He’d been promised a weapon, but he didn’t see any weapons around here.

Someone had helpfully directed Chase to what they referred to as a ‘weapons cove’, and insisted he go in alone. He tried to laugh it off but it was a little unsettling to be shunted into a torch-lit room of carved rocks and expect to find something useful. Maybe it was a cult. He’d heard about cults. But what kind of cult could afford cryogenic pods? This weapon stuff couldn’t be all bullshit.

They were also very bad at this ‘go it alone’ business, because he could hear someone humming just out of sight from the moment he’d set foot in the room. Probably whoever was supposed to pop out from behind the magic rock wall and present him with a laser gun. It was definitely a woman’s voice, but they never completed the melody - here and there they trailed off, as if they had forgotten the notes. The song seemed incomplete.

“I can hear you,” Chase called out unhelpfully. “You can stop hiding.”

I… can… hear… you…

It was barely a whisper, but the voice had definitely come from just beside him, echoing his words almost... playfully? But there was no one beside him. He was alone.

I was lost… I was alone… I reached out… and I found you…

“Found me?” he finally asked the disembodied voice. It went silent again, as if it did not know how to respond, or did not want to. “Well. Nice to meet you, I suppose. My name’s Chase. Uh, Sebastian… Chase… Pendragon? Do you have a name?”

It was a little much for his invisible friend. They were fading again, as if they had expended nearly all of their energy to communicate. My voice falters… please… find me...

There was nothing he could do but find them. It seemed imperative, now, and he didn’t quite understand why. He was alone again among the stones, but this time he had a bit more purpose. He closed his eyes, and he could feel a strong pull from the center of the wall. Like finding something important that he’d never realized he’d lost until he was reunited with it. Chase picked the stone up carefully from its place on the wall. The heart-shaped rune lit up crimson red in his hands. It was flickering - no, it was a pulse, like a heartbeat - his heartbeat -

I am yours... if you are mine…

And for a moment he was no longer in the cave, no longer on the island, no longer anywhere that was real. It could have been a room or an endless void, trailing off into deep indigo darkness. All around the edges of that circular space were dark tapestries and ornate incense burners, each giving off a trail of colorful smoke that blended together into something he could not explain. It made his senses cross and his head hurt - it was both the smell of flowers and exotic spices he could not name, and the absolute feeling of great curiosity that was not his own.

Chase heard the same humming that had drawn him to find the stone, her stone, coming from behind him. He turned around sharply, still clutching the glowing stone tablet in his hands. The humming figure was shrouded in darkness and seated upon a sea of pillows, layers of cloth and jingling metal rustling with each and every movement. She was close enough that she could have reached out and touched him, and yet, something about the heavy fog of incense made it impossible to make out any details beyond a vaguely humanoid shape. The only thing he could be certain of was her eyes - a deep crimson red to match the glow in his hands. She didn't just see him, she saw through him.

“Se...ba...sti...an…” she breathed, as if exploring each syllable for the first time. “What a strange name. You may call me… Neva...”

The vision and voice vanished as quickly as it had happened, and he was alone again in the cove, facing the stairs. The stone was gone - but in its place he found a long metal chain threaded through his fingers, ending in a wickedly sharp, rune-etched heart.