Cardano stood before the altar of St. Patrick’s Cathedral, tightly clutching an ancient scroll. The mysterious symbols on the parchment seemed to silently warn him, foretelling an inevitable catastrophe. The flickering candlelight reflected off his furrowed brow and grave expression.

He whispered softly, “When the heavens crack, and the stars are shrouded, flames will engulf the earth…” Each word felt like it came from a distant future, carrying an indescribable sense of menace.

Thunder rumbled, lightning sliced through the dark sky as if responding to the impending doom.

Meanwhile, aboard the Pioneer spacecraft, Lin Xi stared at the data on her console, her heart racing. A massive asteroid was hurtling toward the moon—the critical moment of the "Atlas-1" mission had arrived. The task of Pioneer was to ensure that the asteroid entered the moon’s designated orbit successfully.

But on her screen, the third thruster malfunction alarm kept flashing.

“The thruster?” Lin Xi’s voice was almost broken by her rapid breathing, but she forced herself to remain calm.

“Malfunction, backup system failure,” Michael’s voice carried a trace of despair, though he dared not show too much.

Lin Xi’s brows furrowed, her mind racing. “Prepare for impact, no time for repairs.” She issued the order decisively.

But just then, her communicator suddenly flashed, and an anonymous message appeared on the screen: "Give up. The Stellar Grasp is irreversible."

A chill ran up Lin Xi’s spine. Who sent this? How did they know about the mission?

Suddenly, the third thruster mysteriously activated, and Atlas-1’s trajectory rapidly shifted, heading straight for the moon’s surface.

“Damn it!” Ethan’s voice was laced with unmistakable fear, “Target—Dawn Base!”

Lin Xi’s chest tightened, cold sweat breaking out instantly. Dawn Base… the colleagues there…

She could barely breathe, her vision darkening.

Forcing herself to regain control, she gritted her teeth, ready to give the order, but Aria had already responded calmly: “Data confirmed, it will hit the base.”

There was no pause, as if Aria had anticipated Lin Xi’s command, and the data had long been prepared. Time seemed to freeze, and the entire control room was plunged into a silence of despair.

Michael gave a bitter smile and frantically tried the thruster controls again. “Well… let’s try again, hope for a miracle.” But the screen remained unresponsive, dead.

“No response at all,” he muttered under his breath.

Lin Xi’s mind raced, but every possible solution collapsed in her mind. She knew the only option was—

“Activate the impact! Now!” Lin Xi practically shouted, her gaze cold, leaving no room for retreat.

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“You’re insane!” Aria’s eyes widened. “We’ll die!”

“No time!” Lin Xi glared at Aria, her voice icy. “Do it, or the base is doomed.”

Aria gritted her teeth, hesitated for a moment, but ultimately began inputting the data.

“Countdown initiated.” Lin Xi’s voice was low, as if ordering herself to move forward.

Michael shook his head with a wry smile, his hands moving swiftly over the panel. “Ready.”

“Ten seconds.”

The numbers on the screen began to count down, each tick as heavy as a heartbeat. The tension in the control room was palpable, the countdown cutting into everyone’s nerves.

On the moon at Dawn Base, Noah stood before the control panel, his face calm. On the screen, the image of Atlas-1 loomed closer, a massive asteroid blotting out the sky.

“All personnel, evacuate,” Noah ordered calmly, as if this were just another routine drill. “To the safe house, follow the evacuation plan.”

The team members quickly rose, but one couldn’t help but turn back. “Commander, aren’t you coming?”

Noah waved his hand dismissively. “Don’t worry about me. Go.”

He stood alone in the empty command room, the tremors of the base growing stronger, the air thick with the scent of doom. Yet Noah remained calm, his eyes locked on the screen.

Suddenly, a new message appeared—Pioneer was preparing to collide with Atlas-1, attempting to change the asteroid’s trajectory.

Noah’s expression shifted slightly. Lin Xi… she was trying to defy fate. His original plan had been to let her live, but now, things were becoming complicated.

Noah opened Lin Xi’s communication channel.

A few seconds later, Lin Xi’s voice came through: “Commander, we’re preparing to collide with Atlas-1. It’s our only chance.”

Noah stared at the screen, his breathing steady. He couldn’t reveal his true intentions; everything had to appear reasonable.

“Lin Xi, proceed with the mission.” Noah’s voice was low, but the slight pause carried a weight that seemed to hide an unspeakable truth.

“Sometimes… success isn’t just about the result,” Noah’s words seemed distant and unclear on the other end of the communicator.

The call ended. Noah stood in the empty command room, eyes fixed on the data on the screen, his face as calm as ever, though his heart churned with turmoil.

Time was running out. The shadow of Atlas-1 loomed over the entire base. The wheels of history were about to crush everything, and he could only wait for fate’s judgment.

Back on Earth, St. Patrick’s Cathedral.

Cardano stood by the church window, staring at the lightning-laced sky.

“The stars are shrouded, and life beneath the cold moon turns to stone…” he murmured to himself, clutching the scroll tightly.

“I must find the answer.” He resolved to hasten his search, relying not only on faith but also on the eyes of science to reveal everything.

Aboard the spacecraft, the violent shaking forced Lin Xi to grip the armrest tightly. On the screen, Atlas-1’s trajectory was slowly shifting, but it was too slow—they were out of options.

She felt the ship’s gravity system fail, her body thrown into the air, the impact almost knocking her unconscious.

“Hold on!” she shouted through the dizziness, issuing orders.

The ship plummeted, the steel plates groaning in agony. Lin Xi’s body was slammed back into her seat, the air squeezed from her lungs.

“We… we’re still alive,” Lin Xi whispered, her eyes fixed on the shattered instrument panel, yet a strange unease welled up in her heart.

Suddenly, a deafening crash echoed from below. Lin Xi looked up to see a deep, dark fissure open before her, as if it led straight to the core of the moon.

“That’s…” Aria’s voice trembled with barely contained excitement, her eyes widening to the point of bursting, “a lava tunnel!”

But before the words could settle, the ship suddenly lurched violently, the surface fissure widening. Lin Xi’s face paled. “Something’s wrong! We’re… sliding!” She glanced at the instruments— the cracks were spreading wildly, and the ship couldn’t hold on any longer.

Another thunderous roar echoed, like the moon itself was roaring in fury.

“Hold on!” Lin Xi’s voice cracked as she shouted, gripping the control panel tightly, but the seat couldn’t hold her steady in the tremors.

The ship began to tilt out of control, sliding into the vast darkness of the fissure.

“No—!” Lin Xi’s scream echoed, the last glimmer of light swallowed completely by the overwhelming darkness.