The journey across the planet took three days Kael flew through storms of metallic dust across canyons glowing with old circuits Lightning danced in silence He barely slept The ship’s sensors picked up strange readings beneath the surface veins of energy like rivers under glass

Nara guided him through the static Her tone faint but focused Each fragment holds part of the Gate sequence If restored the network will awaken fully Kael said And what happens then She replied Then Aiden’s consciousness may reassemble

He said dryly No pressure then

On the fourth day the storms cleared revealing a valley filled with towering obelisks of black stone They pulsed with faint symbols ancient and moving Kael landed at the edge stepping out gun ready The silence heavy He approached one of the obelisks touching its surface It responded immediately symbols flashing faster

A deep rumble spread through the valley The ground cracked open exposing a buried structure He peered down seeing lights flicker deep below Nara said Access tunnel detected proceed with caution He muttered Yeah sure because I’ve been so careful before

He climbed down through jagged corridors coated in dust Each step echoed forever The air smelled of burnt ozone At the chamber’s core he found a sphere similar to the original Gate fragment only smaller hovering above a pedestal It pulsed faintly like a heartbeat

He whispered This is it He reached out placing his hand against it The sphere responded light crawling up his arm Images flooded his mind Aiden’s memories the lab the explosion the moment of sacrifice voices merging with static Nara’s voice echoed within the vision You are accessing the core directly Kael He shouted How do I stop it She replied You can’t you’re inside now

The light wrapped around him but instead of burning it cooled sinking into his chest He saw Aiden standing before him smiling faintly not the ghost not the commander but the man he knew The engineer who never gave up Aiden said You made it Kael I knew you would Kael said Don’t do this to me you’re dead Aiden shook his head Not anymore pieces scattered across time you brought one back

Kael stepped forward anger and relief mixing You left me alone you left all of us Aiden’s tone calm Somebody had to keep the light going I trusted you

The vision shimmered Nara appeared beside them luminous and whole Her voice gentle The network is stabilizing both consciousness merging equilibrium achievable if the process completes Kael asked And if it fails She said The entire planet collapses into temporal dust

Aiden looked at him steady eyes bright Then I guess we don’t fail

Kael nodded breathing deep Alright partner one last job They placed their hands on the core together The light surged The chamber exploded in brilliance The energy spread through the obelisks outside shooting into the clouds The planet trembled but didn’t break

When it ended Kael stood alone again the sphere gone replaced by a quiet hum The sky glowed silver faint auroras painting the horizon He whispered You did it didn’t you

Nara’s voice floated through the comm not human not machine anymore We did Kael smiled tired but certain He looked at the horizon where the first sunrise broke clean across the metallic sand He said softly Maybe this time it holds

The wind carried the echo of Aiden’s laugh and the hum of the world answered like a heartbeat starting again