Dr. Liora Venn adjusted the sensors in the wind-choked ruins of the Aether Spires, remnants of a civilization that had vanished centuries ago. A xeno-linguist, she had spent years decoding fragments of their inscriptions, desperate to reconstruct their lost language. Now, at last, the final glyphs translated: *You are us. We are you.*
Her heart pounded as the realization settled. The Spires had not fallen—they had *become* something. The wind howled, shaping itself into soft syllables that whispered her name. The structures around her shifted, responding to her thoughts. The Spires weren’t ruins. They were *alive*.
A choice loomed—stay and connect with this sentient structure or leave, burying the knowledge forever. She reached out, fingertips brushing against the stone. The wind wrapped around her like an embrace. The Spires had been waiting. And now, she understood.
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