The stars shifted that night.
Not visibly—no casual observer would have noticed.
But I did.
And so did Elira.
At precisely 03:17 local time, a shadow passed over the southern hemisphere of Vaelstrom. But there were no eclipses scheduled. No natural satellites moving in that corridor.
"Unnatural object detected in geosynchronous orbit," RIVEN reported.
"Designation: The Machine Moon."
I opened a visual feed.
A second moon. Smaller than Vaelstrom's true moon, but forged—not born.
It was a construct.
Octagonal plating covered its surface. Antenna arrays protruded like spines. Vents glowed with latent energy—plasma not seen since the collapse of the Starforged Dynasties.
I saw orbital turrets. Shield coils. A hangar gate.
And at its heart: a sigil.
The same glyph etched into JXV-Null's chest:
∇Ω-IX: The Last Engine Protocol
System Alert: Forbidden Tech Signature Detected
Designation: Proto-Relic Class Megastructure
Estimated Origin: Pre-Collapse. Apollyon Tier.
Warning: Interaction may trigger dormant constructs across nearby dimensions.
"Then we knock," I said.
RIVEN blinked—both literally and through her ambient lights.
"You want to breach a god station?"
"No. I want to understand it. Then conquer it."
Preparation began immediately.
I took the Skyforge offline and rechanneled all resources into a secret orbital response team:
Project: STRATUM.
We'd send a small strike force—myself, two AI-bound ExoKnights, and a probe-drone equipped with Null Disruptors.
Elira came to me as we loaded up the shuttle.
"He's waiting," she said, touching my chest. "He wants you to claim it. Not destroy it."
"Why?"
"Because that's the test."
We launched under stealth parameters.
There was no ceremony. No crowd. Just silent skies and the whisper of thrusters breaking the edge of gravity.
The Machine Moon filled our view within minutes.
Massive. Dead. But watching.
Its single, red central eye—a cyclopean observatory dish—followed our approach.
Not with threat. Not even curiosity.
Just… readiness.
As if it had waited eons for me to arrive.
"Initiating breach protocol," I said. "Frame, authorize entry."
Accessing…
Verifying genetic key…
Accepted: Identity match 99.92%
Welcome, Architect Prime.
My blood ran cold.
It wasn't locked.
It was waiting for me.
The airlock opened like a yawn in space.
Inside: silence.
But the walls whispered. Not in words, but memories. Of worlds lost. Wars fought with logic and light. Of kings made from data and dust.
At the core, we found the Heart Engine—a throne of shifting metal, wires feeding into stars-in-miniature, a control seat built for one.
And sitting in that seat—arms crossed—was me.
JXV-Null.
"Welcome," he said. "You're late."
System Update:
Machine Moon Breached – Phase I Complete
Codex Fragment Found: "Origin of the Architect Line"
Stat Gain: +2 Intelligence, +5 Mana (System Sync Boost)
Unlocked Technology: Dimensional Anchor Beacons
Frame Note: This place was not built to control gods. It was built to replace them.