The Martian wind howled against the ridge, kicking up clouds of red dust that shimmered under the darkening sky. The crew stood in silence, their helmets reflecting the faint glow of the sun as it bled across the horizon.
Kael broke the quiet first. "That's not an atmospheric flare," he said, voice tight. "The readings are impossible. The radiation spike—it's like the sun's reacting to something here."
Eris looked up. The crimson light pulsed faintly in rhythm with his heartbeat. It wasn't just light. It was a call.
Mara checked her wrist console. "We need to contact Earth now before this storm cuts our signal."
Luna opened a channel, voice steady but trembling. "Control, this is Expedition 09, Mars Sector Delta. We've experienced seismic disturbances, unknown energy emissions, and an atmospheric anomaly. Sending data package now—over."
For a few seconds, only static. Then—
Dr. Helena Vale's voice crackled through.
"Expedition 09, we read you. Transmission unstable, but your signal's clear enough. What's your current status?"
Kael exhaled in relief. "Dr. Vale, you need to analyze the solar readings. The sun—it's not stable."
Vale's tone sharpened. "We know. We detected a triple wavelength distortion across the solar surface twenty minutes ago. It's synchronized with Mars' magnetic field."
Eris stepped forward. "It's not natural, Doctor. Something beneath Mars triggered it. We found… archives. A civilization older than Earth itself."
Silence. Then Vale's voice, colder now.
"Repeat that. You found an active site?"
"Yes," Eris said. "It spoke of a Gate. And something called the Sovereign's Heir."
Vale froze at her console in the Earth Control Hub. Around her, technicians stared at the live feed showing the crimson sun.
"Eris," she said finally, "that name—'Heir of the Seven'—we've seen it before. On an ancient satellite fragment recovered in orbit. We thought it was myth."
Eris's tone darkened. "It's not myth anymore. And whatever was sealed here—it's waking up."
The connection crackled. Static bled into their helmets. The ground trembled again, stronger this time. Rocks tumbled from the ridge as a low roar echoed beneath the crust.
Luna braced herself. "That's coming from below us!"
Kael shouted over the noise. "The power surge—it's reactivating the underground systems!"
From the horizon, bright fissures of blue light streaked across the plains, arcing like veins of lightning. The earth split open in a perfect circle around their camp. Dust and energy spiraled upward in a column of blinding light.
Dr. Vale's voice cut through the static one last time:
"Eris—whatever happens, don't let it reach critical threshold. The readings match something we've only seen once before—during the fall of the Lunar Outpost."
Eris's breath caught. "The Lunar Outpost? You mean—"
But the signal died.
The light engulfed them. For a moment, everything was white.
Then silence.
The storm faded, the red sun dimming slightly, leaving the land eerily quiet.
Mara looked around, voice trembling. "What just happened?"
Eris stared at the glowing fissure beneath his boots. Symbols pulsed within it—runes from the archive, forming a spiral that seemed to breathe.
He whispered, "It's a countdown."
Luna frowned. "To what?"
He looked up at the crimson sky. The sun flared once, as though answering him.
"To the second bleed."