Lian hung suspended in the air, ember fire spiraling from his chest like a living storm.
Red and white flames intertwined, forming a vortex that rose to meet the awakened Core.
His eyes glowed—
Not red like Arden's corrupted ember,
but a pale, almost luminescent gold.
Half-conscious.
Half-awakened.
Barely himself.
Raine shielded her face from the heat.
Every instinct in her screamed to run, yet something deeper pinned her feet to the ground:
This wasn't Lian losing control.
This was Lian becoming something else.
Omega Arden's Breakdown
Omega Arden slammed against the barrier surrounding the Core—
metal shrieking, sparks flying.
"STOP!
LIAN— DO NOT—"
His voice cracked.
A glitch.
A human hesitation.
For a single fragment of a second, Raine saw it:
Arden's true self flickering beneath the armor—
his actual face, twisted in fear.
"Arden," she whispered,
"You're still in there…"
He froze—just a heartbeat.
But then—
The Omega system overrode the hesitation.
His armor ignited in a surge of crimson energy.
"PURGE PROTOCOL.
EMBER HEIR MUST BE TERMINATED."
He charged again.
Raine's Last Stand
Raine staggered in front of the barrier, blades trembling in her hands.
"You're not touching him."
"MOVE."
"NO."
She lunged, even as her ribs screamed in agony.
The omega blade met her steel—
The impact detonated like a grenade.
BOOOOOM—!
Raine flew backwards, hitting the ground so hard she tasted blood.
"Raine!!" Lian called—
but his voice echoed strangely, like two voices speaking at once.
She tried to stand.
Failed.
Her vision blurred in and out.
"Lian… finish… what you started…"
Omega Arden stepped over her, molten blade rising—
The Core Intervenes
Light erupted.
A shockwave blasted Arden away.
The Core's voice boomed, vibrating the entire chamber:
"YOU CANNOT HARM THE HEIR."
Omega Arden roared against the force, struggling to stand.
"THE HEIR MUST NOT AWAKEN!"
The Core answered, calm yet absolute:
"THE AWAKENING WAS FATED."
Raine groaned, crawling on one elbow.
"Fated…?" she whispered.
"What is Lian… destined for?"
The Core pulsed again, brighter:
"THE PROTOTYPE MIND DECIDES THE SURVIVAL OF TWO SPECIES."
Raine froze.
"Two… species?"
Lian's golden eyes flickered—
regaining a shard of clarity.
"Core… what do you mean— two species?"
"THE EMBER DID NOT ORIGINATE HERE.
YOUR WORLD WAS NEVER MEANT TO CARRY IT.
BUT YOU—
YOU WERE BORN WITH THE SEED."
The vortex amplified, swirling faster.
Raine's heart dropped.
"Lian… it's inside you. The seed… the first ember?"
But the Core corrected her:
"NOT THE FIRST.
THE FINAL."
The Ember Seed
Lian's voice trembled, fractured between human and something more.
"What… does it want me to do?"
The Core responded:
"CHOOSE."
Raine blinked through the pain.
"Choose… what?"
A pause.
Heavy. Cosmic.
"WHICH SPECIES SURVIVES."
The chamber fell silent.
Even Omega Arden hesitated.
Raine choked out,
"Lian… don't listen— you can't let it control you—"
But the Core wasn't finished.
"YOUR FATHER KNEW.
THAT IS WHY HE HID YOU.
THAT IS WHY HE DIED."
Lian's breath hitched.
A lance of pain shot through his chest.
"My father… what did he do?"
"HE DEFIED THE EMBER.
HE DEFIED US."
The flames around Lian surged violently.
Raine forced herself up, clutching her bleeding side.
"Lian! Fight it! Don't let it take you!"
He struggled—
his body shaking.
"I— I can't— the ember— it's trying to—"
Omega Arden's Last Clarity
Suddenly, Omega Arden spoke—
but not in the monster's voice.
In his own.
"Lian…"
A broken whisper.
"Don't… let it choose… for you."
Raine's eyes widened.
"Arden—?"
The human inside the armor fought upward, sparks bursting from the joints.
"You… decide…"
His voice trembled, almost pleading.
"Not the Core… not the ember…"
The Omega system violently shocked him, trying to shut him down—
But Arden forced out one last human sentence:
"Your father… believed in you…"
Then the corruption swallowed him again.
"PURGE.
THE HEIR MUST BE EXTINGUISHED."
And he charged.
Lian's Semi-Awakening
Lian's vision went white.
He didn't think.
He didn't decide.
He reacted.
FWOOM—!
His body erupted in a wave of golden ember fire.
Raine shielded herself—
Omega Arden was hurled backward into a pillar, armor cracking from the impact.
Lian floated down slightly, still glowing, flames curling around him like wings.
His voice echoed unnaturally:
"Do.
Not.
Touch.
Them."
The chamber trembled.
Raine whispered, stunned and terrified:
"Lian… what have you become?"