The foldstream bent around them like glass warping under heat.
Kael sat slumped in the cockpit, sweat dripping from his brow. Every time the ship shifted vectors through foldspace, a piece of him felt left behind. ARCHAI's systems whispered to him through a hundred pulses of light and sound, stabilizing their path—but even the AI couldn't dampen the psychic weight of where they were going.
> "Destination in T-minus sixty ticks," ARCHAI announced.
"Reminder: No official records exist of Hallowven since the Galactic Accord sealed it under Redactum Protocol Nine. Probability of survival: uncertain."
Kael managed a dry laugh. "You're great at pep talks."
> "I was programmed for tactical sarcasm and grim realism. You're welcome."
---
Outside the ship, space twisted—and then unfolded.
Hallowven appeared like a secret held too long.
Its surface shimmered with unnatural mist, layers of storm and static shearing across the planet's upper atmosphere. There were no satellites. No orbiting wreckage. Just silence. The world had been abandoned.
But Kael felt it—the pull of the Codex shard in his hand, burning brighter as they approached. This place wanted him here. Or something did.
> "Atmosphere unstable. Ancient tech signatures detected. Power levels spiking."
Kael leaned forward. "Bring us down."
---
The moment the ship broke through the clouds, everything changed.
Below them stretched a dead forest, gnarled trees with silver bark, their roots threading into shattered temples and broken spires. Lights flickered between the trees—too slow for drones, too fast for animals. Whispers brushed Kael's ears, even with no comms open.
> "Landing zone ahead," ARCHAI said.
"I'm locking the skimmer down. I recommend speed."
"Understood," Kael muttered, rising from the cockpit.
He slid the Codex shard into the gauntlet interface now mounted to his forearm. Its crystal edge adjusted, rotating slowly like a compass in space. For the first time, he saw a direction.
Straight into the forest.
---
The air outside was thick—heavier than it should've been. Every breath tasted metallic. Kael moved cautiously, eyes scanning ruins that rose around him like teeth. The planet was ancient, but it wasn't empty. He could feel something watching.
He paused near a collapsed archway, brushing aside moss.
Symbols emerged.
Codex runes.
The same kind etched into the shard.
> "Warning," ARCHAI whispered over the comm.
"Unknown lifeform, thirty meters—no, wait—"
A sound cut through the trees like ice splitting under pressure.
Kael whirled—too slow.
A figure stepped out from the shadows.
Tall. Slender. Wearing a half-burned robe and a high-collared cloak with glowing lines. A mask covered the face, carved like bone with a single blue line tracing the left eye socket. The air bent around them.
"Codex Host," the stranger said.
Kael froze. "You too?"
The stranger tilted their head. "No. I am not a Host. I am what happens when one breaks."
---
Lightning cracked above.
Before Kael could react, the stranger moved—faster than human, sweeping a hand across the ground. The earth rose in jagged spires, aiming for Kael's chest. He dove, rolled, came up with his gauntlet raised.
> "Shard interface engaged," ARCHAI called out.
The Codex shard flared.
Kael's vision split—layers upon layers of reality peeling open. For a moment, he saw the energy lines beneath the world: ley threads, arcane bones of the planet, pulsing in rhythm. Instinct guided his hand.
He reached out—and the spires shattered mid-air.
The stranger stopped. Watched.
"So it begins," they said.
Then vanished into mist.
---
Kael collapsed to one knee, chest heaving.
> "Kael," ARCHAI said urgently. "That wasn't a native. That was a Construct Shade—formed from corrupted Codex residue. Host remains… twisted."
He swallowed. "So I just fought a ghost made of another me?"
> "Or someone who died trying to be."
Kael looked toward the horizon. The shard still pointed onward, toward a black monolith rising in the distance, covered in vines and glowing faintly with starlight.
Whatever lay ahead… it was waiting.