The air was thick with silence.
Ares stood at the center of the chamber, surrounded by towering monoliths carved from obsidian stone. The walls pulsed with faint light, reacting to his presence like a heartbeat buried beneath the crust of Mars itself.
Kael stood nearby, arms crossed, muscles tense. Behind them, a small team of loyal wolves and human allies waited in uneasy stillness. Dr. Sophia Patel hovered near the entrance, her eyes scanning the glowing symbols etched into the walls.
"This is it," she murmured. "This is where it all began."
Ares stepped forward cautiously, his boots crunching against the dust of ages long past. The central pedestal—where he had touched the crystalline sphere before—stood waiting once more.
He reached out.
The moment his fingers brushed the surface, the chamber erupted in light.
A surge of energy coursed through him, not painful, but overwhelming—like being submerged in an ocean of memory. His vision blurred, then sharpened, revealing not just the room around him, but something deeper. Layers of time. Echoes of voices long gone.
Then came the voice.
"Echo of the Hollow Moon… you have awakened."
It wasn't spoken aloud. It resonated directly inside his mind, ancient yet clear.
Ares staggered back, gasping for breath.
Kael caught him. "What happened?"
Ares blinked rapidly, trying to steady himself. "It spoke to me."
Dr. Patel's eyes widened. "Who?"
Ares turned toward the pedestal. "Not who. What."
The chamber responded again.
"I am Mara. Keeper of the Last Covenant. Guardian of the Forgotten Ones."
A swirling projection formed above the pedestal—a figure composed of shifting light, humanoid in shape but fluid in form. Its face was ever-changing, cycling through countless expressions, as if remembering every being that had ever lived here.
Sophia took an involuntary step back. "It's sentient."
Mara's voice continued, calm and knowing.
"You are the last vessel of our design. You are both echo and architect. You are the final thread between what was and what may yet be."
Ares swallowed hard. "Tell me why I'm here."
"Because we failed."
Silence fell like a hammer.
Mara's form flickered, then stabilized. The lights along the walls dimmed slightly, as if mourning.
"We were the First Ones. We shaped this world before your kind arrived. We foresaw the end and sought to preserve life beyond our own extinction. So we created guardians—beings capable of surviving the fall of Mars."
Ares felt his pulse quicken. "Werewolves."
"Yes. You were not born of nature alone. You were crafted. Engineered to endure the collapse of this world. To carry our knowledge forward."
Kael narrowed his eyes. "And what knowledge is that?"
"That Mars was never meant to die. That its death was not natural—but imposed. By forces beyond your understanding."
A murmur passed through the gathered warriors.
Ares clenched his fists. "What happened? Who destroyed Mars?"
Mara hesitated, as if recalling a wound too deep to heal.
"The Hollow Moon remembers. But not all memories are safe to awaken."
Suddenly, the chamber trembled.
A distant rumble echoed through the tunnels—an unnatural vibration, growing stronger.
Dr. Patel's eyes darted to her scanner. "Something's coming. Fast."
Kael drew his weapon. "Federation?"
"No," Sophia said grimly. "Worse."
---
Elsewhere – Rogue Wolf Outpost
Renn stood on the edge of a high plateau, watching the distant glow emanating from beneath Olympus Mons.
Vex approached, urgency in his voice. "They've activated it."
Renn smirked. "Good."
Vex frowned. "You knew this would happen?"
"I suspected," Renn admitted. "But now they'll see the truth—and fear it."
Vex hesitated. "And if Mara decides we're unworthy?"
Renn's expression darkened. "Then we prove ourselves the only way left."
By force.
---
Back in the Chamber – The Awakening Continues
The tremors grew stronger.
Ares turned back to Mara. "If there's more to know, tell me now. Before it's too late."
Mara's form pulsed once, then shifted—its face settling into a familiar shape.
Ares's breath caught.
It looked like him.
"You are not alone," Mara said softly. "There were others before you. Many. Each one a vessel. Each one a key. But none survived long enough to complete the cycle."
Ares's voice was barely above a whisper. "What cycle?"
"The Reclamation. The restoration of Mars. The return of life to this world."
Sophia stepped forward. "You mean… terraforming?"
"No," Mara corrected. "Rebirth. From the ashes of extinction, a new beginning. But it requires sacrifice. And unity."
Kael exchanged a glance with Ares. "And if we fail?"
"Then Mars will remain dead. And those who seek to control its power will destroy everything."
The chamber shook violently.
An explosion rocked the outer corridors.
Gunfire followed.
Kael spun toward the entrance. "They're here."
Ares turned back to Mara. "Can you protect us?"
"I can guide you. But the choice is yours."
Ares met Kael's gaze. "Then let's make sure we survive long enough to finish what they started."
Outside, war had come to Mars.
Inside, the voice of the ancestors whispered their final warning.
"Beware the Hollow Moon. For when it rises… the reckoning begins."