And the song—the endless, fearless, unbreakable song—went on.
"Kaelen of the Kawaks." The voice slithered from behind a pillar of basalt. Commander Vex of the Yarrow Dominion stepped into the amber light, his polished black armor reflecting the void. He held no weapon. He didn't need one. "You've been difficult to find. The last one. Do you know what your shards are worth?" kawaks
Or—
"The story where the last Kawaks is not the end," she said. "It's the beginning." He held no weapon
"Because I want you to feel it," Vex whispered, stepping closer. "Not the fear of death. You've made peace with that. I want you to feel the fear of failure . The fear that when you die, there will be no one left. No song. No memory. The Kawaks will be a footnote in a Dominion census report. 'Extinct. Cause: resonance cascade.'" The last one
Vex stumbled backward. "What are you doing? Stop—"