Chapter 4 - Ash Maps and Whispering Bones
The wind shifted again. Not with danger—but direction.
Kael stood over the dead raptor-leo hybrid, watching the last tendrils of steam rise from its twitching corpse. The Codex's faint hum buzzed beneath his skin like a second pulse.
[New genetic sample available. Initiate extraction?]
Kael didn't answer. Instead, he knelt, still trembling from the adrenaline, and laid a hand on the raptor's claw.
"Is this what it takes?" he muttered.
Behind him, Ravager watched, eyes low and unreadable. The creature was still injured. Scars now marred its scaled side, and a few of the Therizino spines on its back had snapped.
Kael turned to it and nodded. "We move. Before more come."
They slipped deeper into the burned jungle. Charred bark split beneath their steps, and occasionally Kael heard distant, echoing calls—half-reptilian, half-mechanical. The jungle was haunted.
As the sun dipped toward the ash-streaked horizon, they reached a clearing.
Ruins.
A skeletal tower jutted from the ground, its steel beams twisted like melted bones. At its base, a collapsed research outpost lay buried under vines and dust. Kael's pulse quickened.
A Codex ping echoed inside his head.
[Access node detected. ArkHive remnant signature: 14% purity. Proximity threshold met. Initiate tether scan?]
Kael touched the panel embedded in his wrist. "Do it."
The wind stilled. Ravager growled low but didn't approach. He seemed to sense something Kael couldn't.
Data surged.
A sudden cold gripped Kael's spine. Not just temperature. Something deeper. Like someone else's memories brushing against his.
[Memory echo syncing… Standby.]
A whisper.
"Kael…"
His eyes widened. He staggered back.
"Who's there?"
The air around the node shimmered. Light danced between the wrecked tower's bones, and then a voice came—not Codex, not system. Human.
Old. Ragged. Tired.
"I left the map… buried… with the bones. Don't follow the flame, Kael. Follow the silence."
Then nothing.
Kael breathed hard. That wasn't just data. That was someone's last breath, stored in fragments. A dying message left inside the ArkHive. Someone had known him—or known he would come.
Ravager hissed softly and looked to the eastern edge of the clearing. Kael followed his gaze.
A skeleton. Half-buried.
He approached. In its hand, a data slate, cracked and dead.
[Hardware compromised. Initiating salvage.]
A map flashed into his vision—half-complete, but enough.
It showed ruins like these scattered across the region, linked by faint ley-lines of Codex energy. And one central mark stood out. A massive crater marked: ARK GRAVE - WARDEN SEALED
Kael stared at it.
That's where JiRuun came from.
Or worse—where he was imprisoned.
A second pulse came. The Codex opened a new subdirectory. An index. Names.
Kael scrolled.
Project: Xenovorax. Status: Unknown. Bioform incomplete. Bond threshold 0%.
Kael blinked.
"Xenovorax…" he whispered.
His spine chilled. He didn't remember seeing that name before.
[Do you wish to unlock dormant project file? Warning: Instability threshold exceeds safe range.]
Kael hesitated. Then shook his head. "Not yet."
Ravager gave a low grumble. They both turned as the wind shifted again. The jungle wasn't quiet anymore. Something had caught their scent.
Time to move.
Kael pocketed the data slate, slung a salvaged pack over his shoulder, and gave Ravager a nod.
"Let's find the next ruin. And this time, maybe we'll get answers before the monsters do."
They vanished into the ash-blown underbrush, the jungle closing behind them like a wound.
Far above, something massive shifted in the skies.
And deep within the Ark Grave, something awoke.
End of Chapter 4
Next: Kael crosses into a corrupted zone and discovers a faction built on symbiosis—and sacrifice.