Chapter 59: The Awakening of the Labyrinth

Vykhor descended first, weapon in hand, his sensors sweeping the area. Silence pressed in all around, broken only by the low hum of the Narak’Tharr’s engines still in standby mode.

Evelyn followed close behind, one hand resting on her protective bracelet, the other clutching her data bag. Her heart beat a little faster than usual, but she kept moving.

And Blue… Blue descended without a sound, his paws barely brushing the rocky ground. He stayed close to Evelyn, body tense, eyes already searching for shadows to slip into.

The three of them stood together: a Kael’tarien forged for war, a woman born of a forgotten project’s twisted science, and a feline with ancestral instincts, ready to guard the star who now belonged to him.

Vykhor scanned the entrance of the complex.

“Secondary access, 200 meters. Partially buried, but still usable.”

“That’s where Griffin wants us to go?” Evelyn asked, her voice calm, but her mind racing.

“That’s where I want us to go,” Vykhor replied.

He turned toward her, then toward Blue.

“And this time, no tests. No isolation. We move as one.”

Evelyn smiled. Blue lifted his tail high, as if approving. The message was clear.

Whatever happens… they move forward together.

Since Vykhor had revealed to her that Dr. Griffin was an Exotherian, Evelyn had immersed herself in their culture. Their language, their science, their unique way of understanding the universe. It had become a quiet obsession—a puzzle not just to decode Griffin, but herself.

And tonight, all of that took on new meaning.

The hatch opened with a metallic sigh.

No lock. No visible security. Just a rusted latch and a half-open access panel, as if it had been waiting for them. As if someone was waiting.

“This is… too easy,” Vykhor growled, sweeping the dark with his weapon.

Evelyn nodded silently, her gaze sharp. She activated her biomedical bracelet, checking her vitals out of habit. Blue didn’t move forward yet. His body was taut, ears pinned, nose twitching as he sniffed the air.

“We’re going in,” Vykhor said quietly but firmly. “Tight formation. Evelyn in the center.”

The corridor that greeted them was bathed in near-complete darkness, interrupted only by thin red LEDs embedded in the floor. Dust crunched beneath their boots. Years of stillness. Faint traces of old movement, long erased.

Then… a light.

The walls began to glow faintly as they passed. Dim at first, then brighter, revealing cracked holographic panels. Exotherian symbols, etched deep, streamed in cascading columns.

Evelyn stopped in her tracks.

“That’s old Exotherian codex… modified. And… I recognize the data block architecture. Griffin was here.”

Vykhor turned to her. “You’re sure?”

“As sure as I breathe. It’s his structure. His order. His encryption strata.”

Suddenly, the station trembled.

A flash—blinding white light—and then a voice echoed from nowhere.

**“Subject A-011. Subject K-037. Subject B-000… Biometric recognition complete.”**

Evelyn paled. Vykhor tensed. Blue hissed low and threatening.

“Welcome to the Advanced Evaluation Unit. You have been selected to participate in a series of trials to assess your individual and collective capacities.”

A door slid open sharply to their right. A winding corridor bathed in eerie blue light awaited.

“Proceed. Or be eliminated.”

Vykhor growled, his teeth slightly bared. “Griffin…”

Evelyn placed a hand on his chest. “It’s a test. He’s not trying to kill us.”

“Maybe not you. Me? He’d hesitate less.”

She didn’t reply.

They moved forward. Step by step, down what once may have been a maintenance hallway—but had since become something else.

The lights shimmered. The walls pulsed faintly, as if the structure itself was breathing.

Then came a room.

Square. Seemingly empty.

Until a hidden panel slid away… and revealed a combat drone. Two meters tall. Metallic. Hostile. A single glowing red eye.

**“First trial: Combatant Evaluation. Subject K-037.”**

Evelyn cried out, “No, wait—”

But Vykhor was already moving. He stepped between her and the machine, fists clenched. His right prosthetic lit up with an electric pulse, energy lines pulsing in sync with his heartbeat.

“Stay behind me, My’Lari,” he said without looking back.

Blue growled.

And the fight began.

The drone emitted a low, bestial hum as its arms deployed—one a vibrating blade, the other a compact integrated cannon. Its legs anchored into the floor, stabilizing for impact.

Vykhor didn’t move.

He didn’t even meet its eye.

He listened. The frequency shifts. The rhythm. The intent.

Blue remained between Evelyn and the rest of the room, teeth bared. Evelyn knew what was happening. Vykhor was locked in. Focused. His breathing slowed. His body grounded itself.

He waited.

And then it came.

A first shot—an energy beam cut the air.

But Vykhor was gone.

He was already moving.

His form blurred as he rushed the drone, striking with surgical precision. His prosthetic slammed into the drone’s head, sending a shockwave through the room. The machine staggered but recovered—faster than anticipated.

It countered with a violent swing of its blade arm. Vykhor slipped aside with a fluid step, then phased briefly—his Spectral Form activating for a fraction of a second—reappearing behind the drone.

But he didn’t strike.

He grabbed.

His prosthetic latched onto the drone’s arm and twisted. Hard. With a snap of tortured metal, the joint broke. The drone stumbled back, its red eye flickering.

And Evelyn saw it.

Vykhor wasn’t just attacking. He was studying it. Memorizing its movements. Learning.

A second shot grazed him, searing his left shoulder. He growled—more irritated than hurt.

“Wrong move,” he snarled, voice low and feral.

He lunged. Not with the speed of a man—but the fury of a predator. His fist slammed into the drone’s torso, just beneath the central eye. The energy in his arm discharged in a controlled burst.

The machine crumpled.

Silence fell. Tense. Electric.

Vykhor straightened, shaking the residual charge from his hand.

Then, finally, he turned to Evelyn. His gaze was steady. Cold. And yet… something else gleamed behind his golden eyes.

Something possessive. Protective. Final.

“I told you I’d protect you,” he said simply.

The voice returned. Synthetic. Detached.

**“Subject K-037 evaluation complete. Results: extreme strength, tactical analysis, high-level threat. Secondary note: emotional attachment detected. Critical level.**
**Next trial: Subject A-011.”**

Evelyn froze.

Blue growled again.

Vykhor instantly stepped between her and the wall now slowly opening to reveal the next challenge.

He said nothing.

But his stare said everything.

I’m here. And I will not let anything touch you.

“Next trial: Subject A-011. Preparing chamber…”

The walls groaned softly as another panel slid aside, revealing a narrow corridor bathed in pale light. A faint scent of ozone hung in the air, as if the static charge had been deliberately heightened.

Evelyn hadn’t moved. Not yet.

She stood there, still locked on Vykhor.

Not because she was shocked by the fight—she’d seen worse.

But because—for the first time since they’d met—she’d seen him vanish.

Had he… dissolved? No. It was more like he slipped into another state. Another dimension?

Her logical brain was racing, cycling through hundreds of theories. But none held up for long.

It wasn’t just technology.

It was him.

A rare Kael’tarien ability. A Spectral Form, as he’d mentioned once—casually, almost dismissively.

But now, she’d seen it.

My Tav’Ren…

“Evelyn,” he said softly.

His voice. It was calm again. But it no longer carried just command. There was something else now.

A silent warning. A quiet tension.