Three cycles had passed since your escape from the terminal chamber. Three cycles of hiding in the shadowed underbelly of Alkora, moving only when necessary, sleeping in abandoned NeoPods and forgotten maintenance tunnels. The small device... your only connection to the mysterious "A" had become your lifeline, pulsing with messages that guided your path through the labyrinthine city.
The Traveler's Church holds more than worship. Beneath the eastern altar lies a passage. The guardians will not see you if you enter during the Hour of Reflection.
- A
Isardeth's spawn patrol the northern quadrant. Take the old maintenance shafts through Sector 9. They haven't discovered those pathways yet.
- A
I can see you're close now. So close. The first shard pulses with anticipation. As do I.
- A
With each message, your curiosity about this unseen ally grew. You found yourself crafting longer responses, asking questions beyond mere survival needs. Who was she? How did she know so much? Why had fate bound your paths together?
Her answers came slowly at first, cautious fragments that revealed little:
Names have power in the 70 Zones. Mine is Alexis. That's all you need for now.
- A
I know what you seek because I seek it too. The shards call to those who can hear them.
- A
But as days passed, her messages grew longer, more personal. You learned she was a navigator of sorts, one who could slip between the zones undetected. You learned she had been watching for someone like you... someone the shards would respond to. You learned she had been alone for a very long time.
And somewhere amid the dangers and the hiding, amid the cryptic warnings and shared secrets, you found yourself looking forward to each new message with a warmth that went beyond mere survival.
I think it's time we met. The first shard will not reveal itself to just anyone. It needs both of us. The Shrine of Forgotten Light. Tomorrow at the dimming of the second sun. Come alone.
- A
Your reply was simple, but your heart raced as you sent it:
I'll be there. How will I know you?
Her response came moments later:
You'll know. We are already connected in ways you don't yet understand.
- A
The Shrine of Forgotten Light stood on the periphery of Alkora's eastern district, a structure of ancient stone and crystal that predated much of the surrounding metropolis. Unlike the sleek, metallic architecture that dominated the cityscape, the shrine bore the weathered marks of countless ages, its surfaces etched with symbols whose meanings had been lost to time.
You arrived as the second sun began its descent below the horizon, casting the shrine in amber light that filtered through crystalline windows. The entrance, a towering archway flanked by statues of robed figures, stood open, unguarded. Inside, the air hung heavy with the scent of something like incense, yet more metallic, more alien.
No worshippers occupied the main chamber. Only the soft hum of energy emanating from somewhere deeper in the structure broke the silence.
"You came."
The voice came from behind you, melodic and clear. You turned to find a woman standing in the entrance, silhouetted against the dying light of the second sun. As she stepped into the shrine, her features became visible...eyes that shifted between violet and silver depending on how the light caught them, dark hair that seemed to absorb the ambient glow around her, skin marked with intricate patterns that might have been tattoos or might have been something else entirely.
"Alexis," you said, and it wasn't a question.
She smiled, the expression transforming her serious face. "And you're the one the terminal chose. The one who can hear the shards." She studied you for a moment, head tilted slightly. "I wasn't sure you'd trust me enough to come."
"I wasn't sure either," you admitted. "But something... something told me I should."
She nodded, understanding without need for further explanation. "The shards speak in ways beyond words. They've been calling to both of us." She gestured toward a doorway at the far end of the chamber. "The first one waits below. The Mastron Shard. Vision and Empathy Force."
As you walked together through the shrine, she kept a careful distance, though her eyes frequently found yours. There was caution in her movements, but also a barely contained excitement.
"How did you find me?" you asked. "How did you know where I'd be when I escaped the terminal chamber?"
"I didn't," she replied. "Not exactly. But I've been tracking the energy signatures of the shards for cycles upon cycles. When the terminal in Alkora activated after years of dormancy, I knew someone had triggered it. Someone the system recognized as worthy." Her gaze lingered on your face. "I took a chance. I'm glad I did."
The passage led downward, spiraling beneath the shrine into darkness that gradually gave way to a soft, pulsing violet light. The source revealed itself as you emerged into a circular chamber: a crystalline formation at the center, hovering above a pedestal of black stone. Within the crystal floated a fragment that seemed to shift between solid and energy: the Mastron Shard.
"It's beautiful," you whispered.
Alexis stood at your side, close enough now that you could feel the warmth radiating from her. "It's dangerous," she countered, but there was reverence in her voice. "The Killian Shards contain power beyond reckoning. Crimson distributed them to the ICA for safekeeping, but over time, they were hidden, some say even from the ICA themselves."
"Why would anyone hide something so powerful?"
"To protect it. To protect us all." She turned to face you fully. "Isardeth sought to control all seven shards. With them, he could reshape the very fabric of the 70 Zones to his will."
The chamber seemed to grow colder at the mention of that name. "And what do you seek to do with them?"
"Return them to their rightful guardian. Alament." She spoke the name with such devotion that you couldn't doubt her sincerity. "The shards must be collected and restored before Isardeth's spawn locate them. Already they grow closer."
She stepped toward the pedestal, then hesitated, turning back to you. "I cannot take it alone. The shrine's ancient protections require those linked by trust to claim a shard. It's a safeguard against those who would use force or deception."
Alexis extended her hand toward you, palm up, an invitation and a question in the gesture. "Do you trust me enough for this? Will you help me claim the shard?"
You looked at her outstretched hand, then into her eyes that shifted between colors like distant stars. Everything in this world remained foreign to you... your own identity still a mystery, your purpose unclear. Yet in her gaze, you found something recognizable. Something true.
You placed your hand in hers.
Her fingers intertwined with yours, warm and surprisingly strong. Something electric passed between you at the contact. Not just physical sensation, but a deeper connection, as if memories were being shared without words.
"Together, then," she whispered, and led you to the pedestal.
You stood on opposite sides of the hovering crystal, your joined hands extended over it. The violet light intensified, bathing both your faces in its glow. Alexis began to speak words in a language you didn't recognize, yet somehow understood on a level beyond conscious thought. A ritual of claiming. A prayer of protection.
The crystal casing around the shard began to dissolve, evaporating into mist that swirled around your joined hands. The shard itself, no larger than a palm--pulsed with increasing intensity, its light synchronized with your heartbeats.
"Now," Alexis said, her voice strained with concentration. "We must both will it to come to me. Focus your intent. Trust me to be its vessel."
You closed your eyes, focusing on the sensation of her hand in yours, on the trust that had brought you to this moment. You pictured the shard rising, accepting her as its guardian, joining with her purpose that had become, somehow, your purpose as well.
A gasp made you open your eyes. The Mastron Shard had risen between you, hovering momentarily before moving toward Alexis. It paused before her chest, suspended in the air as if making its final assessment.
Then it surged forward, merging with her in a blinding flash.
Alexis's body arched, her grip on your hand tightening to an almost painful degree. Violet energy coursed over her skin, illuminating the strange patterns there, revealing them not as tattoos but as a network of receptacles designed for this very power. Her eyes flew open, now solid violet with no pupil or iris, seeing beyond the physical realm.
Yet through it all, she did not release your hand. And somehow, through that connection, you felt echoes of what she experienced. Visions of distant zones, glimpses of faces unknown to you, fragments of knowledge that existed beyond words.
As the energy stabilized, coursing through her in more controlled pulses, Alexis's eyes gradually returned to normal. She swayed slightly, and you stepped forward to steady her with your free arm.
"It's done," she whispered, her voice layered with harmonics that hadn't been present before. "The Mastron Shard has accepted me as its temporary guardian." She looked down at your joined hands, then back to your face with an expression of wonder. "And it has shown me who you truly are, though you don't yet know yourself."
Before you could ask what she meant, a slow, deliberate sound echoed through the chamber--hands clapping in mocking applause.
From the shadows stepped a figure draped in robes of midnight blue, face concealed by a hood adorned with silver sigils. Only the lower portion of the face was visible... pale skin stretched over sharp features, lips curved in a cold smile.
"Well done," said the figure, voice silken with malice. "I knew if I waited patiently enough, someone would do the difficult part for me."
Alexis tensed, her body shifting slightly to position herself between you and the newcomer. "Isardeth's spawn," she hissed, the violet energy flickering beneath her skin.
The figure bowed with exaggerated courtesy. "I am Malachar, faithful servant of the rightful ruler of all zones." The hood tilted, regarding you both with hidden eyes. "And I must thank you for recovering the Mastron Shard. My master will be most pleased when I bring it to him, along with the two of you."
"You allowed us to claim it," you realized aloud. "You've been watching all along."
"Of course." Malachar's smile widened. "The shrine's protections are... inconvenient for those of us who serve Isardeth. But now that you've removed those protections..." He raised a hand on which a gauntlet of black metal gleamed. "Now it's simply a matter of taking what is rightfully ours."
Alexis's grip on your hand tightened once more, and when she spoke, her voice was low, meant for you alone: "When I move, stay with me. Don't let go. The shard connects us now... it will protect both of us if we remain linked."
You gave her hand the slightest squeeze in acknowledgment.
Malachar took a step forward, gauntleted hand extended. "Come now, let's not make this unnecessarily difficult. The shard, if you please. Perhaps I'll even let one of you live to serve my master."
"The shards were never meant for Isardeth!" Alexis exclaimed, her free hand rising as violet energy gathered around her fingers. "They belong to Alament and the light."
"Alament," Malachar spat the name like a curse. "A coward who hides in Voluris while the zones fall into chaos. Isardeth will bring order to--"
Alexis moved with stunning speed, the energy around her hand coalescing into a blinding arc that struck the chamber floor between them and Malachar. Stone cracked, and the floor began to collapse into the darkness below.
"Now!" she shouted, pulling you toward a passage opposite from where Malachar stood. "Run!"
Still clasping her hand, you ran with her as the chamber disintegrated behind you, Malachar's furious shouts echoing through the shrine. The passage twisted upward, leading not back to the main shrine but to a different exit, one that opened onto a narrow ledge overlooking the eastern edge of Alkora.
An AeroWing hovered there, its sleek form nearly invisible against the night sky that had fallen during your time in the shrine.
"Get in," Alexis urged, finally releasing your hand to activate the vehicle's entry hatch. As it slid open, she glanced back at the shrine entrance where ominous lights had begun to glow. "Malachar has called for reinforcements. We don't have much time."
You climbed into the AeroWing, settling into the co-pilot's seat as Alexis took the controls. Her hands moved with practiced efficiency, bringing the engines to life with a quiet hum.
"Where are we going?" you asked as the vehicle lifted away from the ledge, accelerating into the darkening sky.
Alexis gazed at you, the violet energy of the Mastron Shard still faintly visible beneath her skin, making her look almost otherworldly in the dim light of the cockpit. Her lips curved into a smile that held equal parts determination and something warmer, more personal.
"To find the second shard," she said, reaching over to briefly touch your hand again, the contact sending that same electric connection through you. "And to help you discover who you truly are. The Mastron Shard has shown me glimpses of your destiny, and it's intertwined with all of our fates."
The AeroWing shot forward, leaving the lights of Alkora behind as you headed toward the endless stars above, and whatever secrets awaited in the vastness of the 70 Zones.