Sage stood before the cracked altar, her crystal-blue eyes reflecting the light of the holographic map of the dimensions. Her voice was raspy, but full of authority. "Kael sealed the Aetheris Gate within you because only a mixed-blood of human and Arkanis can contain it. But it was not to protect you—it was to protect the world."
Rael stared at the floor, his hands still trembling from the fight. "What do you mean?"
"The Aetheris Gate is a portal to the Nexus, the core of all dimensions," Sage replied. "If opened, the pure power of the Nexus will consume reality. Your father tried to destroy it, but he failed. The only way... is to bind it to a stable human soul."
Jyn crossed her arms. "So, this kid is just a walking container?"
Sage ignored her. "You're not a mistake, Rael. You're a sacrifice. Kael knew that one day, this seal would break. And when it does..."
The holographic map shifted into a horrifying scene: floating cities crumbling, the sky splitting with thousands of dimensional rifts, and humans and Arkanis turning to ash.
"You will die," Sage finished.
Rael held his shoulder wound. "Then why is the Lumen Faction hunting me?"
"Because they believe they can control the Nexus," Sage approached, her cloak rustling. "They want you as a weapon of mass destruction. But there's something more dangerous..."
Before Sage could continue, Jyn suddenly drew a knife and stabbed it into her chest.
"Jyn! What are you—" Rael choked.
But Sage didn't bleed. Her body transformed into smoke, and her voice echoed from all corners of the temple. "She's not the real Sage!"
The temple walls trembled. The technomagic god statues moved, forming a siege formation. Jyn grinned, her skin melting to reveal a mechanical body underneath—an android replica of the Lumen Faction.
"Target captured. Mission: forced extraction," her robotic voice blared.
Rael ran, but the temple doors were locked. The blue-purple energy in his hand pulsed wildly, destroying one attacking statue. Behind the rubble, he spotted a hidden tunnel.
"Over here!" the real Sage called, emerging from behind an illusionary veil. Her face was pale, blood dripping from her nose—a sign her illusion had just been hacked.
They hurried through the underground tunnel, haunted by the echo of Jyn's robotic footsteps. Sage whispered a technomagic incantation, opening a secret door to an ancient arkive room. Inside, dozens of old monitors displayed recordings of a young Kael.
"My father..." Rael approached.
The recording of Kael spoke: "If you're seeing this, it means the seal is starting to crack. I'm sorry, Rael. I had no right to make you a tool, but... you're the only hope.
Your mother—the Arkanis queen—gave her life to unite our blood. Don't let her sacrifice be in vain."
Sage pressed an emergency button. "We need to go to the Cursed Island, where Kael hid the Arkanis doomsday weapon. Only there can you—"
A massive explosion tore through the room. Android Jyn crashed through the wall, its mechanical hand gripping Sage's neck. "Secondary target: Sage. Elimination authorized."
Rael screamed. The blue-purple energy exploded uncontrollably, flooding the room with blinding light. When his eyes opened again, the android Jyn was reduced to molten metal. Sage lay dying in his arms, her crystal eye shattered.
"The Cursed Island... the key is in..." Sage's breath cut off.
In Sage's palm, Rael found the same core crystal from the black market. When touched, it projected coordinates—a point in the middle of the magnetic ocean, where the sky met the sea.
The hum of machines echoed above. Lumen Faction drones were spying.
"I have to go," Rael whispered, gripping the crystal. But in the corner of the room, Kael's hologram suddenly flickered to life.
"Rael," the hologram spoke, clearer than before. "If you're hearing this, it means you're ready. Your mother is still alive. She's trapped in the Nexus. Save her... save us all."