The screaming stopped.
Kael waited.
Nothing moved.
The Abyss had returned to silence, but it was no longer the same silence.
Something had changed.
He could feel it beneath his feet.
A vibration.
Faint.
Almost imperceptible.
Like a heartbeat buried beneath an ocean.
Shade crouched beside the white symbols.
Its fingers hovered above them without touching.
Kael looked down.
PRISON INTEGRITY: 87% The number remained still.
For now.
“What happens when it reaches zero?” Shade didn’t answer.
Kael glanced at it.
“You’re learning words.
Learn this one.” Shade looked up.
“Zero.” “Yes.” The creature stared at the number.
Then it pointed toward the darkness.
“Out.” Kael’s expression hardened.
“You think whatever is down there gets out?” Shade nodded.
“Can it be killed?” A pause.
Shade shook its head.
“Then what can?” Shade looked at Kael.
For several seconds, neither moved.
Finally, Shade pointed at him.
Kael frowned.
“Me?” Shade nodded.
Kael almost laughed.
“That’s not very reassuring.” The ground trembled again.
This time, something answered from beneath it.
One deep pulse.
THUM.
Dust rose from the cracks.
Kael stepped backward.
A second pulse followed.
THUM.
The white symbols beneath his feet changed.
The previous message disappeared.
A new one formed.
PRISONER AWARE.
Kael stared at it.
“That’s bad.” Shade nodded.
“Very.” Kael looked at the creature.
“You know more than you’re telling me.” Shade lowered its head.
That was answer enough.
Kael crouched.
“Then show me.” Shade hesitated.
Kael extended his hand.
“We made a claim.” The black mark on his palm pulsed.
“Whatever you know, I need to see it.” Shade slowly placed its hand against his.
The Abyss disappeared.
Kael was standing in a corridor.
Blood covered the walls.
People were running.
Twelve of them.
Military uniforms.
Weapons drawn.
A woman was shouting something Kael couldn’t hear.
Another man was carrying someone over his shoulder.
Someone screamed.
Then— A door slammed shut.
Kael turned.
There was writing on the metal.
EXPEDITION 07 His breathing stopped.
He recognized the place.
Not because he remembered being there.
Because something inside him did.
The vision shifted.
Twelve soldiers stood before an enormous black gate.
One of them stepped forward.
A younger Riven.
He looked terrified.
Beside him stood— Kael.
Alive.
Younger.
Carrying a weapon.
Kael stared at his own face.
“No…” The memory continued.
Riven turned toward him.
“What happens if we open it?” The younger Kael answered calmly.
“We don’t.” Cairos appeared behind them.
He looked younger too.
“Then why did the Council send us here?” Kael looked at the gate.
“Because they already opened it once.” The memory shattered.
Kael gasped.
He fell onto one knee.
Shade caught him.
His head throbbed.
Images flashed through his mind.
The gate.
Cairos.
Riven.
Twelve people.
And something else.
A voice.
His own voice.
If it wakes up, don’t let me remember.
Kael grabbed his head.
“Why would I say that?” Shade stared at him.
Then whispered: “Because you knew.” Kael looked up.
“Knew what?” Shade pointed toward the ground.
The Abyss answered.
A notification appeared.
MEMORY RESTORATION: 19% NEW MEMORY FRAGMENT ACQUIRED EXPEDITION 07 — ENTRY ACCESS DENIED Kael stared at the final line.
“Access denied?” The Abyss had never denied him a memory before.
He stood.
“Interesting.” A low rumble passed through the darkness.
Then another notification appeared.
PRISON INTEGRITY: 86% Kael’s eyes narrowed.
It had dropped again.
“Every memory makes it weaker.” Shade nodded.
Kael looked toward the darkness.
“Then the Abyss doesn’t want me remembering.” He smiled faintly.
“That makes me want to remember even more.” THE WORLD ABOVE Cairos watched the frozen transmission.
Riven’s final words remained in his head.
The Abyss didn’t take him seven years ago.
It was trying to keep something else from getting out.
Serah stood beside him.
“Where was that transmission recorded?” “We don’t know.” “That’s not an answer.” “It’s the only one I have.” Serah looked at him.
“You’ve known for seven years.” Cairos remained silent.
“About Kael.” Still nothing.
“About the expedition.” Cairos finally looked at her.
“You don’t want the truth.” Serah stepped closer.
“Try me.” Cairos walked toward the old archive terminal.
He entered a security code.
The system rejected it.
He entered another.
ACCESS DENIED.
Serah frowned.
“Someone changed the clearance.” Cairos stared at the screen.
“No.” He entered a third code.
The terminal opened.
A hidden folder appeared.
EXPEDITION 07 — CLASSIFIED Serah looked at him.
“You had access.” “Once.” He opened the file.
There were twelve names.
Then thirteen.
Serah’s eyes narrowed.
“Why are there thirteen?” Cairos didn’t answer.
At the bottom of the list was a name neither of them expected to see.
KAEL.
Serah stared.
“He wasn’t one of the twelve.” “No.” “Then why is he listed?” Cairos closed his eyes.
“Because the Council didn’t send thirteen people.” Serah’s voice dropped.
“Then who added him?” Cairos looked at the screen.
“I did.” Silence.
Serah slowly turned toward him.
“You lied to the Council.” “I lied to everyone.” “Why?” Cairos’s eyes hardened.
“Because Kael wasn’t supposed to be an expedition member.” He closed the file.
“He was the reason the expedition existed.” Somewhere beneath the Council facility, a forgotten machine switched on.
Nobody noticed.
Its ancient display flickered.
SUBJECT K-07: ACTIVE Then another line appeared.
MEMORY RESTORATION DETECTED.
The machine paused.
A final message appeared.
CONTAINMENT PROTOCOL REQUIRES REVISION.
THE ABYSS Kael stood before the darkness.
Shade remained beside him.
Neither spoke.
Then Kael noticed something.
There was a path.
It hadn’t been there before.
A narrow staircase descended into the ground.
Each step was carved from black stone.
At the bottom— A door.
Kael approached.
There were twelve handprints carved into its surface.
He placed his palm against the door.
Nothing happened.
Shade stepped forward.
Its palm touched the thirteenth space.
The door opened.
Kael stared.
“Thirteenth.” Shade looked at him.
Then whispered: “Not prisoner.” Kael’s eyes narrowed.
“What?” Shade pointed toward the darkness beyond the door.
“You.” A cold wind passed through the corridor.
Kael stepped inside.
The door closed behind them.
And somewhere far below— a voice whispered his name.
Not with hatred.
Not with fear.
With recognition.
“Kael.” He stopped.
That voice sounded exactly like his own.
But sometimes the first answer only creates a much bigger question.
Why was Kael the reason Expedition 07 existed?
And why does the Abyss seem to recognize him?
We’re only getting started.