Location: Hidden Rebel Encampment, Memory Crypts SectorTime: 3 Days after the Solari Prime Infiltration
The datacube pulsed ominously on the stone table.
A dozen leaders of the Veiled Ones, rebels, and even two envoys from Tyreon's rogue Isu faction surrounded Kaelen as he activated the stolen memory drive.
The room fell silent as the interface shimmered to life—streaming ancient, encrypted data across the air.
Lysara folded her arms. "You sure about this?"
"No," Kaelen replied. "But we need to know what they were hiding."
He pressed his palm to the glyphs.
The light grew dark.
And then—screaming.
Memory Stream: Golgotha Vault Logs – Overseer I'Sakari
"Subject batches 127–134 failed. Neural grafts rejected. Too much residual conscience. Proceeding with batch 135. Begin pulse cleansing."
The screen shifted to images of cages—not for animals, but humans. Children. Their eyes vacant. Their minds stripped.
"Cognitive inhibitors functioning. Subject 135-A is holding stable. Initiating Isu-memory infusion."
Kaelen felt his knees buckle.
They weren't controlling humans.
They were trying to replace them.
The True Purpose of Project Golgotha
Ilyana, the rogue Isu envoy, stepped forward, her face pale.
"They weren't trying to subdue humans," she whispered. "They were trying to transplant Isu consciousness into human hosts."
Maehros growled. "Soul transference. Heresy even by Council standards."
Lysara's hand hovered over her dagger. "So they wanted to become immortal. Using us."
Kaelen looked hollow. "Not just that. They weren't testing new hosts…"
He rewound the feed to a series of genetic markers. One stood out.
Kaelen's heart stopped.
It matched his own.
Revelation: Kaelen's Lineage
"Subject 135-X: Exceptional stability. Cognitive compliance high. Latent memory retention unexplained. Recommend preservation for long-term monitoring."
Designation: GENE-VAEL.
Kaelen stumbled back from the table. Lysara caught him.
"They cloned him…" he whispered. "They didn't just want to copy Vael—they built me as a fallback."
He stared at his hands like they were foreign weapons.
"I wasn't chosen. I was designed."
Tyreon's voice rang out. "But your choices have been yours. That matters more than your origin."
Maehros shook his head grimly. "To the Council, he's not a threat. He's an asset. They'll stop at nothing to reclaim him."
The Fork in the Path
Kaelen stood before the council chamber, every eye on him.
"We now have everything. The control codes. The leash override. And the truth."
He held the Last Directive in one hand. The Golgotha files in the other.
"We can end the Thought Leash. Collapse their system. Free every mind under their control."
"But," Lysara said, stepping beside him, "at what cost?"
Kaelen stared at the crystal.
If he used it, he would bring freedom…But also chaos. Collapse. Countless lives in danger.
And if he didn't—slavery would continue.
"I was made to be their tool," Kaelen said, "but I'm not their weapon."
He handed the Last Directive to Lysara.
"Not yet."
Then he turned to the rogue Isu.
"We go back into Solari. We find where they're keeping the others—the failed subjects. We bring them home."
Tyreon nodded slowly. "A rescue, then. Not a revolution."
Kaelen's eyes glinted with fire.
"We start with mercy."