The lights died.
Darkness swallowed the chamber.
For a moment, nobody moved.
Nobody breathed.
The message remained on every screen.
FOUND YOU.
Then—
The facility shook.
A deafening impact echoed through the underground complex.
BOOM.
Cracks raced across the walls.
Several hosts stumbled.
"What was that?"
Another impact followed.
Stronger.
Closer.
BOOM.
Emergency lights flashed red.
Warning sirens erupted throughout the facility.
"Barrier integrity at eighty-three percent."
The automated voice sounded calm.
Far too calm.
Kael's stomach tightened.
"Aetherion."
The answer came instantly.
"Threat confirmed."
His pulse quickened.
"Is it the Devourer?"
Silence.
Then—
"Probability: ninety-two percent."
The room exploded into chaos.
Hosts rushed toward exits.
Others prepared their abilities.
Fire ignited in open palms.
Electricity crackled through the air.
Weapons appeared.
Everyone understood the same thing.
Something powerful had found them.
And it wasn't here to talk.
BOOM.
The third strike hit.
This time, part of the ceiling collapsed.
Concrete rained down.
Dust filled the air.
The stranger who had brought Kael here stepped forward.His voice cut through the panic.
"Everyone listen!"
The room quieted.
"Combat teams prepare for engagement."
His expression darkened.
"Non-combat personnel move deeper into the facility."
Nobody argued.
That alone told Kael how serious this was.
Then—
The power went out completely.
Darkness.
Absolute darkness.
For three seconds.
Then every emergency light turned black.
Not off.
Black.
As if the light itself had been consumed.
A chill spread through the chamber.
Kael felt it immediately.
The hunger.
But it wasn't his.
It belonged to something else.
Something vast.
Something ancient.
Something hungry.
"Aetherion..."
His voice felt small.
The Core answered.
"Do not approach."
Kael froze.
Aetherion had never sounded afraid before.
A horrible screech echoed through the facility.
The sound was impossible.
Metal twisted.
Concrete cracked.
People covered their ears.
Then came the screams.
Distant.
But getting closer.
One host stumbled through the doorway.
Blood covered his body.
His eyes were wide with terror.
"It's inside!"
He collapsed.
Dead.
The room went silent.
Heavy footsteps echoed from the hallway beyond.
Slow.
Deliberate.
Each step made the floor tremble.
Thud.
Thud.
Thud.
Everyone stared toward the darkness.
Waiting.
Watching.
Then something emerged.
Tall.
Thin.
Wrong.Its body seemed made from living shadows.
Fragments of black energy drifted from its skin.
No eyes.
No mouth.
No face.
Yet every person in the room felt its gaze.
The creature stopped.
The temperature dropped instantly.
Kael's chest burned.
Aetherion erupted with energy.
"CONFIRMED."
The voice thundered inside his mind.
"DEVOURER DETECTED."
The creature tilted its head.
Slowly.
As if studying him.
As if recognizing him.
Then it spoke.
Its voice sounded like thousands of whispers layered together.
"Found..."
A pause.
The blackness around it expanded.
"...you."
And suddenly—
It smiled.
Even though it had no face.
Kael knew one thing.
The real battle was about to begin.