The Watcher bloomed like a flower of steel and memory.
Spikes of light erupted across its frame—folded wings of ancient alloy stretching outward, no longer dormant. Sigils blazed across the chamber walls, one by one, unlocking.
A low hum vibrated through every bone in my body.
This wasn't just a station.
It was a weapon.
"Jaden…" Alis whispered. "What did you wake up?"
I stood at the heart of the Mind Core chamber, eyes glowing, system fully synced with the Skyvault's internal AI.
"Not what," I said slowly. "Who."
[COMMAND PROTOCOL RECOGNIZED]
Initializing: SERAPHIM UNIT 0001 – CALLSIGN: AURAXIS
Designation: Dimensional Annihilation-Class Warform
Status: Sealed Since Last Collapse
Response: Awakening... Confirming Heir DNA...
Sync Rate: 98.7%
Mindlink Available: Y/N
Y. Link now.
The core pulsed.
A burst of gravity slammed into us as a structure deep within the Watcher stirred. Mana warped. Dimensions folded in reverse. Something immense shifted beneath us.
Then came the voice.
"This unit... remembers."
It wasn't a machine.
It was alive.
A sentient warform designed to protect the Heir of Realms. For over a million years, it had slept, waiting for my arrival. And now—
"COMMAND RECEIVED. AURAXIS WILL RISE."
Far above the planet, Nova Terra's moons shook.
From the underside of the Watcher, something descended.
Wings of pure photonic armor unfolded—three kilometers across. A humanoid colossus, plated in gleaming starlight and runes that flexed like flowing code. Its core beat like a sun. A sword made of crystallized gravity detached from its back with a quake.
Auraxis, the First Seraphim, had awakened.
And the galaxy felt it.
Back in the throne room, hours later, the council gathered in stunned silence.
The warform hovered above the capital now, visible to the naked eye. People across the planet dropped to their knees. Some wept. Some cheered. Others fled, fearing the end of the world had arrived.
"This is what we're capable of," I said, voice calm but burning. "This is what our ancestors left for us. Not because they feared extinction—because they expected us to return."
Daruun, ever the soldier, bowed his head.
"And return you have."
That night, I walked through the lower halls of the palace alone, system overlaying information across my vision.
[ASCENDANT STATUS: 3% SYNC COMPLETE]
Full integration in 37 Days
New Skill Acquired: Graviton Forge – Build star-class tech with planetary materials
New Passive: Dimensional Sense – Detect spatial ruptures within 3 AU radius
But my peace was shattered.
A pulse.
From beyond the edge of our solar system.
Not from a machine.
From a mind.
"Heir… you echo too loud," it whispered.
The Grievers had heard me.