The air was unnervingly still, yet rich—dense with something Kael couldn't name. It wasn't just oxygen. It was like breathing in memory, emotion, history itself. The garden stretched far and wide, with trees that shimmered in multiple hues and grass that tickled the senses with every movement. Flowers bloomed in patterns not native to any world Kael had ever seen—some that changed form as you stared, others that hummed quietly to themselves.
Juro touched one of the trees. "This isn't Praton tech. This isn't Sobo magic. What is this place?"
Kael stood slowly, his body still reeling from the last confrontation. The spiral on his chest no longer burned—it pulsed gently, like a second heartbeat. "It's the Outside."
Maya turned to the woman who had greeted them. Her presence was unsettling and comforting at once, like standing at the edge of a cliff and knowing you won't fall. "Who are you?"
The woman tilted her head slightly. "You've come far. You've broken what was unbreakable. But you're still early in the path. I am called Seryn, and I'm the Steward of Thresholds."
Revik, injured but alert, raised his weapon instinctively. "Thresholds to what?"
She didn't flinch. "To everything beyond the Loop. Realities that never fractured. Universes untouched by recursion."
Juro scoffed. "So what, you're some sort of interdimensional gardener?"
She smiled faintly. "Something like that."
Kael stepped forward, holding Maya's hand instinctively. "Why did you bring us here?"
"I didn't," Seryn replied. "You opened the way. I merely welcomed you."
Kael's mind was still trying to process the flood of memories from the Root. "The Loop… it still exists, doesn't it?"
"It does," she said softly. "But now, so do you—outside it. And that changes everything."
Behind them, the portal shimmered—unstable but not yet closed. It throbbed like a wound trying to seal.
Maya glanced at it. "The Root followed us. Is it here now?"
"No," Seryn said. "It was severed when you stepped through. For the moment, it's trapped within its own unraveling."
Juro exhaled in relief. "Good. We need time."
Revik limped to the edge of a small pool, dipping his fingers into it. The surface rippled and reflected not just his face—but three other versions of him, each with a different expression. "This place plays with perception."
"No," Seryn corrected gently. "It reveals truths. It doesn't bend reality. It shows you where it could go, if you're brave enough to walk the paths."
Kael sat down slowly, overwhelmed by the calm around him. It was the first time in what felt like years that his muscles weren't coiled like wires. "I've spent my life trying to understand why I was thrown into the Loop. Why I had memories that weren't mine. Why things felt wrong."
Seryn sat opposite him, crossing her legs in the grass. "Because the Loop needed a fracture. Something unstable enough to resist it. You were a blade of chaos embedded in its structure."
Maya frowned. "You're saying he was a weapon?"
"A possibility," Seryn said, nodding. "But also a seed. From one life, many can grow."
Kael looked down at his hands. "Then what now?"
"That depends on your next choice," she replied. "You can stay here, rest, become one of the Threshold Keepers. Or… you can return. Beyond the Loop. Into the other fractured galaxies. And take your power with you."
Revik narrowed his eyes. "You mean… spread it?"
"Not spread," she said. "Balance. The loops have nested in more places than you realize. Praton and Sobo are only two. There are countless others—spiraling, decaying, crying out for someone who can open new ways."
Kael met Maya's gaze. Then Juro's. Then Revik's.
"I didn't survive all of that just to sit in a garden."
Maya smirked. "We figured you'd say that."
Seryn stood, brushing herself off. "Then follow me. There's more to understand before you return."
She led them through a grove where the leaves whispered in languages none of them recognized but all of them understood. They passed beings—some humanoid, some beyond form—tending to tasks with quiet reverence. One creature with ten arms and no eyes nodded respectfully as they passed.
"Who are all these?" Juro asked.
"Other Breakers," Seryn replied. "Some chose to rest. Others left to fight. All changed their galaxies."
At the center of the grove was a structure—half temple, half machine. Its spires looped into themselves, impossible angles rendered in soft light.
Inside, a map unfolded before them.
A map of the galaxies.
Not just Praton. Not just Sobo.
Hundreds.
Kael stared, eyes wide. "How… how many are broken?"
Seryn turned to him, her expression now solemn. "Too many."
He stepped closer. Several of the galaxies were dark, marked with symbols he didn't recognize—twisting spirals or fractured lines. Others glowed faintly—barely alive.
"We can't fix all of them," Maya whispered.
"No," Kael replied. "But we can start."
Revik pointed to a galaxy shaped like a hook. "That's Rythis. It collapsed decades ago. People still whisper about it."
Juro frowned. "And this one… it looks like it's moving."
"It is," Seryn said. "Some of the broken loops have become predators. They travel, infecting other realities."
Kael clenched his fists. "Then this isn't just about surviving. It's war."
Seryn nodded. "And you have a choice. Fight them from here… or take a ship, forge a path, and bring the fire of Outside into the dark."
Kael didn't hesitate. "We go back."
Maya smiled and rested her hand on his arm. "Together."
Revik chuckled. "Can't believe I'm saying this, but… I missed the chaos already."
Juro grinned. "Guess we're building that mercenary company after all."
Seryn raised a hand, and from the temple's core emerged a vessel—not metal, not magic, but willed into existence. A ship made from thought and resolve. It pulsed with the same symbol Kael bore.
"This vessel is yours," Seryn said. "It will respond to your decisions. It will grow with you. And it will never lie."
Kael stepped aboard. The deck adjusted under his feet, like it had been waiting for him.
He turned to his team. "Let's find the broken stars."
Above them, the portal to the fractured galaxies opened once more.
No longer a loop.
A road.
And on it, a firestorm was coming.
To be continued...