The acid bubbled under them like a hungry pit.
MC held the maintenance bar with one arm, gripping Kael with the other.
Kael's breathing was sharp, rapid, turning into quick desperate squeaks.
"Commander," he whispered, "this… this isn't a room. This is a stomach. A GIANT stomach."
MC didn't respond. He kept scanning the ceiling for their escape route.
Kael's voice shook harder.
"Commander... I swear this place wants to digest us. I'm not even tasty! I'm too skinny! I'm like... like emergency rations!"
MC couldn't help the faint exhale from his nose — the closest thing he ever gave to a laugh.
But Kael wasn't done.
"No, no, Commander, listen. If I die here, tell my mother I was brave. Actually, no — lie. Tell her I fought a dragon. A big one. With wings. And a sword. And six-pack abs."
MC:
"Kael. Focus."
Kael nodded rapidly — then looked down again.
Huge mistake.
His eyes stretched wide like saucers.
"COMMANDER—THE ACID JUST BURPED! IT BURPED! ACID BURPS—WHAT KIND OF PLANET IS THIS?! WHO INVENTED THIS? I WANT TO WRITE A LETTER!"
The panic hit him so hard his legs kicked wildly in the air.
Then, mid-kick, he froze.
Completely still.
"Commander…" he whispered, voice soft, fading…
"…my spirit has left my body."
And just like that—
Kael fainted, passing out so dramatically his arms flopped like noodles.
MC caught him sharply before he fell, adjusting Kael over his shoulder.
He sighed.
"…You pick the worst possible moments."
Below them, the acid hissed louder, rising another few centimeters.
MC's tone returned to full seriousness.
"Hang on, Kael. Laugh later. Survive now."
Kael, unconscious, mumbled weakly:
"…tell the dragon I said hi…..
The acid tank churned violently below them. The gel-like substance hissed and bubbled, climbing up like a living thing, reaching the edge of the broken ceiling panel. MC's boots pressed against a narrow metal joint, the slick surface threatening to slide out from under him. One hand gripped an exposed pipe overhead; the other locked under Kael's arms. The ceiling groaned like it might collapse any second
MC didn't answer. Timing was everything. His muscles coiled, core tensed. With one explosive pull, he lifted Kael, kicking against the pipe for leverage. The broken ceiling gave way under their combined weight, and they crashed through the maintenance gap, landing with a painful thud on the metal grating above.
Kael lay there, motionless. His chest rose and fell faintly, shallow, barely breathing. Kale was frozen, staring in disbelief.
MC immediately checked him.
Pulse — weak but there.
Airway — clear, but Kael's head lolled to one side.
MC rubbed his sternum firmly, a painful but necessary wake-up method. Kael twitched, groaning incoherently.
When that wasn't enough, MC pulled a small, field-ready emergency ampule from his kit. He crushed it under Kael's nose — a sharp ammonia stimulant used to revive soldiers from unconsciousness.
Kael coughed violently, gasping. Eyes snapped open, full of confusion and panic.
"AM I DEAD!? IS THIS HEAVEN!? WHY DOES EVERYTHING SMELL LIKE CHEMICALS!? DID I JUST SWIM IN ACID!?"
MC finally moved, grabbing Kael's legs to steady him. MC adjusted his hold, keeping him upright.
"Stay calm," MC said, voice low but steady. "You're alive. You're safe now."
Kael blinked rapidly, shivering.
"I… I almost died… in ACID! WHO PUT ACID IN THIS ROOM? WHY—"
MC ignored the panic and began moving forward, carefully carrying Kael along the maintenance tunnel, Kale supporting from behind. The hiss of the acid far below them reminded them both how close the line between survival and death had been.
The corridor opened into a narrow tunnel, ribbed with strange, bone-like structures that glowed faintly with pale green veins. Each pulse of light moved like a heartbeat. Kale swallowed. Kael clung to MC's arm, still trembling.
Outpost is organic tech."
Kael's jaw dropped.
"That doesn't make me feel better! Breathing walls are scary enough. But circulatory walls? This is—WHAT KIND OF PLANET—"
Kale tried not to laugh, but a choked snort escaped him.
The tension didn't drop. The low hum of something massive beneath their feet vibrated through the floor. MC slowed, listening. Kael noticed the subtle shift in his posture, the sharpening of his eyes.
"MC… you're doing that thing again," Kael whispered.
"What thing?"
"That thing where your eyes go… weird. Like you're hearing ghosts."
MC said nothing, only moving forward with calm precision, behind him. Inside, something in the walls, in the pulse of the alien tech, connected faintly to the dream he had carried since childhood — a dream he --
The Nest was silent, but not peaceful. Its corridors thrummed with a quiet tension, a residual heartbeat of a structure built long ago for purposes no one alive fully understood. The walls were a mix of cold metal and organic lattices, pulsating faintly with light that seemed almost alive. Somewhere deep within, a secret waited.
MC moved cautiously, boots clicking against the grated floor. Every sense was alert. The trap-ridden journey to this vault had left him drained but focused. Kael followed close behind, his hand gripping the edge of MC's jacket whenever the corridors narrowed or the floor shivered beneath them.
They reached the last section of the vault. A massive door, ribbed and etched with alien symbols, loomed before them. The symbols glowed faintly, reacting to their proximity. MC's hand brushed against the surface. The metal hummed under his touch, and Kael stiffened.
"MC… you feel that?" Kael whispered, eyes wide.
"Yeah," MC said, voice low. "Something's alive behind that door. Not a person… something older."
Kael swallowed, trying not to tremble. "I— I don't like alive things that hide in walls."
MC ignored the remark, pressing his palm against the symbols. The door responded, shivering, then slowly parted with a hiss, revealing the vault's interior.
Inside, the chamber was vast, impossibly tall, and dimly lit by pulsating green veins running along the walls. At the center stood a pod, translucent and crystalline, suspended by energy tendrils that rippled gently like water. A faint mist swirled around it, carrying the scent of something ancient, something neither fully chemical nor natural.
Kael's jaw dropped. "Is… is that… alive?"
MC stepped closer, eyes narrowing. The pod was humming, its light pulse syncing faintly with his heartbeat. The air was thick with static energy, pressing lightly against their skin, almost as if the room itself was aware of their presence.
Then the pod shifted. A voice, alien and strange, vibrated through the chamber, not with words, but with tone and resonance that tugged at the edges of comprehension. Kael stumbled back, clutching MC's arm.
"MC… did it… just talk?"
MC's hand hovered above the pod's surface. "Yes… but not in words we know."
The voice repeated, clearer this time, layered with tones that seemed to translate themselves into meaning in Paul's mind:
"The war… will not end. The Key… lost. The Key… must be found. Without it… the galaxy… burns."
Kael's eyes widened. "The Key? What… what does that mean?"
MC did not answer immediately. His gaze scanned the pod, the chamber, the glowing veins of the walls. Something deep inside stirred—a dream he had carried since childhood, fragments of images he had never understood, now echoing in the pulse of the pod.
"The Key… the balance… the one who holds it… unknown. Seek the path. Seek the path… before eons pass in blood."
Kael took a shaky step back. "MC… this is… I… I think it's warning us. The war isn't over. And… it's saying something about a Key."
MC's jaw tightened. "It's more than a warning. Whoever… or whatever… is in that pod knows the truth. The war… the factions, the battles… none of it ends until the Key is found."
The voice hummed again, now pulsing with energy, as if resonating with something only MC could detect:
"The Key… is not what you see. The path is false… but the path leads. The one who carries it… unknowingly… will awaken the balance. Beware the seekers… beware the shadows… seek the false to find the true…"
Kael stared at MC, pale and trembling. "MC… did you… understand any of that?"
MC's eyes were fixed on the pod, unblinking, absorbing every pulse of energy, every vibration. "Yes… partially. It's a riddle. A warning. The Key… it's not what we think it is. But something we're about to chase… it's false. And yet… it will lead us to the truth."
Kael exhaled shakily. "I… I think I need a minute." He sank to the floor, resting his back against the wall, still staring at the pod.
MC ignored him, reaching instinctively toward his pendant beneath his jacket. The metal felt warm, alive even, as if responding to the pod's energy. He did not yet understand its significance, only that a connection had been made, subtle but undeniable.
"MC… that thing…" Kael said, voice trembling, "It's talking about the Key like it's… important. Like… the galaxy depends on it."
MC nodded slowly. "It does. And apparently… we're the ones meant to find it."
Kael groaned. "Great. So… we have to go chase a Key that we don't even know exists. Sounds totally safe."
MC's gaze hardened. "Kael… this isn't safe. But it's necessary. Without the Key… war never ends. This pod… it knows the balance. And the balance… it might already be tipping."
The pod pulsed once more, energy rippling outward, brushing against their skin like a whispering wind. Then, almost imperceptibly, it settled, its message delivered, leaving behind a lingering resonance that clung to the chamber like a memory.
Kael stood shakily. "MC… so… what now?"
MC exhaled, flexing his hands, as though gathering invisible threads of control around the puzzle they had just uncovered. "Now… we prepare. The Key… whoever thinks they have it, whoever is chasing it… it's probably false. But the path we take, the dangers we face… it will lead us to the truth. And when we find the truth…" His hand brushed the pendant again, feeling its subtle warmth. "…we'll know what must be done."
Kael's lips parted, a mix of awe and fear. "Wait… are you saying… the Key… might already be… with us?"
MC did not answer. He didn't need to. Something deep in his chest, beneath muscle and bone, stirred. The pendant against his skin pulsed faintly, almost like a heartbeat. A secret buried in his past, a fragment of power he had never understood, was waiting. And it was watching.
Kael's voice broke the silence again. "MC… we have to move. Whoever's hunting the Key… they'll know we're here. This Nest isn't as abandoned as it looks."
MC nodded, eyes scanning the vault one last time. The pod sat silently, as if observing them now, its warning delivered. Its alien language faded into a lingering hum, like a heartbeat in the walls.
"Kael… follow me. Keep your senses sharp. Nothing here is what it seems, and nothing out there will be easy."
Kael gritted his teeth. "Yeah… tell me again why I agreed to follow you into a glowing alien death trap?"
MC gave a faint, grim smile. "Because the galaxy depends on it. And sometimes… the right people have to chase the wrong thing to find the truth."
They exited the vault, stepping cautiously over the threshold where alien metal met organic lattice, leaving the pod behind. But its resonance followed them, quiet and persistent, echoing in Paul's mind like a distant memory he had not yet lived.
Outside, the corridors of the Nest stretched into darkness. Shadows moved, and the faint hum of distant machinery reminded them that they were not alone. Somewhere, the echoes of a war that had lasted eons still whispered through space, seeking the lost Key, seeking balance, seeking its true master.
MC paused, hand brushing the pendant beneath his jacket again. Unaware, unknowingly, he carried the real Key with him. The one everyone else would hunt for, the one the pod's warning had obscured behind riddles and lies.
Kael's voice broke through his thoughts. "MC… this… this is going to get worse before it gets better, isn't it?"
MC's eyes narrowed, a shadow of determination crossing his face. "Yes… Kael. Worse. Much worse. But we'll find it. And when we do… the galaxy will either finally rest, or it will burn."
Kael swallowed, following his lead. "Great. Just… remind me again why we're volunteering to be the firefighters of the entire universe?"
MC didn't answer immediately. His gaze drifted toward the faint green pulse of the Nest walls, toward the stars beyond the vault. "Because, Kael… someone has to."
The shadows shifted. The hunt had begun.
And for Paul Love… the true Key was already within him, silently waiting, hidden, and patient.
---