Chapter 19: Kael’s Gambit

Kai stalked the Spire's corridor, relic-panels glowing a sickly green, their hum vibrating through his boots—his mark flickered, aging his hands, the stash's dim light casting long shadows. The walls were tight, metal polished to a mirror, reflecting his gray hair, his wrinkled face—older now, the toll carved deep. The team was split, their shouts muffled behind sealed panels, and Mara's ache gnawed at him, silent but heavy.

A voice cut through—smooth, cold, echoing from ahead: "You're persistent, Voss." Kai froze, the stash pulsing, and stepped into a chamber—wide, domed, relic-consoles circling a platform. Kael stood there—tall, cloaked, relic-augs glinting in his arms, his eyes sharp and gray.

"You," Kai spat, his mark flaring, time bending faintly around him. "Mara's trade—your hands."

Kael smirked, stepping down, his cloak rustling. "Her choice—gave you that mark, didn't she? A gift I let her make." He tapped a console, runes glowing—holo-images flared: Mara, kneeling, aging, dust spilling as the mark burned into Kai's hand.

Kai's chest seized, the stash trembling in his grip. "You let her die—used her," he growled, stepping closer, his mark sparking wildly.

"She paid for you," Kael said, his tone flat, eyes glinting. "That stash—pure time, stolen from the breach. She knew its cost—gave her life to wield it. You're her legacy, Voss, and you're wasting it."

Kai swung, his mark blazing—time cracked, aiming for Kael's chest—but Kael moved, aug-arms flaring, deflecting it. Dust burst, but he stood, unharmed. "Too slow," Kael taunted, firing a relic-bolt—Kai dodged, the wall aging to ruin behind him.

"You're done," Kai rasped, charging again—his mark hit Kael's arm, time bending, aug-metal fraying—but his own leg aged, buckling, snapping back with a sting. Kael laughed, stepping back, his aug-arms humming.

"The stash's truth?" Kael said, nodding at it. "It's finite—every use burns you out. Mara's trade was one-way—can't save her, can't save them. You're dust waiting to happen."

Kai staggered, the stash's light dimming, Mara's ache sharp—Kael's words cut deeper than the fight. "Then I'll take you with me," he snarled, lunging—his mark flared, time shattering, but Kael dodged, the chamber trembling.

A crack split the air—walls groaned, relic-hum spiking. "You're too late," Kael said, backing toward a hatch, his smirk cold. "This ends my way."

Kai roared, chasing, but the Spire shook—Kael was close, and the truth burned: the stash was killing him, and time was running out.

The Spire's core trembled, relic-hum roaring as Kai lunged for Kael—his mark flared, aging his arm, the stash's light a faint flicker in his grip. Kael darted back, his aug-arms glowing, slipping toward a hidden hatch in the chamber's wall—metal hissed, opening fast. "You're out of time, Voss," he taunted, his voice sharp, his gray eyes glinting.

Kai swung, time cracking—dust burst where Kael had been, but he dodged, laughing as he ducked through the hatch. The Spire groaned, cracks splitting the walls, relic-panels sparking. "No!" Kai roared, slamming his mark into the hatch—time bent, metal fraying, but it sealed shut, Kael's echo fading.

He sank to his knees, the stash dim, his breath short—gray hair, wrinkled hands, body trembling from the toll. The chamber shook harder, consoles flickering, the hum turning shrill. "Bastard got away," he muttered, fury burning through the ache—Mara's ache, quieter now, but heavy.

A clang echoed—panels slid open, Lena staggering in, her dagger bloodied, her shoulder bruised but intact. "Voss—alive?" she rasped, hauling him up, her eyes fierce.

"Barely," he said, gripping the stash, his mark sparking faintly. "Kael's gone—trap worked."

Quiet woman followed, Tali clinging to her—frail but awake, her gray hair catching the glow. "Guards're down—barely," quiet woman said, her knife crusted with dust, her whitened frame tense.

Markus limped in last, his cane dragging, his chest frail from a bolt's hit. "Spire's cracking—relic-core's unstable," he rasped, nodding at the walls—cracks widened, sparks flying.

Kai stood, the stash pulsing weakly, Kael's words ringing: "Finite—burns you out." He looked at them—Lena's glare, quiet woman's nod, Tali's faint hope, Markus's grim resolve—and clenched his fist. "We've got this—find him, end it."

The Spire groaned louder, floors tilting—relic-hum spiked, a console exploding in sparks. "Move!" Lena yelled, shoving toward a corridor—dust rained, walls buckling.

Kai led, the stash dim but alive, his mark flickering—aged, trembling, but defiant. Kael was out there, the Spire falling, and the choice loomed: chase him, or save what was left. Time was cracking, and he wasn't done.