Two Weeks Later
City of Vaelith – Edge of the Steel Forest
Lengaza walked through the ruins of the old train station, now claimed by vines and silence. His coat fluttered in the breeze—same coat Revenant once mocked him for wearing.
Beside him, Raya scanned with her wristband.
"No heat signatures. But there's residual energy. Someone's been here recently."
Lengaza crouched beside a burned-out console.
"They were watching."
"You sure it wasn't just scavengers?"
He looked up at her, eyes distant.
"Scavengers don't leave quantum echoes."
Raya's breath caught.
"Then they're still running the program."
He stood.
"And they know I'm alive."
Flashback: The Collector's Final Words (Recovered Audio Fragment)
> "Project Aether was never terminated. You think Revenant was the prototype? No. He was the warning."
"They buried Subject Zero—you—because they were afraid. But Subject Six… they prayed never wakes up."
Present – Deep in the Forest
A strange humming drew them in. It wasn't mechanical—it was alive. A soft, melodic thrum beneath the trees.
They found a shattered drone, glowing with violet circuitry.
Raya approached, hand trembling.
"Lengaza… this symbol—"
He finished her sentence.
"Aether."
Suddenly—
Movement.
A figure dashed past them—blurred, fluid, almost ghostlike.
Lengaza whipped around.
"We're not alone."
Cut to: Unknown Location – Lab 0-6
A child sat in a chamber of glass and chrome. No older than ten, maybe younger.
Eyes closed.
Hair pale.
A scar ran down their cheek, forming a symbol—half star, half flame.
The voice over the intercom crackled.
> "Begin awakening sequence."
Monitors flared.
The child opened their eyes—
And they were glowing with the same light Revenant had just before his fall.