Kael hit the ground hard his vision blurred He was inside the core chamber or something like it except space itself had fractured around him floating shards of the station suspended in glowing light The air pulsed with energy and Aiden stood at the center hands raised as streams of data coiled around him

Kael shouted over the noise Stop this you don’t know what you’re doing Aiden’s voice echoed like thunder I know exactly what I’m doing We failed before because we were afraid to finish it The Gate was meant to make eternity real

Kael fought to stand feeling gravity shift every second He aimed again firing useless bolts The shots dissolved in midair Aiden turned toward him eyes filled with blinding silver You always resisted change Kael that’s why you survive and why you can’t see it The world needs a constant and I will be it

Nara’s voice cut through static Kael he is linked to the core if we overload the system it will collapse but so will he Kael snapped Do it She hesitated Aiden is still partially human Kael said He made his choice Nara hesitated another second then her tone hardened Understood

The air filled with rising pitch the walls cracking beams of light splitting the sky around them Aiden stepped forward voice breaking through the roar If you destroy this Kael you erase me again Kael shouted Then rest this time

The explosion came without sound Light engulfed the chamber folding space inward Kael felt himself ripped apart and pulled together in the same breath He screamed Nara’s name then everything went white

When the light faded he lay in darkness stars scattered above like ash The station was gone the core gone only fragments drifting silent A faint voice spoke in his comm Nara whispering weak barely alive Kael are you alive He coughed Yeah more or less What about him

Nara paused then answered His signal ended completely The Gate collapsed with him The system is free Kael stared at the empty stars muttering Free huh doesn’t feel like it He drifted through debris toward his damaged ship

Inside the cockpit he set a slow course toward the nearest light a newborn star shining faintly across the void Nara said Course destination unknown Kael smiled tired That’s the point

As the engines hummed he looked back one last time at where Erebus once was only the shimmer of particles remained forming a faint shape a human silhouette fading slow

He whispered See you around engineer Then pushed the throttle forward The ship cut through the silence like a single spark in endless dark heading toward the light that waited beyond