Chapter 10: Hollow Sun

Chapter 10: Hollow Sun

Year 10002 | Xintian Station, Upper Vault Nexus

The rumble didn't stop. It wasn't just the station's old bones groaning; it was a deeper, more primal thrum that vibrated through the deck plates and up Junhao's spine. As he and Veyra climbed toward the upper vault levels, the station shook again—heavier, slower, like the heartbeat of something vast awakening.

"It's not the Forge this time, is it?" Junhao asked, steadying himself against a shifting wall. His Core pulsed beneath his ribs—not afraid, not angry. Just alert. Listening.

"No," Veyra said, her voice tight. She checked her scanner, which flickered with chaotic static. "Whatever this is… it's not part of the station. There's an echo. An energy signature I've never seen." A strange pattern flashed across the display—then vanished.

---

Sky Tier Orbital Ring | Project Hollow Sun Control Deck

The control deck was silent but for the low hum of containment fields. Commander Yelin stood before a reinforced screen, watching the weapon rotate in zero gravity. A spherical construct, cracked with golden seams. Sealed light. Tempered fire.

"Hollow Sun has been reactivated," a technician reported. "Artificial fusion star. Weaponized core. Orbital sync at ninety-six percent."

Yelin didn't blink. "Target lock?"

"Confirmed. Flameborn signature—locked on Vault Theta-Zero."

Another tense pause.

"Do we fire, sir?"

"Not yet," Yelin replied. "Let him see it first. Let him know what we built to end him."

---

Xintian Station | Upper Service Lifts

The lift groaned upward through the spine of the station, metal straining under its own weight. Sirens pulsed, but distant. Irrelevant now.

Junhao leaned against the wall, quiet. The Core inside him was more than energy now. It was memory. A voice in his blood. A map etched in light.

He looked at Veyra. "What do you know about Project Hollow Sun?"

Her face darkened. "Ghost weapon. Built during the Outer War. Too unstable to use, or so they claimed. I always thought it was a bluff."

"They didn't shut it down," Junhao said. The words came from somewhere deeper than his voice. "They saved it. For me."

---

Xintian Station Surface | South Platform B

The hatch hissed open, revealing jagged decks exposed to the void. Above them—Hollow Sun.

A false star. Hanging in orbit like divine judgment. Its light was unnatural—focused, weaponized, wrong. The air trembled under its radiance, thick with pressure and static. Ozone bit the back of Junhao's throat.

Veyra stared up. "It's drawn to you. Built to burn something like you."

"I know," Junhao whispered. "But… it's scared."

She blinked. "Scared?"

"It's listening. I can feel it."

The Core pulsed in his chest—then reached out. A wave of invisible resonance pushed skyward, a pulse not of challenge… but recognition.

And the Hollow Sun answered.

---

Sky Tier Orbital Ring | Control Deck

"Feedback detected!" a tech shouted. "Radiant echo—he's syncing with the weapon's frequency!"

"Impossible," Yelin growled. "The system is sealed."

"He's not hacking it. He's harmonizing with it. Like he was… meant to."

The control room fell silent.

"Shut it down," someone whispered.

"No," Yelin snapped. "Engage full protocol. Maximum yield." His hands moved fast. "Fire the Hollow Sun."

---

Surface Deck | Seconds Before Impact

The sky fractured.

The Hollow Sun flared—a lance of golden energy tore downward, a beam forged from the heart of a newborn star. It screamed as it fell.

Junhao didn't move.

The Core surged.

**Bend it,** a voice whispered inside him. **Remind it.**

He raised both hands.

The light struck.

The deck buckled. Energy detonated in a sphere of molten brilliance—but Junhao stood unmoved. The flame around him bloomed, not in rage, but in radiant precision. The star's fury hit a wall of living light.

And the light… bent.

Folded.

Returned.

The Hollow Sun dimmed—its core flickering, stuttering. Then, silence.

It powered down.

---

Aftermath | Lower Landing Bay

Veyra stared at him. "You stopped it."

Junhao's arms trembled. "No. I caught it. Heard it."

"Heard it?"

"It wasn't just a weapon. It was a voice. Afraid."

She looked up at the now-silent Hollow Sun. "Afraid of what?"

Junhao didn't answer.

Because above them, beyond the fading echoes of light, something stirred in the stars.

A ripple passed through space. A cold pressure. Ancient.

A voice bloomed in Junhao's mind—vast, hollow, full of memory and menace.

**"The Ashborn stir. The stars remember. Do you, Flameborn?"**

Junhao exhaled.

And the fire inside him answered.

End of Chapter 10