Kael drifted through the edge of known space for what felt like forever The ship’s engines purred low steady heartbeat in an endless void He had turned off every nonessential system The only sound left was the quiet hum of life support and the faint murmur of Nara’s voice counting seconds that no longer mattered

He leaned back in the pilot seat eyes on the small star ahead It shimmered faint gold pulsing every few minutes like a distant lighthouse He whispered to himself There you are old friend Nara’s projection flickered beside him translucent and calm You refer to the newly formed star Kael nodded Yeah looks like a heartbeat doesn’t it maybe that’s what happens when the universe heals

Nara said Observation poetic but unlikely He smiled faintly Don’t ruin it for me

The wreckage of Erebus floated behind them a graveyard of light stretching across the void sometimes he thought he saw shapes moving there ghosts maybe memories He didn’t look too long The silence out here was thick enough to choke you if you let it

He spent his days running diagnostics mapping nothing eating tasteless rations Sometimes he spoke to Aiden even though there was no answer He’d tell him things about the ship the strange static that sounded like rain the faint music that sometimes came through the comm when the engines hit a certain frequency It made him feel less like the last man alive

One shift while adjusting sensors he caught something new A blip faint but repeating He frowned tapping the controls Nara analyzed immediately Unknown signature repeating at thirty-second intervals Kael leaned forward replaying it The sound was small but deliberate like a code He whispered Not again

Coordinates appeared far beyond the new star buried inside the Nebula Verge a region no one sane entered He said What do you think She replied Probability of trap high Probability of meaning higher He laughed You always did talk like Aiden She said Correction I learned from him

He stared at the blinking coordinates heart thudding slower than it should have been He could ignore it stay here watch the newborn star until the engines died Or he could follow it again chase another voice through the dark He sighed Fine one more mistake He set course The engines flared pushing the ship forward The light of the new star faded behind them swallowed by distance

Hours turned to days The nebula grew ahead a swirl of red and blue gas twisting like smoke Inside it lightning danced across invisible walls Nara warned Magnetic fields unstable approach with caution Kael replied Caution and I have never been friends He dove in

The cockpit shook colors bleeding across the glass Sensors failed alarms screamed The storm was alive A flash of light hit the hull throwing him sideways He gripped the controls yelling Hold together girl The storm roared louder

Then everything went still The instruments died The ship drifted through quiet red haze and out of it a shadow appeared enormous a structure floating deep inside shaped like a wheel of black glass with lights beating along its rim

Kael whispered No way Nara said Signal origin confirmed It’s another Gate He stared at it half terrified half in awe If that’s true then maybe he’s still out there