Thalyn woke with a start, the throne's cold grip releasing her. Her breaths were shallow, quick, eyes searching the dim-lit chamber. For a moment, she lingered between two worlds—the shadow of Echo’s life clinging to her like smoke. She blinked hard, shook her head, forcing away the dregs of that foreign past. The place held its silence, consoles flickering in erratic patterns like dying stars.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4kD71wIDxV
Across the chamber, the others gathered around a table—Jaxon, Korr, Elara—locked in low, hurried conversation. Voices laced with urgency, their faces cut by the half-light.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzG4pp3CpkB
She pushed herself up, the whir of her cybernetic legs slicing through the quiet. Pain flared, sharp like glass, then faded to its familiar throb. Gingerly walking toward them, she felt their gazes lift.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfCRvLDa94R
“How was it this time?” Jaxon’s voice rumbled, a voice used to command. “You look less… shaken.”
“Getting used to it,” she muttered, her voice strained. “Like waking from a dream that won’t let you go.”
Elara leaned in, her eyes keen. “Did you see anything new? Anything useful?”
Thalyn’s lips parted, but she let the silence settle. “They dragged me from a cell,” she began, her words slow, measured, “through some old corridors, deep in the city’s guts. Place was coming apart, but there was order in the chaos—guards in scavenged armor, talking of gang wars. They took me to a platform, set to sell me off. Some slaver, a twisted collector of sorts, and the big man they called Jax, haggling like I was an artifact.”
Korr’s eyes gleamed in the half-light. “Any names? Anything to tell us who they were?”
“Red Talons, Black Veil. Gangs. The slaver liked that I could breathe the miasma without a mask. Said I was ‘a rare asset.’ They put me in a medical pod. Tight fit. Cold.” Her voice faltered. “I blacked out there. Not much more to say.”
Elara’s fingers drummed on the table. “This isn’t random,” she said, half to herself. “There’s a pattern. Something deliberate.”
Thalyn nodded. “Feels like he wants me to see it. Arvie was there too, whispering, pushing.”
Jaxon’s eyes narrowed. “He wants you to see these things for a reason,” he said, almost to himself. “But that doesn’t help us now. We need those minerals purified.”
Thalyn's eyes dropped to the table, the raw chunks of ore lying dull in the low light. “The droids in the next chamber,” she said slowly. “They might know something.”
Jaxon gave a curt nod. “Worth a try,” he grunted. “But stay sharp. Who knows what else is lurking around.”
Thalyn pulled her mask tight over her face, and turned to the chamber’s exit. The walls glowed faintly, guiding her steps through the narrow halls.
She found the droids where they stood, still as statues, eyes glowing faint blue. “Mistress,” one said, voice thin as wire. “How may we serve you?”
She hesitated, weighing her words. “We need a way to purify minerals we found outside. Can you assist?”
The droid’s eyes seemed to flicker. “Mistress, no need to come here. Return to the throne, focus your thoughts, wish for it. The throne will provide.”
She blinked. “You mean I just… think it, and it happens?”
The droid’s head inclined in a slow, deliberate nod. “Your will is the key.”
She stared at the droid, then down at her legs, feeling the ache deep in the bone. “What about my legs?” she whispered. “Could they be replaced with something… organic? Augmented?”
The droid’s eyes dimmed for a moment. “Possible. But again, the throne. Complete the sequence, and the facility is yours.”
Her pulse quickened, the droid's words hanging heavy in her thoughts. She turned back, moving quick, finding her way back to the others. The throne loomed ahead, cold, ancient, symbols carved deep into its arms like old scars.
She stopped at the table, met their eyes. “The throne,” she said. “It can do it, if I focus.”
Jaxon raised an eyebrow. “Worth a shot,” he said.
Elara nodded. “Do it,” she said. “We’re with you.”
Thalyn took a breath, settled herself in the throne’s cold embrace. She closed her eyes, focused on the minerals, rough, impure, felt their weight in her mind. “A way to purify them,” she whispered. A hiss broke the silence. She opened her eyes to see a panel slide back in the wall, a dark compartment revealed.
“Pour them in, mistress,” Arvie’s light voice chimed in her mind. “Let the machine have its fun.”
She turned to the others, saw their faces, unsure. “It’ll purify them,” she said. “Just need to put the minerals in.”
Korr folded his arms. “How do you know?”
She shrugged. “Call it a hunch.”
Elara didn’t hesitate. “We didn’t come this far to second-guess,” she snapped. “Let’s get it done.”
They carried the boxes, the sound of stones scraping metal like old bones. The compartment sealed with a click, the place filled with a low hum. Lights flickered, symbols came alive, dancing across the walls.
“Is it working?” a voice whispered in the dim.
The hum stopped. Silence. Then the compartment hissed open, revealing a cluster of turquoise crystals, glowing like fire trapped in ice.
For a moment, no one breathed. “Remarkable,” Korr murmured.
Elara scooped up a handful of the crystals, eyes wide. “Perfect,” she breathed. “These are worth a fortune.”
Thalyn nodded. “The droids said… I could unlock more. If I complete the sequence.”
Korr’s gaze flickered to the throne, then back to her. “Then do it,” he said. “Let’s see where this takes us.”
Thalyn took a deep breath, set the crown back on her head. The pull came at her again, a rush of darkness, the world slipping away. Arvie’s voice teased her from the void. “Ah, mistress, the road ahead… ever so twisted.”
Then all was black.
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