Kai could breathe the toxic air in the mine, a strange ability he gain after the liquid transformed his body. A secret that he decided to hide from his new found friends.

Kai put on his mining gear and twisted his helmet until it locked in place with a reassuring click. It had been two days since he last went down into the mine, but this time he wasn’t alone. Eliana and Kevin stood beside him, both wearing suits that were noticeably more advanced than his. The sleek designs and reinforced plating of their equipment made Kai’s rugged mining gear look outdated by comparison.

The cultists from True Kin had leave them with more questions than answers, which gave them motivations to visit the buried ship as soon as they could.

Kai gave Eliana a thumbs-up, which she returned with a confident nod. Together, the three stepped into the lift.

The mine had been temporarily cleared to ensure the secrecy of the buried ship. Naturally, the miners weren’t happy about it, but Kevin—Mr. Draco, as many called him—had smoothed things over by offering free transport and accommodations at a larger mine nearby. It wasn’t ideal, but it was enough to settle the complaints.

The elevator descended steadily into the mine shaft, the faint hum of the gears and pulleys filling the silence. Kai leaned against the railing, his mind wandering back to the words of the captured man. “You are not a True Kin, not like us.” What had he meant? The phrase gnawed at Kai, making him uneasy.

He thought about the notebook tucked safely in his pack—information that hinted at a mysterious, powerful faction called the US. If the records were accurate, they had controlled over 50 star systems. That was enough power to rival both the Empire and the Federation combined. How could a force that significant be erased from any data base?

“What do you think a swan is?” Eliana asked, her voice pulling him out of his thoughts.

Kai turned his head toward her. “I’m not sure,” he admitted. “I think it’s an object or maybe an animal, or a plant. Like a flower that’s usually white but, with a rare mutation, turns black.”

Eliana’s eyes lit up with curiosity. “I think so too,” she agreed, before glancing toward her father.

Kevin stood silently in the corner of the elevator, his eyes closed, breathing deeply. It was clear to Kai that Kevin was lost in his own thoughts. To Kevin, the buried ship had always been part of an old family legend—something passed down through generations but never believed to come true. Even before this trip, Kai could sense Kevin’s skepticism. But the attack on the mine changed everything. Now, as they descended deeper, Kevin was moments away from coming face to face with the truth.

The lift stopped, and the door slid open slowly. The tunnel ahead was just as dark and foreboding as Kai remembered. Without hesitation, he led the way, their headlamps slicing through the darkness and illuminating the rough, uneven walls of the mine.

Kai felt a hand suddenly grab his arm. He stopped and turned to see Eliana clutching him, her expression grim and uneasy. She silently pointed deeper into the tunnel. Kai followed her gesture and saw it—a body slumped against the tunnel wall, its mining suit caked in dirt and dust.

Kai sighed softly. He had forgotten that for someone like Eliana, a dead body wasn’t something you simply walked past. “It’s… normal down here,” he explained quietly. “There’s no law, no oversight. If things go south, people don’t make it out. It happens more than you’d think.”

Eliana didn’t look convinced. Her gaze shifted to her father, narrowing with quiet blame. Kevin, who had been trailing slightly behind, caught her stare and exchanged a quick look with Kai. Both men shrugged, as if to say “That’s just how it is.”

The three pressed on, venturing deeper and deeper into the tunnels. The air grew cooler, and the silence was only broken by the faint crunch of their boots against the ground. They paused only briefly for water and to catch their breath before continuing.

And finally, the white hull of the buried ship came into view, its smooth surface a stark contrast against the rough rock surrounding it.

Kevin saw it too. His eyes widened, and he pushed past Kai without a word. In his excitement, he didn’t even seem to register the dead bodies strewn across the ground. Eliana, however, stopped, her expression turning grim again. She glanced at Kai, silently questioning him.

“Yeah, these are the two that attacked me,” Kai said casually, as if it were nothing out of the ordinary.

Eliana opened her mouth as if to say something, but after a moment, she closed it. She turned away to join her father, who was already inspecting the hull like a man possessed.

Kai followed behind them, watching as Kevin inspected every inch of the exposed hull, his hands trailing over the metal as if he were afraid to miss even the smallest detail. He moved with reverence, while Eliana trailed after him, her gaze darting between her father and the ancient, mysterious starship before them.

"This is fascinating," Kevin said as he slowly stepped into the ship, moving carefully to avoid damaging the instrument panels embedded in the "floor". Eliana and Kai followed close behind, their headlamps casting long, shifting shadows across the metallic walls.

Kai had been here just two days ago, but he hadn’t taken time to explore the entire ship. He’d been drawn straight to the light. Now, on his second visit, he noticed details he’d missed before.

The ship was covered with strange symbols etched onto buttons and panels. Most were completely unfamiliar to him, but their placement and design gave him a vague sense of their functions. Some looked like navigation controls; others, he guessed, were related to power systems or communications.

Kevin moved ahead into what appeared to be the ship’s main hall. The moment he entered, he froze, his gaze landing on the figure sprawled on the floor. It was the body Kai had found before—laying still with its heavy, unfamiliar space suit.

Kevin approached cautiously, kneeling beside it to examine the suit more closely. His gloved hand traced the faded emblem on the arm. "This material... it’s like nothing I’ve ever seen," he murmured, more to himself than anyone else.

Kai stood nearby, watching as Kevin inspected the body. Eliana lingered close to the doorway, her arms wrapped around herself as she stared at the lifeless figure. "Who were they?" she asked quietly, her voice carrying a mix of curiosity and unease.

"That was the captain of the ship," Kai said, his voice breaking the tense silence. "A member of the USSF."

Kevin and Eliana both turned to him.

"USSF?" Kevin repeated, his brows furrowing.

Kai nodded and stepped closer. "I found a notebook here the last time. It was his diary… he wrote about their daily life aboard the ship. But he also wrote something else." He paused, choosing his words carefully. "They were running from something. Something that was hunting their people."

The weight of his words seemed to settle heavily in the air. Kevin stood up slowly, his gaze lingering on the body as if searching for answers. Eliana's face paled, her arms tightening around herself.

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"What could hunt them?" she whispered, her voice barely audible.

Kevin glanced at Kai, his eyes sharp with newfound urgency. "Did the diary say what it was?"

Kai shook his head. "No, it just said they buried their signal and hoped it wouldn’t find them. Whatever it was… it terrified them enough to abandon everything and entomb this ship here."

Kevin exchanged a look with Eliana, his face unusually grim. "Did you found anything else in the ship?"

"Yes," Kai said, his voice low and uncertain. "It's... it's a liquid of some kind. Intelligent. It escaped the container and... and infected my body." He forced the words out, feeling a tightness in his throat. Then, he took off his helmet, and slowly breath in the toxic air of the mine.

Kevin froze, his expression shifting as the weight of the truth hit him. For a moment, anger surged through him. The secret of the buried ship, the very thing his family might have sworn for generations to protect, was now living inside Kai. Kevin's sharp gaze lingered on Kai's white hair and glowing eyes, both indication for changes in his body.

"You knew about this?" Kevin said, his voice laced with restrained tension.

"I didn’t know what it was," Kai replied, meeting his gaze with guilt in his eyes. "I didn’t understand the scope of it all. I didn’t mean to hide it from you. I’m sorry… Mr. Kevin, Eliana."

Eliana stepped forward and stood in front of Kai, her face a mix of shock and concern, but she said nothing, she simply held Kai's hand and comforted him.

Kevin took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. A fallout with Kai right now would be reckless and unwise. This wasn’t Kai’s fault—he had been dragged into something far bigger than himself, and Kevin could see the burden weighing on him.

Finally, Kevin exhaled, his tone softer. "You should visit the Black Swan’s medical bay once we’re done here. It’s best if we find out exactly what this liquid is... what it’s made of, and what it’s doing to you."

Kai nodded solemnly. "I’ll do that. And again… I’m sorry."

Eliana placed a hand on Kai’s arm, her touch gentle. "We’ll figure this out," she said quietly, offering him a small, reassuring smile.

Kai remembered something and spoke up, “I recall the captain mentioning that all the ship’s electricity had been rerouted to support the vial. Maybe we can use the remaining power to activate one of the computers here.”

“Brilliant idea,” Kevin said, glancing around the room.

“This way,” Kai gestured, leading Kevin and Eliana into the captain’s quarters. He vividly remembered seeing a computer embedded into the wall during his last visit.

The screen was still there, dark and dormant. Kai approached it and pressed a random key. To his surprise, the display flickered to life—black background, white text:

Interface locked. Please enter the password.

Kai exchanged a glance with Kevin. Neither of them dared to input anything that could lock them out permanently.

“Perhaps we shouldn’t tamper with it for now,” Kevin suggested, his tone cautious. “I’ll bring a team specialists down here to secure the site. If we can reroute power and bring the ship online, it’ll be worth the wait.”

Kai nodded. He didn’t want to ruin their only lead, either. “Maybe we should explore the rest of the ship first.”

Kevin and Eliana agreed, and the three of them set off down the corridors.

The ship’s design struck Kai as vastly different from the ships in their culture. Functionality took priority over comfort—there were no lavish accommodations or unnecessary decor. Everywhere he looked were machines and system, their purposes a mystery. Even the Federation’s most advanced science vessels didn’t house this many computers.

Room after room greeted them with more machines, more panels, and no answers. Disappointment hung heavy as they pushed on.

Finally, they entered a room unlike any other. It lacked the sterile functionality of the rest of the ship. Ropes lined the walls—secured in place, clearly for weightless conditions. Kai recognized it immediately: sleeping quarters. Smaller repair ships in their world also used similar setups.

The room was surprisingly colorful compared to the ship’s otherwise dull, utilitarian aesthetic. Posters clung to the walls—crumpled but intact. Some advertised music groups Kai didn’t recognize, others featured beautiful women in revealing swim clothes, and a few depicted breathtaking views of space. It was chaotic, personal, and strangely human.

One poster, however, caught Kai’s attention. He wasn’t the only one — Kevin and Eliana were both staring at it too. Kai stepped closer.

The poster showcased a massive ship accompanied by smaller vessels, traveling together toward a stunning green-and-blue planet. The words below read:

“Humanity’s last hope: The Noah’s Ark.”

Kai stared at the poster, a strange sense of familiarity nagging at him. He knew he’d seen something like this before but couldn’t place where.

“Look at the thrusters on that ship,” Eliana said, breaking the silence. “And how they’re arranged…”

“It looks exactly like the tattoo of the True Kin,” Kevin finished, his voice heavy with realization.

Kai’s gaze lingered on the thrusters, their triangular arrangement unmistakable. His pulse quickened. The pieces were beginning to fit together.

"We need to find where these True Kin came from. We need to find Noah's Ark," Kevin said excitedly. "This is so much deeper than we thought. This is a mystery that could change humanity. This must be what the legend was talking about."

Kai nodded, but before he could process Kevin's words, a strange wave of dizziness hit him. The ship’s interior blurred and faded. In the next moment, he was somewhere else—floating in the vastness of space.

He could see the stars, countless and brilliant, but something was wrong. A presence loomed in the void. He realized he was staring into eyes—two massive, malicious eyes lurking in the dark. His chest tightened. He wanted to scream, to look away, but his body refused to move.

The eyes turned toward him, locking onto him like a predator finding its prey. He felt exposed, as if every part of his soul had been laid bare. The darkness shifted, and the eyes grew larger, closer, swallowing the stars and light until there was nothing but them.

He couldn’t breathe.

And then it moved.

The presence surged toward him, blotting out everything, as though it wanted nothing else but to find him.

Kai jolted upright, his breath ragged as the soft, ambient light of the Black Swan's medical bay flooded his vision. He was back. Eliana was kneeling beside him, her face pale, tears clinging to the edges of her eyes.

“Kai!” she gasped, grabbing his shoulders. “You’re awake. You scared the hell out of me.”

His voice came out weak. “What… what happened?”

“You passed out,” Eliana said, her voice trembling. “One minute you were standing there, and the next, you just… collapsed. You’ve been out for nearly an hour.”

Kai stared at her, trying to make sense of what he’d seen. It hadn’t been a dream. It had been real. He could still feel the lingering weight of those eyes, their intent pressing against his chest like a phantom pain.

Kevin appeared at the doorway, his expression serious. “You’re awake.” He stepped inside and looked at Eliana before shifting his gaze to Kai. “What happened to you down there?”

Kai swallowed, his throat dry. “I… I don’t know. I saw something. Eyes. In the dark, watching me.” He clenched his fists. “It—it found me.”

Eliana looked at him, fear flashing across her face. “What are you talking about? Who found you?”

Kai met Kevin’s gaze, his voice low and steady. “Something is out there, Kevin. Something far bigger and far worse than we imagined. Far more powerful than the Federation and Empire combined, and it just found us."

Kevin didn’t speak at first. The silence stretched, and for a moment, Kai was afraid. Afraid that Kevin would call him crazy, afraid that Eliana would look at him differently.

But it was Eliana who broke the silence. She smiled softly, “Kai, you’re overwhelmed,” she said gently. “Let’s focus on the problems one at a time.”

Kevin nodded. “My daughter is right,” he said. “If what you saw ties to what the legend foretold, then this is a challenge far greater than any of us can comprehend. But we don’t start with the unknowable—we start with what we do know.”

His eyes fixed on Kai. “We find these True Kin. And when we do, we’ll face whatever comes next, together.”

Kai looked between Kevin and Eliana. Their confidence steadied him, though the shadow of what he had seen still lingered at the edges of his mind. He nodded, his voice quiet but firm.

“Together,” Kai repeated.