The cleanup after Thalos Prime felt quiet. Too quiet.
Kael leaned against the ship's railing, staring at the distant skyline where riftling shadows had once circled like vultures. The people of the city moved carefully now—stepping like survivors, not residents. Even the wind had learned to whisper instead of howl.
Maya stepped beside him. "You should sleep."
"I did. In three different timelines. Still tired."
"You're burning yourself up," she said softly. "Even fire needs rest."
Kael gave a faint smile. "I'm trying. But something's wrong."
She didn't need to ask what he meant. She'd felt it too. Since breaking the loop on Thalos Prime, something had… lingered. A wrongness in the edges of the stars. It was like the galaxy was holding its breath. Waiting.
Behind them, Juro paced beside the armory, blade sheathed but eyes alert.
Revik, meanwhile, was hunched over the ship's console, reading something again and again with increasing frustration. "Kael," he finally called. "You'll want to see this."
Kael approached. "What is it?"
Revik pointed to the star map. "This shouldn't exist."
A point of red light pulsed on the display, far from Thalos. Not on any path they'd charted. Not near any known rift cluster. It wasn't a planet, moon, or station.
"Then what is it?"
Revik's voice lowered. "A memory echo. One that's being transmitted like a beacon."
Kael stiffened. "That's not possible. Memories don't broadcast."
"Exactly," Revik said. "Unless something—or someone—is using the loop's architecture to amplify them."
Juro frowned. "Sounds like bait."
Maya turned. "Or a trap."
Kael touched the pulsing dot on the screen. His spiral burned in his chest. The ship responded immediately, scanning the coordinates—and hesitated. Not an error. Not a refusal.
A hesitation.
The ship feared something.
Kael looked around at the others. "Strap in. We're going."
They folded into the blink—space twisting like paper—and emerged in orbit around a blackened shard of a planet. There was no sun. No light source. And yet, the surface shimmered faintly.
"It's made of obsidian," Maya whispered. "But it's cracked."
The ship spoke again, this time slowly. "Designate: Shard of Daramis. Former Cradle World. Status: Consumed."
Kael froze. "Daramis was destroyed before the first known Loop."
Revik nodded grimly. "That's why the memory echo makes no sense. The planet doesn't exist. It never did."
And yet—it floated before them. Cracked in half, bleeding shadows.
Kael narrowed his eyes. "We're going down."
They descended slowly, the ship groaning as if resisting the decision. When they landed, the ramp extended over a plain of black stone. Wind howled across it like a grieving mother.
The ground pulsed beneath their boots, faint waves rippling outward. And then—they saw it.
A figure.
Standing still in the distance. Alone.
Kael stepped forward, hand ready to ignite. "Identify yourself."
The figure turned.
Kael's breath left him.
It was him.
A version of himself—but older. Worn. Eyes hollow. Cloaked in ash. And behind him…
A Loop.
Small. Stable. Suspended in a cube of mirrored glass.
Maya raised a weapon. "Is this another projection?"
The older Kael spoke, voice gravel and regret. "No. I'm real. Or at least… I was."
Juro's hand hovered near his blade. "Explain. Now."
The older Kael nodded slowly. "This world is a graveyard. One no one remembers because it was erased—looped and shattered before the universe was even born. I stayed behind to guard this one loop. Because if it opens… it doesn't just repeat reality. It rewrites it."
Kael stepped closer. "You're a Breaker?"
"I was. Until I failed."
Maya frowned. "Why reveal yourself now?"
The older Kael gestured to the sky. "Because something stronger is coming. Something that doesn't want to break the Loop—it wants to perfect it. No more memories. No more variations. Just one—singular—unchanging fate."
Revik whispered, "The Loop isn't feeding anymore. It's refining."
The older Kael nodded. "And it wants this loop as a seed."
Kael felt his hands shake. "What's in it?"
The older Kael turned toward the glass cube. "It contains the first betrayal. The moment the Loop learned to lie."
A chill swept over them.
Before anyone could respond, the cube pulsed. A crack formed down its center.
"No," the older Kael whispered. "It's waking."
The crack widened.
The ship screamed in their minds.
The ground beneath them fractured.
And then—
It stepped out.
Not a creature.
Not a god.
A child.
A little girl, eyes glowing with looplight, and skin like woven stardust. She looked no older than five.
Maya gasped. "She's… beautiful."
But Kael knew better. He saw it in her expression.
Innocence without empathy.
Curiosity without conscience.
Power without limits.
"She's the Seed," the older Kael said. "The Loop's final form. The part that learns."
The girl tilted her head at Kael.
And smiled.
"You're the one who keeps breaking things," she said cheerfully. "I've been watching."
Juro's blade was in his hand. "We end this now."
"No," Kael said, stepping between them. "She's not fighting yet."
The girl blinked. "Why would I fight you? You're part of me. You're my favorite story."
Kael's heart twisted. "I'm not your story. I'm the ending."
The girl pouted. "That's no fun."
She raised her hand.
A thousand loops exploded from her palm—flickering mini-timelines blooming across the sky.
One showed Maya's death.
One showed Juro turning on them.
One showed Kael… alone. Forgotten.
The older Kael screamed. "Don't look—!"
But it was too late.
Revik fell to his knees, bleeding from the eyes. Maya's hands trembled. Juro staggered.
Only Kael stood upright, fire rising from his chest, shielding him.
The girl's smile faded.
"You're resisting?"
Kael stepped forward. "I've seen your end. You burn in every version."
The Seed frowned. "I don't like that story."
She raised both hands.
The world split.
Mountains lifted from the ground. Skies fractured. Loops opened like hungry mouths.
The battle had begun.
Kael charged into the storm, spiral blazing.
Behind him, Maya lifted her hands and summoned shields of memory. Juro leapt, blade drawn, slicing through incoming loops.
Revik, bloodied but conscious, launched his remaining charges.
And the older Kael?
He stepped back into the shadows.
Because he knew—
Only one Kael would survive this.
To be continued...