The battle for Argus Prime raged on for hours. Kael was a machine, each command flowing through his hands with surgical precision. The last remnants of the Veilspawn were systematically wiped out, torn apart by the station's defense systems, but Kael knew it wasn't over.
Not by a long shot.
Talia had been his closest ally for years, but even she had started to see the scope of the chaos unfolding. "You opened a gate, Kael," she said, scanning data on the central monitor. "One that your father couldn't close."
"I'm aware," Kael replied, eyes never leaving the screens. "But whatever's out there… we can't stop it unless we control it."
"You don't control the unknown."
Kael looked at her, his face a mixture of determination and frustration. "I won't make the same mistake. My father… he didn't just leave me with a legacy. He left me with the key. And if this place is the last line of defense, then I'll make sure it stands."
A warning alarm blared, shaking the station once again. Something new had appeared on the radar—a blip that wasn't Veilspawn.
"Not again," Talia cursed, tapping at the console. "Kael… this isn't a swarm. It's… another ship."
"Who?"
The readout confirmed the type—an old Drayven-class ship, the kind used for covert operations, all but extinct now. A ghost from Kael's past.
"Hold on," Kael said, narrowing his eyes. "That's impossible."
The ship's identification code appeared next to the blip.
The Sable Covenant.
Talia's face went pale.
Kael's expression hardened. "It's not possible… not unless…"
He felt the familiar, unsettling sensation creeping down his spine.
Someone else had found the key.
The doors to the command bridge slid open.
A figure stepped through—a tall man, clad in a dark, armored suit, his face obscured by a reflective visor. His presence was suffocating, as if the air itself bent under his weight.
"Kael Jarek Drayven," the figure said, his voice cold but unmistakably familiar. "I thought I'd find you here."
Talia's hand went to her sidearm, but Kael raised his hand, signaling for her to stand down.
"Who the hell are you?" Kael's voice was steely, controlled.
The figure removed his helmet.
Kael's blood froze.
The man standing before him was tall, with sharp features that mirrored Kael's own, though darker, older. His eyes gleamed with a vicious intelligence—a predator's gaze. His skin was scarred, and his right hand was encased in a glowing black gauntlet that hummed with power.
"You should recognize me, Kael," the man said, a faint smirk curling on his lips. "After all, I am your brother."
For a long moment, Kael could only stare.
"My what?"
The man's smirk deepened, and he took a step forward. "Jarek didn't just have one son. I am the second heir to the Drayven legacy—the true heir."
Talia looked between the two men, clearly caught off guard. Kael's voice was dangerously low.
"Lies."
"No lies, Kael." The man's voice was smooth, cold as ice. "I am Jarek's firstborn. Born in the shadows of this empire. When you were born, I was the one who was hidden—forgotten. I was part of Project Genesis—the true Drayven heir, the one your father left behind when he built his empire."
Kael's mind raced, his thoughts reeling. There had been rumors—whispers of a second son, someone who didn't fit the perfect legacy that Jarek had created. But this man? This was no mere ghost story.
This was real.
And the implications were catastrophic.
"You're lying," Kael said, though his voice betrayed a slight tremor. He had to hold his ground. "My father didn't need anyone else. He left me everything. I've inherited everything!"
The man's smile was cold, filled with dark amusement. "That's what he told you, wasn't it? He told you that you were the chosen one. That you were the key. But I know the truth. I was the one he planned to lead. I was the one he raised to command the Drayven dynasty."
Kael shook his head in disbelief. "Why didn't he tell me? Why keep me in the dark?"
"Because he knew what would happen if you knew the truth. He knew you'd never accept it. He raised you to be the perfect heir. But I was his real legacy—the one he intended to control everything with."
Kael's mind was spinning. The weight of the words pressed down on him, but he refused to show any weakness.
"So why now?" Kael asked. "Why show up now?"
The man's smirk faded into something colder, darker.
"Because," he said, his voice now a low growl, "the gate is open. And someone has to take control before the chaos spreads. The Veil is only the beginning, Kael. We're facing something much bigger than either of us. The Veilspawn were only the first wave. There's something far worse waiting to take this universe. Something that your father tried to stop... and failed."
Talia stepped forward, her eyes narrowed. "And you think you can do any better?"
The man's eyes glinted with malice. "I don't think I can do better. I know I can."
He raised his black-glowing gauntlet, and for a brief moment, it hummed with an energy that resonated deep in Kael's chest.
"I came here to offer you a choice," the man said, his voice no longer cold but almost... inviting. "Join me, Kael. Together, we can rule the Veil and all that lies beyond it."
Kael felt the full weight of the offer, the weight of the second heir's words, pressing against his very soul.
He wanted to reject it. He wanted to say that his destiny was his own, that he was the heir his father had chosen. But deep down, a part of him was intrigued—the knowledge of a legacy larger than he'd ever imagined.
But at what cost?
"I'll never join you," Kael spat. "You're nothing but a parasite. You'll destroy everything Jarek worked for."
The man's expression darkened, his gauntlet crackling with dark energy.
"We'll see, Kael. We'll see who really has the power to control this empire. The question is, are you willing to risk everything to keep it?"
The tension in the room thickened as the two men stood face-to-face—brothers, but rivals.
And in that moment, Kael knew the war was no longer just for the Drayven legacy.
It was a war for everything.