The lab was suffused with unbearable stillness as Adrian and Maya sat in the dim glow of the monitors. The name Solarius hung heavy in the air, an ominous weight neither of them could shake.
Adrian rubbed his temples, the mark on his arm pulsing faintly as if in response to his thoughts. "Solarius," he repeated under his breath, the syllables resonating like a forbidden magic. "It's more than a name. It's a presence."
Maya leaned back in her chair, her face pale but composed. "If Solarius is already here like you said, then why haven't we seen it? Why hasn't it... done anything?"
Adrian turned to her, his expression grim. "Maybe it's waiting. Watching. Or maybe..." He hesitated, his voice dropping to a whisper. "Maybe it's already acting through us."
Maya's eyes widened, and she stood abruptly, pacing the room. "No. That doesn't make sense. We're just researchers, Adrian. We're not—" She stopped mid-sentence, her gaze snapping toward the console. "The system. The Threads. What if they're the key? What if we activated something by diving so deep?"
Adrian nodded slowly, the pieces falling into place. "The echoes. The regression. Everything we've done has been peeling back layers, uncovering truths that were buried for a reason. The Veiled One said we've hastened its arrival. What if Solarius needed us to open that door?"
The conversation was interrupted by the sudden flicker of lights. The air grew colder, and a faint, pulsating hum filled the lab. Both Adrian and Maya froze, their eyes darting to the source of the sound.
The monitors flickered to life on their own, displaying strings of symbols that neither of them recognized. The symbols pulsed rhythmically, almost hypnotically, and the hum grew louder.
"It's the Threads," Maya whispered, stepping cautiously toward the console. "But... they're activating themselves."
Adrian's instincts screamed at him to pull the plug, sever the power, and stop whatever was happening. But he didn't move. Something deep within him—something primal—compelled him to stay.
"We need to see this through," he said, his voice low but resolute.
Maya hesitated, then nodded. "If this goes wrong—"
"It won't," Adrian interrupted, though his voice wavered with uncertainty. "It can't."
They seated themselves at the console as the system roared to life, the hum growing into a deafening crescendo. The regression began before they could even initiate it, pulling them into the Threads with an almost violent force.
This time, the Threads of Aevum were unrecognizable. The once-luminous strands were now fractured, their colors dimmed, as if drained of life. The echoes screamed louder than ever, their voices overlapping in a cacophony of pain and desperation.
Adrian and Maya found themselves standing at the center of it all, the fragmented strands converging into a swirling vortex of light and shadow.
And then, it appeared.
At first, it was nothing more than a flicker—a faint glimmer of golden light at the heart of the vortex. But it grew rapidly, expanding into a blinding radiance that seemed to devour the darkness around it. The light was warm yet oppressive, beautiful yet terrifying.
Adrian shielded his eyes, but the mark on his arm burned fiercely, compelling him to look. Maya clutched his arm, her voice trembling. "Adrian... is that...?"
"Solarius," he whispered, his voice shaking.
The light shifted, taking on a humanoid form. Its face was indistinct, a mass of brilliance that radiated power. When it spoke, its voice was layered—both melodic and discordant, both inviting and commanding.
"You have called me forth," it said, its tone neither kind nor cruel. "You have unraveled the seals and beckoned the light that was lost."
Adrian stepped forward, his fear giving way to resolve. "What are you? Why did The Veiled One fight to keep you hidden?"
The figure tilted its head, as though amused. "The Veiled One seeks only stagnation. It fears progress, fears the truth of what I bring. For I am not destruction, as it would have you believe. I am illumination. I am renewal."
Maya's voice was sharp. "Renewal? Do you mean the collapse of entire timelines? The erasure of civilizations? That's not renewal—it's annihilation!"
Solarius turned its gaze to her, the light intensifying. "Annihilation is a misinterpretation, a construct of your limited perspective. What is undone is but the foundation for what must come. The old gives way to the new. Such is the cycle."
Adrian clenched his fists, his mind racing. "And what happens to those who refuse this... cycle? What happens to us?"
Solarius stepped closer, its presence overwhelming. "You have been touched by the light. You are no longer merely observers. You are conduits, bound to the fabric of the Threads. Your fate is intertwined with mine."
Adrian felt the mark on his arm burn brighter, and for a moment, he saw flashes—visions of worlds consumed by light, of echoes crying out in despair, and of himself, standing at the center of it all.
"No," he said, his voice firm. "We didn't choose this. We won't be pawns in your cycle."
The light dimmed slightly, as if in response to his defiance. "You misunderstand, Adrian Mercer. The choice is an illusion. The Threads are unraveling, and the cycle cannot be stopped. You may resist, but resistance will only delay the inevitable."
Before they could respond, the vortex around them began to collapse, the Threads fraying and dissolving into nothingness.
"Adrian!" Maya screamed, grabbing his arm.
He reached for her, but the pull of the collapsing Threads was too strong. The light of Solarius engulfed them, and the world dissolved into blinding brilliance.
When Adrian opened his eyes, he was back in the lab, gasping for air. Maya lay beside him, unconscious but breathing. The machines around them sparked violently, and the air was thick with the scent of burning wires.
The mark on Adrian's arm glowed faintly, but the burning sensation was gone. He staggered to his feet, his mind racing.
Maya groaned, slowly sitting up. "What... happened?"
Adrian helped her to her feet, his expression grim. "We brought it here."
Maya's eyes widened. "What do you mean?"
Adrian gestured to the console, which now displayed the same pulsing symbols they had seen before. "Solarius isn't just in the Threads anymore. It's here, in our world. And it's not going to stop."
Maya's face paled. "Then what do we do?"
Adrian looked at the glowing mark on his arm, his jaw tightening. "We fight it. Somehow, we stop the cycle."
And in the shadows of the lab, the faint hum of Solarius's presence lingered, a reminder that the battle was only beginning.