Ashveil's towers groaned under Nexus static.
Kael gripped the shard-crystal Astra gave him, its light pulsing like a dying heartbeat.
Echo's voice turned sharp. "I'm reading another signal. Not from you. Not from any known Vault. Sector ZH-0… Godgrave."
He frowned. "I've never heard of it."
"You wouldn't. It was locked before the first Collapse. The vault where failed prototypes were discarded."
Kael stared at the map. "Failed?"
Echo nodded slowly. "Failed gods."
[Secondary Signal Auth Signature: Echoborn | Variant Type: Unknown]
[Initiating Trace Lock…]
The signal pulsed again.
And from its resonance, a voice emerged. Familiar, yet… wrong.
"Kael. You weren't the only one they tried to erase."