his body stable, and Dara looked like he was one loud sound away from collapsing.
And yet—
The Citadel… was changing.
THE SKY SHIFTS
Above them, the massive tower pulsed like a beating heart.
Red to violet.
Violet to white.
White to pitch-black.
Then—
WHOOOOOOOM—
Six rings around the Citadel rotated in opposite directions, each spinning faster than physics allowed. Space bent around them, pulling the clouds inward. The entire skyline distorted into spirals.
Maya's face drained of color.
"No… that's impossible. The Citadel was never supposed to activate this phase."
Dara blinked. "Phase?? Bro, how many PHASES does one evil building need?!"
Aiden stared upward, feeling the Vessel resonate violently inside him.
"What is it?"
Maya swallowed.
"They're shifting the Citadel into Overlord State.
A full planetary command mode."
Aiden's eyes narrowed.
"So this is their real retaliation."
THE DOMINION SPEAKS
A sound echoed from the Citadel— neither mechanical nor human.
A layered voice, like thousands speaking at once, shook the broken city:
"VESSEL ASCENSION CONFIRMED."
"INITIATING NEW ORDER."
"RECONFIGURING PLANETARY CONTROL GRID."
The temperature dropped.
Lights all across the district flickered.
Dara hugged himself. "Bro… why does the TOWER sound like it just got promoted to final boss?"
AIDEN FEELS THE CHANGE
Aiden's wings snapped outward involuntarily.
His body wasn't reacting to danger—
it was reacting to connection.
He could feel the Citadel.
He could hear its signals.
The Vessel inside him was synchronizing with something buried deeper inside the tower — a frequency older than the Dominion's presence on Earth.
Maya noticed immediately.
"Aiden… what's wrong?"
He clenched his fists.
"It's calling me."
Dara stepped back. "Bro, don't answer! That's how horror movies start!"
THE DATA SURGE
Suddenly—
KRRR-SHHH-CHAAAAA—!!
A torrent of holographic symbols erupted from the Citadel's rings, forming a massive projection in the sky. Runes, codes, sequences, all cascading downward like a digital waterfall.
The ground vibrated beneath Aiden's feet.
His eyes went wide— glowing bright gold.
Images flooded his mind:
• Dominion fleets hovering over ruined worlds
• Vessels like him chained to massive conduits
• A colossal shape—something beyond any Executor—resting in a dark chamber
• Earth as a node in a vast interstellar network
• And… a broken Vessel Core… matching his signature
Aiden staggered.
Maya sprinted to his side. "Aiden! What is it? What do you see?"
His voice trembled, not with fear—but with revelation.
"They didn't send the Dominion here to conquer Earth."
Maya froze.
"Then… what?"
Aiden lifted his gaze toward the Citadel.
"They came to finish a project. One they started long before humans existed."
Dara raised his hand weakly. "Uh… can someone give me the non-galaxy-ending version?"
Aiden turned to them, aura flaring like a living star.
"I'm not just a Vessel.
I'm a missing piece of the Citadel's Source Engine.
A key they've been searching for."
The Citadel responded instantly.
Every ring aligned.
Every light pulsed.
A beam of black-white energy shot upward, piercing the clouds and spreading a massive Dominion symbol across the sky — visible for miles.
"VESSEL LOCATED."
"SOURCE ENGINE: PREPARE FOR RETRIEVAL."
Maya grabbed Aiden's arm.
"They're going to take you, Aiden. Not your power—you. Your entire being."
Dara pointed up frantically.
"And I'm pretty sure that giant sky-symbol means they're sending more than one Omega thing this time!"
Aiden's wings flared brighter than ever before.
His voice held no fear.
"Then let them come."
The ground shook violently as the Citadel began opening a new gate—larger, darker, and infinitely more dangerous.
This wasn't Omega-Class anymore.
This was Dominion Prime.
And they weren't sending a commander—
They were sending the Overlord.