Chapter 7 — The Core's Choice
(continuing directly from the end of Chapter 6)
Kael surfaced from darkness like a man dragged from deep water.
For a moment there was nothing — no sound, no sensation, only the echo of a whisper that did not belong to him.
Become.
His body jerked as his mind snapped back into place.
He lay on a cracked med-bed, inside a small abandoned infirmary buried deeper in the tunnels. Faded safety posters peeled off the walls in curling strips. A single overhead lamp flickered like it was fighting to stay alive.
Mira sat beside him.
Her eyes were red.
"Kael," she breathed, leaning forward. "You're awake."
He tried to sit up — and regretted it. Pain lanced through his muscles like a thousand needles. The V.I.P.E.R. armor had retracted enough to expose skin along his arms and neck. Beneath the metal, faint scar-like lines glowed red.
Mira touched his shoulder. "Easy. You were out for hours."
Kael swallowed. "The bridge… the creature… did everyone make it across?"
"They're safe," she said, and her voice cracked on the word safe. "You nearly weren't."
Kael flexed his hand.
Something pulsed beneath his palm.
The PRIME core.
It sat in a containment crate beside the bed — matte black, laced with faint veins of blue and red. It pulsed slowly, like it was breathing. Or listening.
Kael hated that he could feel it even with his eyes closed. It tugged at him. A pull beneath the sternum. A whisper beneath thought.
Mira noticed his stare.
"Whatever's in that thing got into your head," she said quietly. "You were talking in your sleep."
"What did I say?"
"That you weren't yours anymore."
Kael's jaw tightened. "It wants control."
Mira reached out and placed her hand over his.
"You have control."
Kael almost believed her.
Almost.
Then the room lights flickered and dimmed. His armor crawled up his neck like instinct, reacting before he could think.
[Alert: scanning update available.]
"Run it," Kael muttered.
The HUD flickered into view — broken glass across his visor from the bridge fight. A map overlay formed, marking corridors, heat signatures… Dominion troop movements.
Kael's stomach dropped.
"Mira. We need to move."
She stood immediately. "What is it?"
Kael pointed to the holographic map.
"Surface scans. Dominion forces are converging on this location."
"How soon?"
Kael looked again.
It wasn't troop movement.
It wasn't a search pattern.
It was a straight line.
"A drop ship is coming directly to us," Kael said.
Mira frowned. "How would they know where we are?"
A soft pulse vibrated against Kael's ribs — the core in the crate.
Kael's voice went low. "They're tracking the PRIME signature."
The lights dimmed further.
[Incoming signal detected.]
[Frequency: command priority.]
Kael froze.
The PRIME core lit up.
And a voice filled the room, not through speakers — through them.
‹ Kael. ›
Mira took a step back, face draining of color. "It's… speaking?"
‹ You cannot run from what you are. ›
Kael surged to his feet. "Shut up."
The core pulsed brighter.
The voice sharpened.
‹ Choose. Fight me, or become me. ›
Kael grabbed the crate, slammed the magnetic locks shut, and strapped it to his belt.
"Fine," Kael growled. "Come with us then."
Mira stared at him. "You're taking it? Kael—"
A rumble shook the infirmary. Dust rained from the ceiling as the blast door at the far end began to melt under a cutting torch.
They were out of time.
Kael grabbed Mira's hand and pulled her toward the maintenance exit.
"We move," he said. "Now."
The Escape
They burst into a narrow service tunnel, metal grated walkway beneath their feet. Sirens echoed faintly from deeper in the complex.
Kael's armor rippled across his body, sealing his helm. The HUD mapped a route upward.
[Route calculated — 1.2 kilometers to surface.]
"Can we make it?" Mira asked.
Kael didn't slow.
"We have to."
Behind them, metal screamed as Dominion breaching charges detonated.
Mira ran faster.
Kael glanced back once.
White-armored soldiers poured into the corridor.
Not marching.
Running.
The Surface Breach
They reached a massive industrial lift — rusted, barely functional. Kael slammed the activation switch.
The lift groaned, rising toward a circular hatch — the last barrier between the tunnels and Verrion-9's surface.
Mira breathed hard. "Once we're up top, we head west. The miners said there are safehouses in the cliffs."
Kael nodded, focusing on the hatch above.
Almost there.
Almost—
A voice echoed inside his skull.
‹ You cannot reach the surface without me. ›
Kael gritted his teeth. "Stay out of my head."
‹ Your head was never yours. ›
"Mira—" Kael said, "if I lose control again—"
She grabbed his arm.
"You won't."
The lift jolted.
Stopped.
Kael and Mira looked up at the same moment.
The hatch was sealed with Dominion markings.
Kael lifted his blade.
He slashed.
The metal didn't budge.
Not even a scratch.
[Material: neutron-hardened alloy. Phase blade ineffective.]
Kael cursed under his breath. "We're trapped."
The soldiers' footsteps echoed below.
Mira whispered, "What do we do?"
Kael closed his eyes.
He knew the answer.
"I let the armor decide."
Mistake.
The PRIME core pulsed violently.
Kael doubled over, gripping his chest as heat seared through his sternum.
Mira grabbed him. "Kael!"
The armor surged over his arms without his command — liquid light forming a cutting arc far brighter than anything he'd used before.
Kael didn't swing it.
The armor did.
The blade carved through the neutron hatch like it was air.
Sunlight — harsh and blinding — poured into the lift.
Mira shielded her eyes.
Kael collapsed to one knee, gasping, while the armor returned to his control.
Mira reached for him.
"Kael—what was that?"
He looked up at her.
Terrified.
"That wasn't me."