The moon above Nova Terra was no longer just a rock in orbit—it was a forge.
From its obsidian surface rose scaffolding of mana-infused alloys, shimmering with gravitational stabilizers and arc-core reactors. The Genesis Fleet was taking shape. But the deeper I pushed toward preparation, the more questions I uncovered.
Not about the world.
About myself.
"You've felt it too," Alis said as she walked beside me through the Hall of Echoes, deep beneath the royal palace.
"Ever since I unlocked the Crown," I said. "There's something buried in our bloodline. Something old."
The Hall of Echoes was the royal crypt, a chamber no one entered except for coronation rites and ancient burials. But I had overridden those traditions.
The walls pulsed softly with stasis spells. Thousands of engraved names lined the corridor—kings and queens who ruled before I was reborn into this world.
But one tomb was different.
No name.
Just a pulsing sigil I'd seen in my dreams: a spiral galaxy inside an eye.
My system reacted the moment I approached.
[ANCIENT GENELOCK DETECTED]
Unlock lineage file?
Y/N
I didn't hesitate.
Yes.
A wave of pressure hit me like time itself pressed down on my lungs. The seal broke. A holographic projection bloomed in front of me: a man in regal armor, his eyes like mine—but colder. Older.
"If you've found this," the recording said, "then you are Awakened. And you must know the truth: the blood of the Infinite does not begin here. Our line began off-world. We are not natives of Nova Terra. We are its stewards."
"Our ancestors fled from a dying multiverse," the projection continued. "They seeded this world with mana, grafted themselves into the leyline network, and swore to guard it from the Grievers. I was the first king—but I was also the last of the Oldbloods."
I staggered back, heart racing.
My lineage wasn't just royal. It was engineered.
Bred for war.
Bred to remember.
Bred to return.
Alis looked at me, tense. "You always said you felt too... in sync with the system. Like it wasn't just a reward, but an inheritance."
"Because it is," I whispered.
"What does this mean for Nova Terra?"
"It means we're standing on top of a key," I said. "A gateway world. One they'll come for."
Later that night, I accessed the encrypted data hidden in my bloodline:
[GENETIC PERMISSIONS UNLOCKED]
New Trait: Starforged Resonance
Allows synchronization with Precursor Tech and ancient weapon systems
Unlocks Command Protocol: Astral Beacon – Planetwide Coordination Relay
Compatible with Genesis Fleet AI
And another line:
WARNING: Your awakening may trigger hostile detection protocols from dormant Watchers in deep orbit.
I summoned a holomap of the planetary system.
Something was already blinking.
An object, blacker than void, drifting just beyond the heliosphere.
Dormant. But listening.
In the throne room, I gathered the council once more.
"We've been preparing to defend our world," I told them. "But the truth is… Nova Terra was never just a world. It's a beacon. And now that I've awakened… others will come."
Vel'Sarei stepped forward, eyes narrowed. "You carry the Echo Mark. You are not just a sovereign. You are a Heir of Collapse."
"And what does that mean?" asked Zephyra.
Vel'Sarei's face darkened.
"It means every reality that fell… will come looking for their final seed. And Jaden is it."