Chapter 4: Echoes of the Flame
Year 10002 | Xintian Station, Hidden Shelter
Li Junhao sat still, listening to the soft hum of old machines around him. His shirt clung to his back with sweat. The tiny room felt safe—for now—but his mind raced with questions and fear.
The Core inside him was quiet, but far from gone. It pulsed faintly, like a second heartbeat, steady and strange. Every breath he took felt deeper. Every sound, every shadow, seemed sharper. He couldn't tell if it was a gift or a curse—only that something inside him had changed forever.
Veyra leaned against the wall across from him, munching on a protein bar. "So," she said, her mouth half full, "you want to keep running, or are you ready to start fighting?"
Junhao looked up, still trying to catch up to everything. "I don't even know what I'm fighting."
She shrugged, tossing the wrapper aside. "Exactly. That's how they keep control. Keep people scared. Keep them blind. But I've seen things, Junhao. Signals in the dark. Echoes no one else could hear. When your Core lit up—it was like someone set fire to the void. Everyone saw it."
He rubbed his eyes, exhausted. "Why me?"
"Don't ask that," she said, her tone suddenly more serious. "Ask what you're going to do *now* that it's you."
The room fell quiet. A soft creak echoed from the ceiling above—a low metallic groan.
Junhao tensed. "What was that?"
Veyra moved fast, tapping her visor. A red icon pulsed in the corner of her screen. "Station scanners just pushed a pulse sweep. Someone's combing through these tunnels. We need to move. Now."
She grabbed a small bag and tossed Junhao a gray jacket. "Put that on. It'll block thermal scans for a while."
They slipped back into the tight maintenance corridors, where the lights flickered nervously overhead. Somewhere far above them, the station's security systems were tightening their net.
Veyra moved quickly, like someone who'd done this before. "We're heading toward Subsection 9. I know someone there—he used to deal in old tech, Cores, weird history. If he hasn't sold out to Sky Tier, he might still help us."
Junhao followed, his legs aching but steady. The Core's heat in his chest grew stronger with each step, as if it sensed danger and was preparing for something worse.
Suddenly, the entire hallway shook.
A distant boom thundered through the station. Pipes rattled. Dust fell from the ceiling.
"What was that?" Junhao asked sharply.
"Trouble," Veyra muttered. Her face had gone pale. "They're sealing off sections."
Then a robotic voice echoed through the corridor speakers. Cold. Empty.
**"Unauthorized movement detected. All civilians remain in designated zones. Lethal force authorized."**
Junhao's fists tightened. "They're calling *me* a threat."
"To them, you are," Veyra said without missing a beat. "But to the galaxy? You might be something else entirely."
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**Xintian Orbit | Oraphim Herald-Class Ship**
Nyxai stood beneath a dome of shifting stars, her silver skin shimmering like liquid light. Slowly, she moved her fingers through the air, weaving glowing runes that flickered, then vanished into the void.
A younger Oraphim approached from the edge of the chamber. His form glowed dully, incomplete compared to hers. "The humans have begun to move."
"They always take time to wake," Nyxai said softly. "But once they rise... they burn bright."
"Shall I release the Shades?"
She shook her head. "No. Let the boy feel fear. Let the Core test him. Shape him."
"And if he fails?" the young one asked.
Nyxai's glowing eyes didn't blink. "Then he was never truly Flameborn."
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**Xintian Station | Subsection 9 – Lower Corridor**
Veyra led Junhao into a forgotten sector of the station. The walls here were covered in rust and static-choked cables. Lights blinked irregularly, like tired, blinking eyes watching from the dark.
She stopped in front of an old door, its paint chipped away to show raw metal beneath.
"He used to live here," she whispered.
"Who is he?" Junhao asked.
"Someone who used to know a lot about Cores. A long time ago."
She knocked once… twice… then three times in quick rhythm. The door gave a soft click and opened slowly with a creak. A warm, amber glow spilled from inside.
An old man stood in the doorway, cloaked in layers of stitched fabric and tangled wires. His eyes glowed faint blue, alive with secrets.
He looked at Junhao.
"You brought him," the man said to Veyra, unsurprised.
"He lit the Spark," she answered.
The man stepped aside. "Come in, then. The stars are already watching."
Junhao hesitated only a second, then stepped inside—into the light, into the unknown, into the beginning of everything.
End of chapter 4