The Signal Beneath Ash

The storm never touched the surface. It hovered—churning, red and gold—like something alive above the broken world of Karth Vale. A dead colony, officially. Abandoned after the Dominion's "purification campaign." Unofficially… it still whispered. Lyric stands at the edge of a fractured observation platform, wind clawing at their coat. Below, buried in miles of glassed earth, is the source of a signal that shouldn't exist. A human voice. Not static. Not AI. Human. And repeating a phrase on loop: "We kept the fire alive." Behind Lyric, two presences wait. Commander Halvek (Dominion) – armored in bronze and flame-lit sigils, unwavering Unit-7 (Reformation) – calm, synthetic voice layered with predictive analysis Two factions. Two interpretations. One decision. And neither of them is telling the whole truth.