The first thing Averon Khael noticed when he opened his eyes was the ceiling.
It was white. Too clean, and too bright.
For a few seconds, he simply stared at it without moving. His mind felt distant from his body, as though he had woken somewhere inside a dream and was still waiting for reality to catch up.
Then the pain returned. Not all at once.
It began somewhere deep inside his chest before spreading through his ribs, shoulder, and abdomen. His breathing became heavier. His fingers tightened against the sheet beneath him.
A familiar sound came from somewhere beside the bed.
Machines.
He turned his head slowly.
The room was different from the last time he remembered seeing it. His damaged equipment was no longer scattered around him. His clothing had been removed and replaced with something that was clearly made for medical use. Several unfamiliar devices surrounded the bed, monitoring things he could not identify.
And behind the transparent partition stood soldiers. They were watching him. Khael stared at them for a moment. Then he looked toward the other side of the room. Paul was standing there. Khael remembered him. The machine, the voice.
Earth.
His eyes moved toward the small device resting on a nearby table. The Wegen machine. Paul noticed.
-You're awake.
Khael looked at him.
-Again.
Paul gave a faint expression that was almost a smile.
-I thought you might not make it.
Khael tried to sit up. The attempt lasted less than two seconds. Pain forced him back against the bed. Paul immediately moved forward.
-Don't.
Khael breathed slowly until the pain settled.
-I have been unconscious for how long?
Paul glanced toward the medical monitor.
-Long enough.
Khael looked at him. Paul continued
-You are getting better.
A medic approached the bed and checked the readings.
-Your body has recovered more than we expected. You're still nowhere near healthy, but the internal bleeding has almost stopped.
Khael looked at the medic.
-You expected me to die?
The medic hesitated.
-We didn't know what to expect.
Khael looked down at his hands.
-That makes sense.
David entered the room. The moment he appeared, the atmosphere changed. Khael noticed immediately. Paul stepped away from the bed. David stopped a few feet from him.
-How are you feeling?
Khael looked at him.
-Like someone who crossed a realm while taking a lot of damage.
David nodded slightly.
-That's probably an accurate description.
Khael studied him.
-You are David.
David raised an eyebrow.
-You remember.
-I remember faces.
His eyes moved briefly toward Paul.
-And voices.
David glanced at Paul before returning his attention to Khael.
-Can you walk?
Khael looked at the floor beside the bed.
-I can try.
The medic immediately objected.
-That's not a good idea.
Khael ignored him.
-If I remain here much longer, I will start believing I am about to die.
Paul looked at him.
-You are a patient.
-Not anymore.
David watched the exchange. Then he nodded toward the soldiers outside.
-Prepare the transport.
The medic looked at him.
-He's not ready.
-David.
The medic's tone became more serious.
-He survived something we still don't understand. His body is healing quickly, but that doesn't mean he's fit to move around the facility.
David looked at Khael. Khael answered before the medic could continue.
-I need to speak.
David remained silent. Khael continued.
-And I know you need answers.
That was enough. Within the next few minutes, the medical wing began to change around him. The soldiers remained positioned throughout the corridor while a secure transport was prepared. Khael was helped out of the bed and allowed to stand. His legs almost gave way. Paul caught his arm. Khael looked at him.
-I can stand.
-Paul didn't say you couldn't.
Khael slowly straightened himself.
-You are persistent.
David with a faint smile
-Khael is saying you are persistent
Paul released his arm.
-I've been told that before.
For the first time, Khael gave a faint smile. It disappeared almost immediately. His eyes moved toward the corridor. There were soldiers everywhere. He looked at them without fear. But there was something in his expression that Paul noticed.
Recognition.
Khael had seen armed men before. Far too many. He wasn't intimidated by them. He was simply tired of seeing them. The transport moved through the secured section of OPESTM.
Khael remained silent for most of the journey. He watched everything. The architecture, the personnel, the machines, the security systems the movement of soldiers.
Earth was different from what he had imagined. It was neither primitive nor advanced enough. Something in between. A civilization still building itself.
When the doors finally opened, David stepped out first. Khael followed. They entered a large conference chamber.
For a moment, he stopped. The room was already occupied. Representatives from different parts of the world sat around a long table. Some were connected through secure displays, while others were physically present. Military officials stood behind them.
Nobody spoke.
Every eye in the room was on Khael. David walked toward the center.
-This is Averon Khael.
Khael looked around. The room reminded him of places he had seen before. Different worlds, different languages, different people, but the same expression. Fear mixed with curiosity.
David continued.
-He came through the portal deliberately. He was severely wounded when he arrived. We've managed to establish basic communication through the Wegen machine.
One of the representatives leaned forward.
-Can he understand everything we say?
David replies
-From this point I'll translate.
The representative looked at him.
-Then perhaps you can explain why you came here.
Khael remained standing. He looked toward David. David gave him a small nod. Khael took a breath.
-My name is Averon Khael. I am a soldier of Avaranth.
A few people exchanged glances. The name meant nothing to them. One of the leaders spoke.
-Where is Avaranth?
Khael looked at him.
-Far from Earth.
The leader frowned.
-That's not an answer.
-It is the only answer that matters at this moment. I believe you have no map of where I come from, and I have no reason to believe your instruments can locate it. The distance between our realms cannot be measured the way you measure distance between countries or planets.
The room became quiet. Another representative leaned forward.
-Then tell us what Avaranth is.
Khael looked at the table.
-A realm.
The word sounded strange in the room. Not because they didn't understand it. Because they understood too well what it implied.
David spoke.
-We need you to explain a bit more about everything. What exactly is happening beyond that portal?
Khael's expression changed. For the first time since entering the room, the soldier beneath the exhaustion became visible again.
-War.
Nobody interrupted. Khael continued.
-Avaranth is part of something called the Rebellion.
One of the representatives repeated the word quietly.
-The Rebellion.
Khael nodded.
-It is not one government. It is not one army. It is made up of different realms that have joined against the MJC and the realms fighting alongside it.
The room remained silent. David looked toward the others. The MJC. That name had already become familiar to Earth. But hearing it from someone who had apparently come directly from an active war made it different. One of the world leaders folded his hands.
-You're telling us the MJC is fighting these Rebellion realms right now?
-Yes.
-How long has this been happening?
Khael paused.
-Not long enough.
The answer was deliberate.
-The war is recent. Tensions existed before it, but the fighting began after circumstances changed. Avaranth is now involved, along with other realms that chose to resist the MJC.
A representative looked toward David. Then back at Khael.
-And you were fighting them?
Khael's eyes lowered briefly.
-Yes I was.
His hand moved unconsciously toward his side. The wound, the burned equipment, the journey. Everything suddenly made sense without needing to be explained. The room had been silent before. Now it was tense. One of the leaders finally leaned back.
-Then why did you come here?
Khael looked at him. The question had been waiting since the moment he entered. He looked around the entire room before answering.
-Because I was sent.
David's eyes narrowed slightly.
-Sent by whom?
Khael didn't answer immediately. He looked toward the floor. Then back at David.
-That is not the most important question.
David's expression hardened.
-It IS important to us. Probably the most important of all.
Khael took a slow breath.
-Whoever sent me did not send me here to give you a history lesson. I was sent because Earth may be able to help us.
That sentence changed the room. Several representatives began speaking quietly among themselves. One of them raised his voice.
-Help you how?
Khael looked toward him.
-I came to ask for reinforcement.
The words settled heavily over the room. Nobody spoke for several seconds. Then the reaction came. One representative leaned forward.
-You want military support.
Another immediately followed.
-From Earth?
A third spoke more cautiously.
-You crossed that portal while your people are fighting the MJC, came directly to Earth, and now you're asking us to enter your war.
Khael opened his mouth. But before he could answer, another voice cut across the room.
-We've already been attacked once because of our involvement with the MJC. We are not going to throw our military into another conflict simply because a stranger arrived through a portal asking us to choose his side.
Several others nodded. Khael remained silent. Another leader continued.
-We don't even know you. We don't know Avaranth. We don't know the Rebellion. We don't know how powerful the MJC really is, and we certainly don't know what joining your war would cost Earth.
The room grew louder. Khael watched them. His expression remained controlled. But something in his eyes suggested he had expected this. David raised his hand.
-Gentlemen! We must maintain discipline and let him speak.
The room gradually became quiet. Khael finally spoke.
-I did not come here expecting you to send your army.
The room stopped. David looked at him. Khael's eyes moved across the table.
-I am not asking for your soldiers.
A few representatives exchanged confused looks. Khael continued.
-I am not asking for your weapons, your aircraft, your resources, or your military bases.
He paused.
-The reinforcement I came for is one person.
Silence. This time, nobody knew what to say. David stared at him.
-Sorry, what, one person?
Khael nodded.
-Yes, one individual from Earth.
The curiosity in the room changed immediately. Someone slowly leaned forward.
-Who?
Khael looked around the table. His answer came quietly.
-The descendant of the First Super Soldier.
The room froze. Paul stood several feet behind David. He had not spoken since entering. He had listened to every word. But now his entire body had gone still. The First Super Soldier. A name from Earth's history. A name he had heard before. A name connected to his family.
His great-grandfather.
Paul's eyes remained fixed on Khael. Khael looked toward him. Their eyes met. For a moment, neither of them spoke. Khael did not know yet. Or perhaps he suspected.
Paul knew. And suddenly, the room no longer felt large enough. One of the representatives finally broke the silence.
-You came all the way here looking for THE FIRST EMBER's descendant?
Khael looked back toward the table.
-Yes.
-Why?
Khael's face became difficult to read.
-I can't tell you that.
The answer shocked them more than the request itself. The representative stared at him.
-You can't?
Khael shook his head.
-All I can say right now that this individual is crucial. I was given the task of finding him and bringing him to the Rebellion.
He paused.
-Why he is crucial is something I was not told.
Paul looked down. His heartbeat had become strangely loud. Around him, the room had already begun moving toward another argument. But Paul barely heard it. Because for the first time in his life, his family's past had reached across the boundaries of Earth.
And it had come looking for him.
To be continued...