All Chapters of The Unexpected Heir: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

The memory hit like a punch to the gut.Alexander stumbled as images flooded his mind—experiences that felt real like the broken space was pouring into his head. Beside him Kael gasped, overwhelmed by the flood of history that wasn't his.A world of glass towers reached for two suns. A civilization of beautiful beings of light and thought who had mastered reality itself. They called themselves the Architects—not because they built,. Because they designed existence. Matter, energy, time itself were their playground.The Disputed. They were the Architects children, born of their blood but never their equals. A younger species, made to help the Architects with their designs and the raw material of the universe.. The Disputed learned. They questioned. They wanted more."They were us once, " Kael whispered, tears streaming down his face. "Not human.. The same... The same feeling. Being told what you are, what you can't be."Alexander couldn't speak. The memories kept coming.The Betrayal.

Alexander felt the Crucible's consciousness pressing against his awareness. It offered instructions. It showed visions of how healing might be accomplished. The fragment before them was the key. It could unify with their merged consciousness. It could use their bond as a conduit to reach into the wound and stitch reality together.. The process would be slow. It would be painful. It would leave them vulnerable. Vulnerable to this moment. "We need time, " Alexander murmured to Kael. "Healing has to start before we can fight." "I know, " Kael said. His young face hardened with determination. "I'll give us time." Before Alexander could protest Kael stepped forward. He raised his hand toward the Fragment. The Crucibles light responded immediately. It streamed from the boy's palm in ribbons of intention. It connected with the sphere ahead. The Fragment shuddered. It began to spin. The Nexus around them started to change. The twilight areas brightened. The frozen moments of memory b

Mira Solace's information was stored in a place that should not exist.The facility's lift went down for three minutes, which is a very long time when you are building something underground before it opens up into a big room carved out of sparkly rock.The walls of the room had a glow like they were alive with patterns moving across them like little roads.Kael touched the wall. Said "this place was designed by Architects".He said "this place is really old".Mira said "yes it is even older than when the Disputed fell".She told them that this was a meeting place, one of many that the Disputed made a long time ago when they were planning to hurt the Architects.These meeting places were where they could plan and talk and keep secrets that they did not want the Architects to know.Alexander noticed that Mira had access to this place.He saw her touch a panel that appeared when she touched it.Mira said "my family got this place and some others like it".She said "the Disputed who did n

The Crucible Station looked like a hole in space.Alexander was standing at the observation deck. He was watching the vessel's sensors. They were trying to make sense of the impossible.The station did not look like a building. It looked like a place where reality had been folded back. This created a structure that existed in ways the human mind could not understand."It's beautiful, " Kael said quietly. Alexander understood why. The Station was beautiful. It was also very dangerous.Light was bending around its edges. This was happening in ways that should not be possible. Colors were shifting. These colors did not have names in any language. At its heart Alexander could see a pulse of energy. This pulse was connected to the Crucible's consciousness."We're here " Mira's voice came through the comm. "We will start approaching the maintenance access point in five minutes. Alexander, Kael. This is your chance to change the plan.""There is no plan, " Alexander replied. "We will go in a

Something was coming into the room. It was making the air feel weird. Alexander felt the Crucible inside him react. It was like the Crucible knew something was up. Kael said "Dad" in a voice looking at something that Alexander could not see. "It is showing me things, " Kael said. "Memories. The wounded memories." Alexander told Kael not to talk to it. "Whatever it is, it is using you " Alexander. He stood between Kael and the thing in the room. Kael said "It is not using me. It is reading to me. Like a book. It has been waiting for someone like me. Someone who can understand it." The walls started to move. Something came out of the darkness. It was not a creature. It was like an idea that had become real. It was a hurt in the world that had become aware. The thing said "YOU ARE THE FIRST" right into their minds. "NO BEING HAS CARRIED BOTH CODES BEFORE. THE ARCHITECTS MADE THE WORLD. THE DISPUTED TORE IT APART. BUT YOU..." The thing looked at Kael with something like wonder. "YO