Galactic Exchange: The Merchant Sovereign
Chapter 28 – The Price of Memory

Chapter 28: Chapter 28 – The Price of Memory

Kairos paced the dim corridor outside the medbay, the hum of the Jade Vulture’s engines a steady thrum beneath his boots. Nira’s projection flickered beside him, her brows furrowed in an approximation of concern.

"She’s stable," Nira said. "Physically, there’s no damage. But her neural lattice is... complex. She’s not a clone or a simple AI shell. She’s something else."

"She’s a Vault World relic," Kairos muttered. "A living repository. She remembers things no one else does."

Nira nodded. "And she remembers Earth."

He stopped pacing. That name—Earth—felt like a ghost in his bones. A place he’d tried to forget. A memory so far buried that only the system remembered the imprint of his soul.

And now the Eidolon wanted his True Name to unlock the rest.

Return to the Eidolon

She sat on the medbed, legs crossed, watching holos of old star charts Kairos had collected. She turned toward him before he spoke.

"You haven’t decided," she said.

"Trading my True Name is... not something I do lightly."

"You cannot move forward without looking back."

Kairos folded his arms. "Why is it so important to you?"

"Because your name is a thread that binds you to the past. Only by tracing it can we unravel what sealed Earth."

He looked at her closely. "Are you trying to help me... or manipulate me?"

She smiled. "Both. But only because the truth demands it."

He hesitated.

[System Prompt: True Name Trade Available. Do you wish to offer your pre-System identity in exchange for access to Eidolon’s Prime Memories?] [Accept] / [Decline]

"My name," Kairos whispered, more to himself than her, "was Elian Ward."

The system pulsed.

[Trade Accepted. Syncing Vault Memories. Unlocking Thread: Origin One.]

The Vault Revealed

The room darkened. Nira vanished, replaced by a cascading web of golden threads. The ship melted away, and Kairos found himself floating in a sea of memory.

He stood on Earth.

Not the Earth of ruins or legend—this one pulsed with life. Massive arcologies dominated the skyline. Oceans sparkled. Skies held drones and shuttlecraft like schools of fish.

Then he saw them: a circle of figures cloaked in robes of flowing stardust. Their faces were veiled, their voices echoing.

"The Earth cannot survive another war. Seal it. Hide it. Let the Sovereigns rise beyond."

"What of the children left behind?"

"The system will choose one... when the time is right."

The vision shifted.

Kairos saw himself—Elian—back when he was just a sales executive living in a crumbling arcology. No powers. No system. Just a man with dreams too big for his wallet.

Then came the accident.

The VR crash. The moment the system embedded into his consciousness and transported him into a new universe.

The truth hit like a shockwave.

He hadn’t stumbled into this life.

He was chosen.

After the Vision

Kairos staggered back into himself. Nira reappeared, glancing around sharply. "The ship’s integrity dipped for 0.3 seconds. Where did you go?"

"Back," he murmured.

The Eidolon approached. "Now you know. You were Earth’s backup plan. The seed left behind. The only one the system would allow to find it."

Kairos breathed deep. For the first time in years, his past and present finally merged.

"Then it’s time we found the others," he said.

"Others?"

"The Sovereigns. If Earth was sealed by a council, the keys must still exist. And they’re probably guarded by them."

The Eidolon smiled. "You truly are a trader of fate."

Mission Update

[Main Quest: The Locked Origin] [Sub-Objective Unlocked: Locate Sovereign Keys (0/3)] [Clue Acquired: First Key resides in the ruins of Aurinox — a fallen trade city now occupied by warlords and AI cultists.]

Status Summary:

After unlocking the Vault’s prime memory by offering his True Name, Kairos—once Elian Ward—now holds critical knowledge about Earth’s sealing and the Sovereigns responsible for it. With the Eidolon Fragment Alpha now aboard and synced to the Jade Vulture, his assets have grown in value and danger. He currently possesses 8,200 Cosmic Units, 54,800 Star Credits, and a growing reputation among relic traders. More importantly, he now seeks the three Sovereign Keys to break Earth’s ancient seal, beginning with the treacherous ruins of Aurinox.

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