They gave Klevin a place to sit, a blanket and a hot tea, that smelt faintly of mint and metal. The warehouse hummed with quiet energy— generators, computers and a few people murmuring about Klevin.
Emilia sat beside him, "So, your father was a part of this organisation..."
Klevin nodded slowly, "He used to say the world isn't ready for what he found. I thought he was a paranoid. Now I am not sure so..."
He glanced at the others, people who look ordinary but radiated something unspoken, a tension that bend around them. The women who bent light. A man who made small metal parts float between in his fingers. Another who traced symbols into a notebook that glowed faintly blue.
They weren't heroes, they looked tired, haunted. Like people carrying too many memories.
Elias returned, handling Klevin a small metal pendant— the same circular design, cool and heavy in his palm. He said, "You will need this, it will control your powers to the limit."
Klevin stared at it, "You are assuming I want to."
Elias said, "You don't have a choice of the aether chose you, it will never leave your soul and if you try to reject it it knows how to make you use the power."
Before Klevin could reply the lights in the room flickered, Everyone in the room went silent.
A young man at the monitors looked up. "Sir— The Obsidian Choir, they have found us."
Elias didn't look too much worried, "Close the doors, hide the manuscripts and archives."
Klevin stood, "Wait! What's happening?"
Elias turned to him without any reaction on his face, "Hide as fast as you can, I will handle them..."
The bells of St. Micheal's began to till again in the distance— slow, heavy and echoing through the night.
Klevin felt the pendant, pulse once in his hand. For a second, it glowed faintly red— the same color as the mark on the wall of the Cathedral's basement.
And somewhere deep inside him. Something answered...
The last explosion faded into silence...
The warehouse trembled, the dust of the room falling and somewhere above was the sound of siren echoing. Klevin's pulse thudded in his ears, his hands gripping the cold pendant Elias had given him.
Elias shouted, "Move down the tunnel!"
Klevin and Emilia followed him through a narrow passage hidden behind a rusted generator. The air smelled of smoke and iron. Lights flickered...
Behind them distant gunfire crackled— The Obsidian Choir, they had found us.
They ran for what felt like forever, until the passage opened into a massive chamber beneath the city. The air changed— It was overall colder than before... Klevin blinked as the light grew bigger, revealing the impossible:
And entire underground sanctuary...
Dozens of people moved through the space— some wearing coats with the silver aetherlink insignia, others surrounded by glowing devices and fragments of ancient stone. Screend displayed maps, runes, even satellite feeds.
The ceiling was supported by ancient pillars carved with unknown symbols and in the centre stood a glass orb suspended in midair, pulsating with soft blue light.
Elias said, "This is the orginal base of The Aetherlink order, hidden beneath, the city of Munich since your father disappeared."
Klevin stared, "You built this?"
Elias said, "Not us, we found this."
As Klevin looked around the strange resonance that he felt before returned— that low hum inside his chest, vibrating with the same rhythm as the orb before.
Emilia whispered, "It's.....beautiful!"
Elias nodded, "That's The Aether Cave, from where all the aethers get power source— the main source of power for aether."
Kelvin touched his pendant again, it glowed faintly in response.
The moment didn't last. A tall woman approached— short silver hair, sharp eyes and a cloak embroidered with aetherlink emblem.
She said, "Dr. Hauer, we have locked all the exits, they are going now but they will be back soon."
Elias nodded grimly, "Understood. Prepare the veil and secure the archives."
Her gaze shifted to Klevin, "So this is Adrian's son."
Klevin stiffened, "You knew my father too?"
She replied, "Everyone here knew your father, he was a great aether and a honest man..."
Klevin didn't know what to say...
They led him to a secret chamber...lightened with candles— a traditional vibe... Elias said, "Klevin! What I am gonna tell you no one should know about this... Your father didn't just studied the artifacts, he even sealed it. The aetherlinks prevent it from awakeneing again."
"Then why are they attacking you?", Klevin asked.
"Because the obsidian choir believes that the Artifact is divine— that it belongs to them. To them we are theives of God's light."
Elias paused, "But you... You might me something else entirely."
Klevin frowned, "What do you mean?"
"Your father used the aether to create a bloodline resonance— a way to pass the connection down safely. That's why the energy reacts to you. You are not just a Aetherlink Klevin. You're the first of a new kind— The Divine Controller."
Klevin said, "What do you mean by Divine Controller?"
Elias humbly said, "You are a person that can control the power of aether and make anything in the existence to your wish... You can literally create a new earth!"
Klevin was shocked, "Why I can do these types of things? I just wanted to live a normal life... I don't even know how to use it."
"You will know very... Very soon, but not here because this place can't protect us everytime—"
Late that night, Klevin stood on a balcony, thinking about his powers... Emilia joined him holding two steaming cups of tea.
"You okay?" She asked
He gave a weak smile, "Define okay? I found out that my dad was a part of a secret order, the world's being hunter by zealots, and apparently I can summon everything... Literally everything, so how can I be okay—"
"Sounds like a normal Friday." she joked...
For a moment, the two of them sat in silence, watching the aether core pulse in distance.
Klevin said, "I think, he knew this is going to happen, I even think it was all part of his plan —"
Emilia said, "Who?"
Klevin smiled, "Who it would be my father!!!"
The next morning, Elias gathered them in the central hall. A dozen of aetherlinks stood around a glowing map table, the holographic projection showing europe's outline, one point pulse red— Italy...
"This is our next concern," Elias said, "Rome, Italy."
The word sent a quiet ripple throught the room.
"A week ago we detected the orb of Rome, stopped suddenly... Even I don't know why?" Elias said.
He turned to Klevin, "You are coming with us—"
Klevin blinked, "Me I don't even know how to control my powers!"
"You will learn..." Elias said. "And You will have help!"
He gestured to the three others standing nearby.
"THIS IS YOUR TEAM!"
The first was a tall man with dark skin and an easy grin. He wore fingerless gloves that faintly shimmered with light.
"Marcus Valen," he said. "Aetherlink of Kinetic Veil. I can bend force and momentum. Basically, I punch hard."
Next was a quiet woman with auburn hair tied back, her eyes glowing faintly silver.
"Lina Weiss," she said softly. "Aetherlink of Reflection. I can bend light and sound — make illusions real."
And finally, a boy around Klevin's age with messy blond hair and goggles hanging around his neck.
"Noah Richter," he said. "Tech engineer. Not a full Aetherlink, but I build our weapons and stabilizers. You break it, I fix it."
Klevin smiled faintly. "Sounds fair."
Elias nodded. "You four will leave for Rome tonight. Your objective: locate the anomaly, secure any Artifact fragment, and return before the Choir does."
Klevin hesitated. "And if we can't?"
Elias looked him dead in the eye. "Then make sure no one else can."
That night, as the bells of Munich tolled once more, Klevin stood at the edge of the departure platform — a long tunnel lined with faint blue tracks that led deep into darkness. The Aetherlink transport hummed softly, ready to launch.
Emilia approached him, her expression a mix of worry and pride. "Are you ready for this? With me..."
He looked down at his hands, where faint golden light flickered beneath his skin. "No," he admitted. "But if my father started this, I'll finish it."
The transport doors opened. Klevin stepped inside, the pendant at his neck glowing brighter with every beat of his heart.
For a moment, he swore he could hear that same whisper again — the one from the crypt.
To remember is to rewrite
And for the first time, he understood what it meant.
Because the next time he heard those bells, he wouldn't be running.
He'd be fighting.