Skybound Odyssey – Chapter 14: Stormbreaker
Ryo stood frozen in the dim blue light of the vault. The air was heavy with dust—and revelation.
"I'm… a weapon?" he whispered.
Kairo Voss nodded solemnly. "You were meant to be. But you became something else."
Lyra looked between them, her voice sharp. "You built him to be a tool of war?"
"I built him to be free," Kairo snapped, then softened. "But the Empire had other plans."
He turned to Ryo. "There were others—twelve prototypes before you. All failed. You were the first to survive… to choose. That choice made you human."
Ryo stepped back, memories flashing—lightning, pain, a fire in the sky. A cold lab. A woman's voice crying out.
"I remember…" he said. "Flashes. A prison in the clouds. An explosion. I ran."
Kairo nodded. "You escaped during the Skyfall Incident. The Empire covered it up—said it was an attack. But they were afraid of what you'd become."
Lyra whispered, "That's why Selena said you weren't supposed to exist."
"She's an Imperial Hound," Kairo said. "Trained to erase anything that threatens the throne. Including their own mistakes."
Ryo clenched his fists. "So all this time… I've been running from a past I didn't know I had."
"You don't have to run anymore," Kairo said. "The Empire thinks you're just a storm they can contain." He leaned in. "Show them what happens when the storm fights back."
Ryo looked at Lyra. Her eyes met his—steady, determined.
"You've got me," she said. "To the end."
He turned to Kairo. "What do I need to do?"
Kairo smiled faintly. "First, you need to reach Skyspire. The Empire's capital fortress. Hidden in the Eye of the Storm."
Ryo's eyes narrowed. "And then?"
"You'll find the other survivors. The ones like you. And when you're ready…"
Kairo placed a glowing core crystal in Ryo's hand.
"…you'll bring the sky crashing down."