Kael Darven crouched low in the wet, dense underbrush of Terra. The air was thick with the smell of rain-soaked earth and decaying leaves. It had rained just a few hours ago, and the ground was still soft underfoot, sucking at his boots as he moved through the thick, tangled vines. The wilderness of Xypheris was harsh and unforgiving, a planet scarred by years of failed attempts to fix it. Nature had taken over, reclaiming what the humans had tried to shape.
Far away, Kael could just make out the faint glow of Urbis, the city that seemed to shine forever in the distance. He had once thought of it as a place of hope. Now, it felt like a prison—controlled by the corporations, ruled by greed. The very same people who had destroyed his life. His family. Everything.
Kael wasn't going back. Not after what happened. Not after being cast out like a criminal, just for questioning the system. They'd branded him an enemy of the state, and now he was alone in the wild, with nothing but his wits and a stolen blade to survive. But survival wasn't enough anymore. He had to find something bigger. Something that could bring the truth to light.
He'd heard rumors about a powerful artifact, hidden deep in the wilds of Terra. Some said it could save the planet. Others believed it would destroy them all. Kael didn't care about saving the world. All he wanted was to expose the lies. To show the people of Urbis just how much the corporations were hiding.
Kael kept his pace steady, moving deeper into the forest. The storm clouds above were growing darker, thick with energy. He had no illusions about the dangers of this place. Terra was not kind. It was a wild, unforgiving planet, where radiation storms could pop up without warning and the ruins of old civilizations lay waiting, full of strange, forgotten technology.
He stopped in front of an old stone structure, half-buried beneath vines and moss. This was it. The place he'd been searching for. The Xypherian ruins—remnants of the ancient civilization that had once called this planet home. Now, nothing but ruins remained. But these ruins held secrets, buried deep beneath the earth. Secrets Kael had to find.
He knelt down, pushing away the vines and debris to uncover what lay beneath. His fingers brushed against something cool and smooth. He dug faster, his heart racing. The ground felt heavy with anticipation, and just as the storm above seemed to crackle louder, Kael pulled a small object from the dirt. A glowing, crystalline device. It hummed with a strange energy, its surface covered in intricate markings.
For a moment, Kael just stared at it, unsure of what to do. He had found it. The artifact. The key to everything. His hands trembled slightly as he reached for it.
His earpiece crackled to life.
"Kael, do you have it?" It was Lyra Voss, the scientist who had been helping him. She was the only one who believed in the artifact, the only one who thought it could truly change things.
"I think so," Kael said, his voice tight with excitement. "It's here."
"Be careful," Lyra's voice came through, filled with concern. "We don't know everything about it. It could be dangerous."
Kael nodded, even though she couldn't see him. He wasn't about to just leave it behind. He needed it. They needed it.
But before he could touch the artifact again, the ground beneath him suddenly began to shake.
"Kael! Get out of there! Now!" Lyra's voice was urgent, panicked even.
Kael barely had time to respond before the trees around him began to shake violently. He could hear it now, the sound of something big moving through the underbrush. Fast. Too fast. Cassian Zor's agents. They were already here.
Kael shoved the artifact into his bag and drew his blade, the cold steel comforting in his hand. He didn't need to see who was coming. He knew. They wouldn't stop until they had the artifact. And Kael couldn't let them have it. Not without a fight.
His heart was pounding in his chest as he turned and sprinted through the forest, his feet pounding against the wet ground. The storm had turned into a full-blown downpour, the rain coming down in sheets, but Kael didn't care. The world around him blurred, the only thing that mattered now was getting away with the artifact.
He could feel the weight of it in his bag, heavy with possibility. It was more than just a piece of tech. It was his ticket to the truth. And it was the only thing that could take down the people who had ruined his life.