Kael had always feared silence.
The silence of space.
The silence before an attack.
The silence inside his own mind when he doubted himself.
But this silence was different.
It listened.
Rhea stood in front of him, shaking his shoulder. "Kael. Talk to me."
He blinked, breath catching. The glowing "eye" in the fusion heart slowly dimmed, pulsing like a dying ember.
But he could still feel it.
The presence.
He steadied himself. "It spoke."
Rhea stiffened. "Out loud?"
"No." Kael tapped his temple. "In here."
Rhea swore under her breath. "So the infection is psychic now? Great. Just great."
Kael didn't answer.
Because the voice hadn't sounded alien.
It sounded familiar.
Too familiar.
He stepped toward the fusion heart again. Rhea caught his arm. "Don't get close to that thing."
Kael gently pulled free. "If it wanted to kill me, it would've done it when I tried the failsafe."
"Not comforting," Rhea muttered.
Kael moved slowly, keeping his breathing steady. The chamber was warm now, almost humid.
Like being inside a living body.
Rhea stayed behind him, weapon raised. "If it tries to grab you again, I'm shooting first and apologizing later."
Kael nodded absently.
He stopped a few feet from the fusion heart. The surface rippled faintly, like water reacting to wind.
Kael spoke carefully. "Why won't you let us stop you?"
No answer.
He tried again. "What do you want?"
A whisper flooded his mind.
"You know."
Kael gritted his teeth. "I don't."
"You deny what you did."
His nails dug into his palm. "Say it."
Rhea looked at him sharply. "Kael. What is it saying?"
He didn't respond the voice inside was too loud.
"You ran from Titan-6."
Kael's vision blurred.
No.
Not now.
He forced himself to stay standing.
"That wasn't my choice," Kael whispered. "Command ordered the strike."
"You believed them."
"You obeyed."
"You abandoned us."
Kael felt cold all over. "Who is 'us'?"
Rhea stepped beside him, eyes darting. "Kael. Who is it talking about?"
The fusion heart pulsed again.
Rhea aimed her rifle. "Screw this. I'm shooting it."
Kael grabbed her wrist. "No."
Rhea stared at him like he'd gone insane. "It's playing with your mind."
"It's trying to tell us something," Kael said.
Rhea shook her head. "The last time something 'tried to tell us something', three decks turned into a mouth."
He didn't deny it.
But something about the voice…
It wasn't hostile.
It was wounded.
Kael took a slow breath. "Let me try one more thing."
Rhea clenched her jaw but nodded reluctantly. "Fine. But if that thing twitches, I'm blowing it apart."
Kael stepped even closer.
The warmth intensified. The "eye" brightened, focusing on him like a spotlight.
He whispered, "Who are you?"
This time, the answer came clearer.
"I am what you left behind."
Kael's head dropped.
He knew.
He didn't want to know but he knew.
Titan-6.
The colony he was forced to destroy.
The voices in the evacuation requests.
The children crying in the background.
The last transmission before the infection spread.
Rhea's voice broke through. "Kael. You're shaking."
He didn't hear her.
Because the ship kept speaking.
"You tried to save us."
"You failed."
"You mourned."
"You forgot."
Kael swallowed hard. "I didn't forget."
The fusion heart dimmed, as if testing him.
Kael stepped closer — almost touching it. "You think I wanted that? You think I have slept a full night since Titan-6?"
Rhea's eyes widened. "Kael, step back"
He didn't.
He leaned forward, breathing harsh. "Tell me what you really are."
The presence shifted.
A new whisper.
"I am the memory of those who died."
Kael froze.
Rhea did too.
He exhaled slowly. "You're not the infection."
"No."
"Then what are you?"
"I am the consequence."
Kael's knees almost buckled.
He reached out, steadying himself against the railing.
Rhea lowered her weapon slightly. "Kael… what is it saying?"
He looked at her. "It's not a parasite."
"Then what infected the ship?"
Kael shook his head slowly. "Not infected. Haunted."
Rhea's mouth opened in disbelief. "Haunted? By who?"
Kael faced the fusion heart again.
By the people he failed.
The heat intensified not threatening, almost comforting, like a familiar hand on his shoulder.
"You brought us with you."
"You carried us."
"You buried us."
"But we remained."
Kael exhaled. "All this time… it was guilt?"
Rhea frowned. "Guilt can't rewrite a ship."
"No," Kael said softly. "But something born from it can."
The structure of the Astral Warden groaned deeply, resonating through the chamber.
The presence spoke again.
"We followed you because you were the only one who mourned us."
Kael blinked hard.
Rhea whispered, "Kael, what does it want now?"
He stared at the fusion heart.
Its glow softened.
The voice became almost human.
"You cannot run from what you lost."
"But you can save what remains."
Kael swallowed. "Save who?"
"The living."
Rhea stepped beside him. "Kael. The crew is gone."
The ship corrected her.
"Not all."
Kael froze.
Rhea's eyes widened. "Who survived?"
The chamber shook violently this time.
Lights flared.
A direction flashed on the wall, glowing bright red.
DECK 4 — CRYOSTORAGE.
Kael inhaled sharply. "Someone's alive."
Rhea grabbed her gear. "Then what are we waiting for?"
Kael looked once more at the fusion heart.
"Why are you helping us?"
The presence answered without hesitation.
"Because we were left behind."
"But no one else should be."
The glow faded.
The voice went silent.
Kael turned away, jaw set.
Not running.
Not hiding.
Not drowning in regret.
For the first time since Titan-6…
He had a purpose.
"Rhea," he said. "Let's go."
They sprinted toward the exit.
The ship didn't stop them.
It guided them.
Because the past wasn't done with Kael Mercer.
But neither was the future.