The hum filled Jak's ears as the light of the letters filled his eyes. He stared fixedly at the precursor object, unable to remove his hands or his gaze. The droning hum became a series of different pitches, changing as the letters flashed in turn. Without realizing he was doing so, Jak began to chant the words as they lit up. His voice rose and fell with the hum and he began to walk, or rather, march away from the excavation. The words he chanted were of the old precursor language. And though Jak did not know that language, he was somehow able to read and pronounce it in an uncanny way.
Suddenly Jak came to a wall. The light shone off of it, revealing craggy grey stone. At the moment the beam touched the wall, the light and sound from the precursor artifact stopped. Jak blinked slowly and shook his head. He stared in wonder at the wall in front of him, and ran his fingers lightly across it to make sure it was real. He nearly wept for joy when he felt firm, rough stone. He quickly wrapped the artifact in his bandana and tied it to his belt.
Jak looked up the wall and found he could not see the top because of the darkness. He looked each way to find that the wall faded into darkness in both directions. He began walking with the wall on his left, running his fingers along it. The light continued to follow him, glaring harshly off the wall and illuminating a small distance in front of him.
He felt the temperature of the wall changed. Previously the wall was the same temperature as the room itself—quite warm. It now felt cool under Jak's hand. He stopped and felt along the wall for the place that the change occurred. He felt no significant break in the rock of the wall, but he found a very clear line where the rock changed from warm to cool. A bit further on, he found the spot where it became warm again. He placed his ear against the cool wall and knocked on it with his knuckles. Beyond the rock his sensitive ear picked up the echo of the tap. Immediately Jak began to search for a way to get through the layer of rock to the obvious passage on the other side. He peered upward again, searching for a possible way to scale the wall, but once more found that he could see nothing beyond the beam of light. That did not deter him from jamming his fingertips into nearly nonexistent imperfections in the wall to pull himself upward.
He slowly made his way straight up the cool part of the wall with the light following him. He was nearly two of his body lengths above the sand when the searching fingers of his left hand encountered warm stone again. He sighed and dropped back to the floor, landing lightly on the balls of his feet.
Jak ran along the wall for a ways, hoping to find something to help him. He did not want to go far from the cool wall, so he turned back after the brief and fruitless search. He returned to the cool section of the wall and slumped against it. He rested his elbows on his knees and buried his head in his arms, trying to block out the pervasive light.
"C'mon, buddy, do yer stuff!" Daxter whispered in his ear. Jak whipped his gun out and switched to the blaster mod. He flattened himself to the wall and shot three rounds down the crowded alleyway. The shots bounced off the crumbling buildings and off the soldiers, killing them instantly. Jak peered around the corner and found more battle bots and krimsen guards. He shot another three rounds and crouched as they ricocheted along the narrow passage. When he stepped into the street, it was empty except for the outstretched bodies of his enemies. Jak plundered the weapons, refilling his mod clips and gathered what Dark Eco he could find. Suddenly a shot rang down the alley. Jak spun to face it and felt a terrible sting as it collided with his hip.
"Aaaahhhhrrr!" He growled, jumping up from his prone position on the sand. Jak glanced around him, unable to find an explanation for the heat and pain he felt at his hip. He calmed himself with a few deep breaths and glanced down to find that the precursor artifact was glowing through his bandana. The heat of the letters was beginning to burn his skin though the three layers of cloth. He quickly untied the bandana and the object dropped to the floor. Again he was drawn to it and extended his hands towards its ends.
Grasping the glowing object Jak stood up and once again began chanting the words as they lit up. Suddenly his eyes grew dark and his skin pale. His fingernails elongated and horns sprouted from his temples. With a roar he threw the artifact at the wall. The dark strike accompanied it and caused the wall to cave inward. A swift, cool breeze rushed out of the rift, covering Jak with pulverized rock dust. He sneezed and held his head as the darkness left him and he became himself.
Jak stepped up to the newly opened passage and looked into the darkness. He could see nothing, of course, past the beam of light. He stepped through the rubble and under the overhanging wall. The light did not follow; did not light his steps as he proceeded into darkness.