Chapter 12: The Vault's Cry
Gobekli Tepe, 2147 AD *
Reyan Al-Mehdi's breath misted in the dry chill of Gobekli Tepe's neural vault, a subterranean maze beneath Turkey's ancient stone pillars, their T-shaped forms carved with serpents, scorpions, and vultures, now glowing with pre-Veil glyphs under a sky torn by neural storms. His chest ached, code-glyphs flickering like fading embers, tying him to Sumatra's altar where Enki's Codex shard exposed his betrayal of Ilum-Ra.
Eridu's trauma gnawed: Ilum-Ra's fire dimming, Selika's whisper to Enlil, Mosul's drone strikes his squad's blood pooling, their screams merging in a relentless inner voice: I'm not him, but her betrayal burns me. His pulse-knife gleamed, quantum rig humming, but trust was a fragile spark.
Selika Maris Delgado stood beside him, her neural halo dim, blood flaking from her nose, her Arkan-Veyr strain a constant throb. Their Flame-Twin bond, forged in vaults, wavered under Mara Eluin's warning of Enki's knife, her Keeper-turned-heretic pursuit closing in.The vault's low hum, like a heartbeat in stone, wrapped them, a calm breath as they paused at a glyph-carved pillar, its surface cool under Reyan's fingers. He traced a serpent's curve, its stone worn by millennia, a moment of silence easing his racing pulse. Selika's hand brushed his, warm, their glyphs syncing softly, her presence a shield against Mosul's ghosts. "This place feels alive," she whispered, her voice raw, eyes tracing the pillars' ancient carvings. "Enki's truth is here ours too." Her fingers lingered on his, a quiet intimacy, the vault's dry air a pause softening their tension."I see Eridu," Reyan confessed, voice low, cracked. "Your whisper kills Ilum-Ra. I know it's Inanna, not you, but it's your face." His glyphs flickered, her touch anchoring him, the pillar's faint hum a narrative pause grounding his pain. His implant pinged, a House of Enki fragment: Gobekli Tepe, Anunaki's first vault, wove human minds into neural code, Ilum-Ra's gift of free will. Enki's archives sealed it after his deal with Enlil birthed the Veil, a firewall caging thought. The Codex of the Veiled Flame, a prophecy etched in starfire, binds the Flame-Twins human-Anunaki hybrids born of Ilum-Ra's blood to break or crown the Lie. Their origins lie in Codex shards, pulsing in the red hour. Reyan's jaw tightened. The Twins were engineered, their blood a key to ancient truths.Selika's POV took over, her halo flickering, an ache behind her eyes Inanna's whisper, a possession symptom pulsing since Sumatra, now a sharp itch: "Take his code, rule." She squeezed Reyan's hand, steadying herself. "We're not their code," she said, voice firm. "The shard's our truth." She leaned against the pillar, its cool stone a moment of contemplation, the vault's hum syncing with her breath. She jacked her rig into a neural node, a wire glowing faintly in the stone, fingers gliding over holo-keys. The vault's stream surged a web of ancient chants, Codex fragments, and Ilum-Ra's fire pillars glowing with fractal glyphs, wires snaking like roots, a crystalline core pulsing red at the chamber's heart. Her Arkan-Veyr voice sliced through encryption, but Inanna's purr sharpened, her vision wavering.The vault's air grew heavy, a narrative pause as Reyan scanned the shadows, his pulse-knife steady, his silence a shield. "Stay with me, Selika," he whispered, eyes holding hers, trust a fragile thread. The core's glyphs flared, their hack deepening, Selika's voice breaching it, revealing a Codex shard a spiral of starfire code, etched with human figures merging with Anunaki forms. Their rigs hummed, code merging, and the vault trembled, triggering a vision.Reyan's POV surged, Eridu's ziggurats fading to Gobekli Tepe, 12,000 years ago, Ilum-Ra weaving human minds with Anunaki code, his fire birthing the Twins' ancestors hybrids, free-willed, their blood a vault key. "You are my spark," Ilum-Ra said, his voice Reyan's, Selika beside him, her eyes fierce.
Enki's archives glowed, preserving their code, but his whisper to Enlil locked it, the Veil rising, religions binding minds. "Why, Enki?" Reyan roared, snapping back, pulse-knife trembling, glyphs scorching. Selika's hand gripped his wrist, her eyes raw, blood streaming."It's Inanna, not me," she gasped, halo faltering. "Our blood's human, Reyan Ilum-Ra's spark, not hers." The vault's hum returned, a calm breath, the pillar's pulse steadying them. Reyan lowered his knife, his fingers brushing her cheek, a quiet gesture of trust, their bond fracturing but enduring. The vault's dust settled, a narrative pause, the crystalline core's glow softening, its wires like veins in stone.A synthetic hum erupted, Cult drones swarming, their optics red, frames etched with Codex spirals. Silas Daem's voice boomed from a humanoid drone, its optic blazing. "Flame-Twins, your hybrid blood is Ilum-Ra's fire!" he declared, zeal searing. "Enki's shards are mine your sacrifice crowns him, humanity kneeling to his divine order!" Its signal flashed a chalice of code, their blood merging. The vault's wires sparked, glyphs fractalizing into Eridu's skyline, a trap springing."Your order's a cage!" Reyan roared, slashing a drone, glyphs blazing, PTSD fueling him. "Ilum-Ra freed minds, not chained them!" He pulled Selika behind a pillar, his rig beeping the shard revealing: The Twins' blood, human-Anunaki, breaks the Veil or crowns its king. Their origins unlock the vaults. Thunder shook the vault, a calm breath before chaos.Selika's voice crashed drones, her halo flickering, Inanna's roar "Rule them" tearing through. "Silas, you're Enki's lie!" she shouted, hacking the core, dumping the shard to an Enki pool. The core pulsed, glyphs showing hybrids in vaults, their blood coded by Ilum-Ra, Enki's deal sealing them. Her voice wavered, possession spiking, but Reyan's hand on her shoulder anchored her, a moment of silence amid the sparks."You're ours," he said, voice fierce, their glyphs syncing. The vault quaked, global webs burning with Eridu's war, riots flaring. Silas's drone lunged, pulse-blade humming. "Your blood's mine!" it roared, but Mara's halo flared from the shadows, her hack frying its core, drones crashing in sparks, the vault ablaze.They slumped against the pillar, glyphs dim, the vault's hum softer, dust curling like smoke. Selika's fingers intertwined with Reyan's, her breath ragged, a quiet gesture of relief. "We're human, his spark," she whispered, eyes locked on his. Reyan's thumb traced her knuckles, trust holding. Mara stepped forward, heretic's gaze raw. "The vaults are waking," she said, voice low. "Silas hunts you, but the next shard's in Machu Picchu."The vault's glow faded, Silas's laugh echoing in the stream, a trap still coiled. The shard's truth Twins as hybrids, vaults as keys cried out, the red hour pulsing stronger.