Private Sommer’s End Pt. 3-4

[Alyssa Kydd]

"Exactly," Alyssa whispered. "And now you're walking around with this… this presence. It's not just confidence, Som. It's like you're tuned to some frequency I can't follow."

She stepped closer, her voice trembling.

"If it's the force I feel… I feel within, something clinging to you. Something that shouldn't be there."

 

[Sommer Dai]

Sommer's face twitched, as if caught between fear and fury.

"I've been through hell," she said. "I've been used, drugged, hunted, broken, Finally got the upper hand on ZORI… and now I finally feel powerful, and suddenly everyone's suspicious."

 

[Alyssa Kydd]

"Because we love you," Alyssa snapped. "Because I love you. And I know that what I saw last night wasn't the woman I fell for."

Alyssa stepped in again, hand gently brushing her arm.

"Tell me you haven't felt it. The whispers. The pull. That voice that tells you you don't need anyone. That you should reign, not share."

 

[Sommer Dai]

Sommer's lips trembled. For the briefest moment, her mask cracked.

"It's like… silk in my veins. Like I can breathe better. Like everything I've suffered made sense. I'm not just someone who survived the streets anymore. I'm something more."

 

[Alyssa Kydd]

"You're already more," Alyssa said, eyes glassy. "You didn't need a god in your head to make you special."

 

[Sommer Dai]

Tears burned at the corner of Sommer's eyes, but she blinked them away.

"So what? You want me to deny it? To give it up and go back to being afraid?"

 

[Alyssa Kydd]

Alyssa stepped forward again, voice shaking:

"No. I want you to stay you. That's all I've ever wanted."

 

[Sommer Dai]

Sommer swallowed hard. Her fingers clenched.

"Then you better stay close. Because I don't know how long I'll be able to tell the difference."

 

[Alyssa Kydd]

Alyssa nodded.

Then, quietly, she reached forward and embraced her.

 

[Sommer Dai]

Sommer hesitated… and then melted into her arms. Holding her tightly. Desperately.


But deep inside her chest — beneath the ribs, beyond the warmth — something still pulsed.


And it did not sleep.

 

[Kaelon Virex]

"The Voice in the Wires"

Location: Aboard the Dusk Nocturne, Hyperspace Drift
​

An alarm chirped once.

Then again.

A steady pulse broke the hum of starlight silence aboard the Dusk Nocturne, coming from the nav console like a heartbeat with teeth.

"Why are we diverting?" Kael asked, springing to the command deck, eyes narrowing.

 

[Arq*]

Arq, already at the console, pressed a few keys.

"I didn't touch the coordinates. It's doing it on its own."

Lines of code scrolled like a curse: SUBROUTINE LOCKED. DESTINATION: REDACTED.

 

[Kaelon Virex]

Kael's stomach turned.

"This isn't slicer work. This feels… ancient."

 

[Arq*]

"Like something already knew how to hijack us," Arq muttered.

 

[Sommer Dai]

Just then, Sommer entered the bridge.

She wore an expression of quiet calm. Too calm.

"If this is something I need to deal with," she said gently, "it can wait. I'm going to lie down."

Private Quarters, Moments Later

Sommer lay upon her bed.

And the shadows greeted her.

Whispers. Chanting. A lullaby of power.

"You are the vessel. The skin for the Voice. The Queen of Endings. The Flame of Return."

She shuddered. And then… she opened her eyes.

But they weren't hers anymore.

They were black and violet. Swirling like obsidian smoke.

 

[Kaelon Virex]

Elsewhere on the Ship

Kael grunted, gripping his forearm.

"What the hell—"

He tore off his glove to reveal the burning symbol etched in ink across his wrist — the same symbol that had appeared weeks ago after the cradle's first vision.

It was glowing, veins around it pulsing gold and red.

 

[Arq*]

Arq gasped, swaying where he stood.

"Kael…"

He stumbled — and collapsed, unconscious. His body limp. Breathing… shallow.

 

[Kaelon Virex]

Kael turned toward the hallway just as—


A scream is heard

 

[Sommer Dai]

Sommer's Room

Alyssa slammed backward into the wall as a force wave knocked her breathless.

Sommer stood above her — or something wearing her skin.

Her hair floated slightly, as if underwater. Her eyes glowed with that unnatural hue. And her voice was layered — one voice over another, speaking in unison.

"You would keep the Queen from her throne?"

 

[Alyssa Kydd]

"Sommer, please—this isn't you!" Alyssa begged, rising to her knees, face streaked with fear and determination. "You're strong enough to fight this. You're not his puppet."