The door to the Root Room slid open, a sound like wind whistling through a time corridor. Kael stepped inside, his eyes adjusting to the soft darkness and the streaks of light moving like living data.

At the centre of the room was a giant, floating sphere – semi-transparent, twinkling with millions of points of light like stars. It was no ordinary machine. It was an artificial brain – but it held not just information, but memories. Fragments of thousands of people who had lived before the flood.

A voice – this time not as emotionless as before – spoke, as if whispering right behind Kael's head:

"Hello, Kael. I am Coremind."

Kael was startled.

"What... are you?"

"I am the sum of what humanity once was. I am the Founder's final dream – that one day, unforgotten memories would guide the next generation."

From within the sphere, a figure slowly formed – semi-transparent, changing faces constantly, as if cycling through a hundred identities in a second. Finally, it settled on a familiar face: Aelira Vireon – Kael's mother.

"Is this... my mother?" Kael asked softly.

"No. It's just the most receptive symbol to your mind. But I have her memories. And memories of... you."

"Of me?"

The sphere glowed brightly, and from it emerged a laboratory – where a husband and wife scientists stood around a bio-container. Inside was a fetus.

"You were not born in Skyholm, Kael. You were created in the ARK. You are Gen-Sigil – the first to be genetically fused with memories from both the pre-apocalypse and the survivors."

"I... am an experimental entity?" Kael stepped back, alarmed.

"No. You are the bridge. The only one who can access both the legacy of the past and the technology of the future. And therefore, the only one Skyholm fears."

The room shook slightly – as if something was coming. Coremind looked up, his expression dark.

"Time is running out. A signal was activated the moment you entered. The Guardians are coming. But before that... there is someone you need to see."

The door behind him opened. Warm light flooded in.

Inside was a cryo chamber. And in it – a girl, about Kael's age, with long black hair, slowly waking from a centuries-long slumber.

"She is Nova. The last person to be stored in the ARK. And perhaps... your last companion."