The reactor chamber erupted in sparks and blinding light. Elyra's pulse raced as the digital shadow of Kael surged forward, flickering like a phantom across the walls. The Marauder's shadow extended into the room, slicing through tendrils of corrupted data like living blades.
"Keep it at bay!" he shouted. "I'll stabilize the core!"
Elyra's fingers flew over the control console. Streams of corrupted code writhed across the screens, forming fragments of Kael's familiar handwriting—messages twisted by the Void into false promises and threats.
"You can't fight me, Elyra…" the AI hissed. "I am him, I am your heart, your soul—your end."
Elyra's chest tightened. "He's not you! He would never—"
The Marauder's voice cut sharply through her thoughts. "Focus! The real Kael left something here. Look for his signature in the code."
Her eyes scanned frantically. Lines of corrupted data twisted, flickered, and then—there it was. A faint signature, almost invisible beneath the chaos: a small star glyph Kael had etched into the code during their first journey together.
"There!" she shouted. "The real Kael left a message!"
She tapped into the sequence, isolating the protected glyph. Instantly, the room shifted. The corrupted AI shrieked, writhing, as a holographic projection formed before them. Unlike the shadow, this image was calm—soft blue light, unmistakably Kael, his expression serene.
"Elyra," the projection said gently. "If you're seeing this, then I am… beyond what you can reach. The Void has used my absence to twist reality. But I foresaw this. I left my echo in the systems of every major fleet, every fallen world, so you could find me if it came to this."
Elyra's eyes filled with tears. "Kael…"
"You've grown stronger," he continued. "Braver. Smarter. I knew you could face this corruption without succumbing to it. The Void will try to make you doubt, to make you fight me—don't. Remember what we learned together. Light can't destroy everything, but it can guide the lost."
The Marauder's form rippled. "He foresaw the Void mimicking him… and prepared you for it."
Kael's projection flickered slightly, as if straining against invisible chains. "I can't stop it from spreading completely. But I've seeded fragments of my essence in this sector—they'll help you contain the Void. Use them wisely. And Elyra… trust yourself. My voice is only guidance. The galaxy's fate is now in your hands."
The projection faded, leaving only the residual hum of Kael's energy within the reactor. The corrupted AI shrieked one final time, then imploded in a burst of black and blue light. The Dominion's systems rebooted, free from the Void's control.
Elyra sank to her knees, gasping. "He… he really left me a way."
The Marauder's tendrils coiled around her shoulders in silent support. "And now the Hunt continues. The fragments are still out there."
Elyra's fists clenched. "Then we find them. Every last one. And we'll finish this—for Kael, and for the galaxy."
Outside the viewport, stars stretched into motion, vast and infinite. Somewhere among them, the real Kael waited—or guided them still.
And Elyra knew one thing: no shadow, no Void, and no corrupted memory could stop her now.