Kael didn't waste time.
Within hours, he and his team were riding atop a chartered mag-train streaking across the continent toward Vel Talem. The air in the cabin was tense. Liora pored over resonance data, Sera cleaned her blades, Darius muttered curses under his breath, and Aeris remained silent—watching Kael like he might shatter any second.
"You feel it too, don't you?" Liora asked softly.
Kael nodded. The pull in his chest had only grown stronger. Like a song he couldn't unhear, calling him forward.
> "It's not just another Vessel," he said. "It's linked to me. Like a branch from the same root."
"And this branch is already hungry for power," Aeris muttered.
Kael didn't disagree.
Vel Talem – Chaos in the Streets
By the time they arrived, the city was a nightmare.
Gravity storms twisted lampposts into spirals. Entire buildings hovered several meters off the ground, trembling as if ready to collapse. Citizens screamed, fleeing the sector near the old cathedral district—where the new Vessel had awakened.
Kael stepped off the train, eyes narrowed.
"Stay together," he ordered. "We find him. We stop him. Before he decides the world is his to break."
But as they approached the cathedral, a young voice called out from the shattered plaza.
"Kael! I knew you'd come!"
A boy floated above the cobblestones, surrounded by a swirling halo of black-red gravity rings. His grin was feral, eyes blazing with eerie familiarity.
"Who are you?" Kael demanded.
"I'm you," the boy laughed. "Or at least... what you left behind when you chose to chain yourself. But don't worry, big brother. I'll show you how beautiful freedom can be."
The gravity around him expanded outward in a shockwave, sending Kael and his team sprawling.
Kael gritted his teeth as he rose.
"So this is what happens when power wakes up without a conscience," he growled.
The boy spread his arms wide.
"Call me... Nex. And watch as I remake this pathetic world in our image."