The Martian wind howled across the dunes like a wounded beast. Crimson dust rose and danced around the caravan of hovercrafts slicing toward the northern pole — the last safe zone left.
Eris stood at the front of the lead craft, his eyes faintly glowing beneath the hood of his frost-lined cloak. Luna sat beside him, adjusting the navigation module. Her breath fogged the glass.
"We're close," she said softly. "The base is just beyond that ridge."
He nodded but said nothing. The silence between them carried more weight than words — a mix of exhaustion, grief, and unspoken questions.
Behind them, the other survivors — Major Vex, Alira, Kael, and two remaining engineers — watched the endless expanse of ice stretch out before them.
The temperature dropped sharply as they crossed the ridge. The red sands gave way to sheets of frozen crystal, glowing faintly blue under the pale sun.
Luna checked her scanner. "Magnetic interference rising… Wait, no — it's not interference."
Eris turned. "Then what is it?"
"Energy," she whispered. "Same pattern as the relic chamber — but stronger."
The vehicles came to a halt. Before them, embedded deep in the ice, stood the entrance to the Aegis Facility — an ancient Martian structure long before the human colonies, its surface marked with runes that pulsed faintly like veins under frozen skin.
The team descended. The air was thin, brittle. Every step echoed like thunder on the ice.
Alira knelt near the runes, brushing away the frost. "This isn't Martian tech," she said. "This is… older. Way older."
Eris crouched beside her. The runes seemed to shift when he looked at them — rearranging like they recognized him.
Then, a faint hum filled the air.
Kael aimed his plasma rifle. "Movement!"
From within the ice, shadows stirred — not living beings, but holographic echoes, memories imprinted into the crystal. They flickered into form — tall beings with elongated limbs and luminous eyes, speaking in a language none could understand.
Luna watched in awe. "Are those… projections?"
Eris shook his head. "No. They're guardians."
The echoes turned toward him, their light intensifying. For a second, it felt like the world held its breath.
Then one of the figures spoke — the sound resonating directly inside their minds:
"Descendant of the Seven… the seal trembles. Why do you walk where gods once bled?"
Everyone froze.
Alira looked from Eris to the apparition. "Did… did it just call you a descendant?"
Eris's heartbeat thundered in his ears. "I don't know," he said quietly. But his tone betrayed doubt — as if part of him already knew.
The ice beneath them cracked. The runes pulsed faster, drawing energy from the air.
Luna grabbed his arm. "Eris, it's reacting to you! Step back!"
But he couldn't. The energy anchored him in place. His eyes glowed brighter — twin orbs of silver fire.
Visions flooded his mind — fragments of battles, of seven warriors standing before a burning sky, of chains binding a colossal being beneath the Martian surface.
A voice — familiar yet distant — whispered through the storm:
"The seal weakens. The Sovereign must rise."
Eris gasped and fell to his knees, clutching his chest. The others rushed to him, but the holographic beings surrounded them, their tone growing grave.
"The bearer awakens the chain. The end begins anew."
Then the light exploded outward — a shockwave of raw energy that shattered the ice, revealing a colossal pit beneath them.
And deep within that pit… something was moving.
A single golden eye opened from the darkness below — ancient, patient, and aware.