POV: Prince Aldric Voss

The King’s personal comm-relay chamber was a mess. Tables overturned, consoles smashed, the lingering scent of ozone thick in the air. Prince Aldric stood amidst the wreckage, a heavy pulse rifle clutched in his hand. He’d fought his way here, through corridors choked with the smoke of firefights and the cries of the wounded, past the barricaded doors that separated the loyalists from the revolutionaries. His face was grim, smudged with soot, and his Sky Guard uniform was torn and bloodstained.

He’d escaped Garrett’s tightening noose, evaded the relentless pursuit of the metallic figures, and battled through Maven Rix’s desperate forces. All for this. All for a chance to get a message out.

"Prince Aldric!" Kira Thorne's voice, raspy but urgent, crackled over his comm. "I'm with Sage Elara! Tether Station Two is partially compromised, but stabilized! Garrett’s allies attacked the station directly! They tried to kill me!"

"I saw them!" Aldric replied, his voice tight. "They're here, in the Citadel! Targeting key systems, manipulating Rix's forces!"

"And they're connected to the Purifier Serum!" Elara's voice, surprisingly strong despite her age, cut in. "Aeridor isn't just a kingdom, Prince! It's a container! A weapon! And Garrett is activating it!"

Aldric froze, the revelation like a punch to the gut. A weapon. It explained so much, the fanatical isolation, the hidden archives, the ancient enemy. But there was no time to process.

"I’m in the King’s private relay," Aldric said, scanning the ruined console. "The primary comms are dead, jammed by Garrett. But father had an older, emergency backup. Primitive, but powerful. If it's still operational… it's our last chance to send a signal."

He found the terminal, hidden beneath a floor panel. It looked like something from a museum, a relic of the First Cycle, powered by a hand-cranked generator. "Kira, Elara, I need you to pinpoint the exact frequency of the jamming interference. If we can punch a hole, even for a second, I can send a burst."

"Working on it!" Kira's voice was already distant, focused. "Elara has the old schematics. It’s coming from the Citadel’s deep core. A massive generator, running continuously."

Aldric began cranking the generator, the physical effort a welcome distraction from the mounting dread. He saw the faint, flickering green light of the screen, indicating a weak connection. He needed a stronger pulse.

Just then, Thane Blackwater’s voice, rough and strained, broke through. "Aldric! I’ve confirmed it! The dark craft are piloted by the same… things… that attacked the passenger liner! They're alien! And their symbols match the old 'Deep Holds' sigils! They're not just trying to isolate us; they’re helping Garrett activate something!"

"We know, Captain!" Aldric shouted, his arm aching from the cranking. "They're trying to unleash the Purifier Serum, a bioweapon from the Great War, against the surface! We have to warn them! We have to warn everyone!"

He saw the blinking light on the terminal: 'SIGNAL DETECTED. WEAK.'

"Kira! Elara! Give me the frequency!"

A second later, Kira's triumphant shout: "Got it! A high-frequency pulse, Prince! Like a massive energy surge! It's radiating from the Citadel's core! Frequency: 204.7. You need to hit it now!"

"Thane, do you have any visual on the Citadel's core? Can you create a localized EMP, a diversion, anything to disrupt it for a moment?" Aldric pleaded.

"On it, Prince!" Thane's voice was already fading as he moved.

Aldric input the frequency, his fingers flying across the archaic controls. He set the message: a single, urgent burst of binary. 'Aeridor is not a refuge. It is a weapon. The Purifier Serum is active. We are being used. Do not approach. Prepare.'

He braced himself, pressing the transmit button. The old terminal whined, straining.

For a terrifying second, nothing. The 'SIGNAL DETECTED' light flickered. The jamming was too strong.

Then, a distant explosion rattled the chamber. Thane. He’d done it. A localized EMP, a desperate, last-ditch effort.

The 'SIGNAL DETECTED' light flared. 'CONNECTION ESTABLISHED. SHORT BURST. TRANSMITTED.'

Aldric sagged against the console, sweat stinging his eyes. He had sent it. A warning.

And then, the impossible happened.

The terminal, against all odds, registered a faint, return signal. Not a pre-recorded message. Not a corrupted data burst. But a coherent, living response.

A voice, clear as a bell despite the static, echoed from the terminal’s small, crackling speaker. It was human. Young, strong, and filled with an ancient weariness.

"Aeridor. We have heard you. For centuries. We are the survivors. The Reclamation. We knew you were not empty. We knew you were not dead. But we did not know you were… a threat."

Aldric stared at the terminal, his mind reeling. They had made contact. Real contact.

"The Great War never ended," the voice continued, its tone shifting to a grim resolution. "It just moved underground. The Deep Holds, your 'allies,' they are not your saviors. They are the same enemy. And they have been rebuilding. They intend to use you, Aeridor, as the ultimate tool in their final purge of the surface. We have watched. We have waited. We are ready."

The message ended. The static returned. The emergency comm-relay fizzled out, overloaded.

Aldric stood in the ruined chamber, the sound of battle still raging outside, but his world had just been irrevocably altered. The truth, delivered from the very world they had been taught to fear, was more terrifying and liberating than he could have imagined. Aeridor was not just a kingdom, not just a weapon, but a pawn in a war that spanned centuries, still being fought between humanity's fractured remnants and the monstrous enemy it had once created.

Garrett’s true gambit was revealed: to deliver Aeridor, a literal weapon, into the hands of the Deep Holds to finish their ancient war. But now, the surface knew. The true scope of the threat had been revealed, and the battle for Aeridor was not just for the kingdom’s survival, but for the fate of two worlds, finally reunited in conflict.