The Earth glowed blue in the void — calm, distant, unaware of how close it was to a new dawn of chaos.
Inside the United Planetary Command Station, dozens of holo-screens filled the air, showing live readings from Mars: gravitational spikes, radiation bursts, and seismic patterns that defied every known model.
"Run that again," Commander Idris said, his voice sharp.
An officer nodded, fingers flying across the console. The screens blinked, zooming in on the coordinates of the Elysium Quadrant — once a stable desert, now flashing with wild energy signatures.
"Still reading anomalies, sir," the officer reported. "Seismic activity peaked twenty-two hours ago — roughly when we lost contact with the Valles Expedition Team."
Idris folded his arms. His uniform gleamed under the pale light, but his face was lined with fatigue. "And the signal fragments we recovered?"
"Mostly static," another technician said. "But there's one transmission we can't decode. It's not in any known format — analog or quantum."
The commander leaned closer. "Play it."
A faint crackle filled the room. Then, buried in layers of distortion, came a voice — faint, echoing, ancient:
"The bearer returns… and the chains remember."
Silence.
Everyone in the command center froze. The sound was neither human nor machine — something between both, something alive.
Idris frowned. "Was that from the team?"
"No, sir," the technician whispered. "That came from… below the Martian crust."
A chill ran through the room.
Dr. Helena Korr, head of xenophysics, turned slowly from her monitor. "We're not just dealing with an energy source anymore. That—whatever that is—is sentient."
Another officer approached, tablet in hand. "Sir, we've also received an incoming encrypted message from the lunar relay. It's from Director Naresh at the Orbital Command."
Idris nodded. "Put him through."
A large holo-window appeared. Director Naresh's holographic form shimmered, his expression tense. "Commander, I've been monitoring the anomaly. You're not going to like this. Mars isn't the only one showing instability."
Idris straightened. "Define instability."
"Gravitational waves are echoing through the solar system," Naresh said. "Something about the pattern suggests synchronization — like a pulse. We're picking up traces of it from the moons of Jupiter and even Titan."
Helena looked up sharply. "That's impossible. Mars doesn't have the mass to project waves that far."
Naresh's tone was grim. "Unless the energy isn't coming from Mars alone."
For a moment, the room seemed to tilt, the weight of his words sinking in.
Idris exhaled slowly. "You're saying… it's connected to something larger."
"Yes," Naresh said. "And whatever's awakening on Mars might be the first of many."
The transmission cut. The room went dark for a second as power flickered from the electromagnetic interference coming from Mars.
Helena turned toward Idris. "We have to get the team back before they trigger another pulse."
Idris stared at the live feed — the red planet glowing faintly under the static of energy storms. "If they're even still alive," he said.
But then the screens flickered again.
A new feed appeared — a blurred image from the rover's black box, recently transmitted before the signal cut. It showed the team fleeing across the dunes… and, behind them, something massive rising from the surface.
Helena's eyes widened. "My God… it's real."
The creature's outline barely held on the screen — a shape of fire and shadow bound by golden light.
And just before the image vanished, the faint reflection of Eris's glowing eyes appeared in the corner — his expression distant, like he was listening to something only he could hear.
Helena turned to the commander, her voice almost trembling. "Whoever that boy is — he's not just human anymore."