Kael Veyra stood atop the observation deck of Vetra Prime, the world’s golden horizon stretching endlessly before him. The towering spires of the capital gleamed under the embrace of a warm, celestial sun. Below, the city thrummed with life—a symphony of progress and ambition. The distant murmur of bustling markets intertwined with the hum of sleek, skybound transports cutting through the air, their shimmering trails painting fleeting arcs in the azure sky. It was perfect.

Too perfect.

Kael felt like an outsider in his own memory, an uninvited specter observing the echoes of a time that had long since slipped away. He turned his gaze to the far end of the skyline, drawn inexorably to the Nexus Corporation’s headquarters. A monolithic masterpiece of glass and steel, its surface shimmered with pulsating energy conduits—a stark contrast to the soft elegance of the surrounding cityscape. At its heart lay humanity’s greatest ambition, the Rift Engine prototype, concealed within layers of security and secrecy. A beacon of progress. A herald of destruction.

A shadow fell across the memory, pulling him from its fleeting serenity.

The golden sky dimmed as if an unseen hand snuffed out the light. Kael turned back toward the city, and the world he once knew had vanished. The warm hues of life were replaced with desolation. The spires that had touched the heavens now stood as skeletal remnants, broken and twisted. Ash-gray clouds smothered the horizon, and the air was heavy with silence, oppressive and absolute.

Beneath him, the ground trembled, fracturing into floating shards that spun aimlessly in the Voidstream’s boundless expanse. Around him, fragments of people flickered into view—scientists, citizens, soldiers—their forms distorted, flickering like static on a broken screen. They screamed silently, their faces frozen in despair, trapped in endless loops of their final moments. Kael’s heart clenched at their agony, but he couldn’t reach them. Couldn’t save them.

He tried to run, but the world twisted again, pulling him deeper into the memory.

The sterile chill of a Nexus laboratory engulfed him, its walls gleaming with metallic precision. The sharp hum of machinery buzzed in his ears, interspersed with frantic shouts and the distant, ominous wail of alarms. Before him stood the Rift Engine, pristine and whole—a monolith of humanity’s hubris. Energy surged through its conduits, casting flickering shadows across the room as scientists moved frantically around it. Their voices overlapped in a cacophony of panic, their faces pale with the weight of impending catastrophe.

In the chaos, Kael’s eyes locked on a figure at the central console—Dr. Alric Soluun. Sweat glistened on the scientist’s brow, his trembling hands racing over the controls with a desperate urgency. His voice cut through the din, sharp and commanding, yet lined with despair.

“It’s not stable!” a voice cried from across the room.

Dr. Soluun didn’t flinch, his voice steely with resolve. “We have no choice! Activate it—now!”

The air erupted with blinding light. Kael shielded his eyes as the room around him fractured into shards of glass, each fragment reflecting distorted pieces of what had once been reality. The sound of the Rift tearing through existence—a low, guttural roar—echoed in his chest as the scene splintered into oblivion.

He was falling.

Adrift in the Voidstream, Kael floated, his limbs weightless against the swirling torrents of light and shadow. Fractured timelines spun like cyclones around him, each pulling at his consciousness, each threatening to drag him into its depths.

In one shard of time, he saw himself as a young man, standing atop a bridge beneath a golden sky. Beside him stood his sister, her laughter carried by the wind as they leaned over the edge, her hand brushing against his arm. He reached for her, but the shard shattered, scattering her laughter into the void.

Another fragment consumed him—a vision of Soryn Arcrest, her expression hardened with determination as she fought off faceless enemies. The light of her Lumina Edge reflected in her fierce golden eyes, and for a moment, Kael felt the weight of her resolve like an anchor in the chaos.

In the final shard, he saw Oracle. Their crystalline form flickered, their voice warped and distorted as they called out to him, the words a desperate warning.

“Don’t let it happen again.”

A piercing tone shattered the vision, pulling Kael violently from the dream’s grasp. He awoke with a jolt, his chest heaving, his breath ragged as his eyes adjusted to the dim interior of the Stellar Wing. His quarters were silent, save for the faint hum of the ship’s systems.

Kael sat up, his hand instinctively gripping the edge of the bed. The Chrono Gauntlet still wrapped around his forearm pulsed softly, its rhythmic glow casting faint patterns onto the walls. The energy resonated in time with his own heartbeat, as if the device were an extension of his very soul.

“You were dreaming again,” Oracle’s voice said softly, their form materializing near the doorway.

Kael didn’t respond immediately. He sat up, running a hand through his hair. “Yeah.”

Oracle tilted their crystalline head, their voice carrying a gentle curiosity. “Fragments of memory. Vetra Prime, I assume?”

Kael nodded. “Before the Rift. Before… everything.”

Oracle moved closer, their glow casting subtle patterns on the walls. “It’s fascinating how your mind reconstructs these events. Emotional weight tends to distort accuracy, though. The destruction of Vetra Prime wasn’t as poetic as your dream suggests.”

Kael shot them a tired look. “Thanks for the reminder.”

Oracle’s tone softened. “Apologies. The Voidstream’s influence tends to stir the subconscious. It’s not uncommon for memories to surface when proximity to temporal anomalies increases.”

Kael leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees. “The Rift… it wasn’t just Nexus greed, was it? There was something more. Something we don’t understand yet.”

Oracle’s projection flickered faintly, as though considering their words carefully. “What Nexus Corporation sought to achieve was ambitious, but ambition rarely comes without risk. The Rift Engine was a gamble—a bet placed on the future of time itself. They lost.”

Kael’s gaze hardened. “And everyone else paid the price.”

Oracle didn’t respond immediately, their flickering eye observing him. “You’re still looking for something,” they said after a pause. “Something beyond the shards.”

Kael’s silence was answer enough.

-- $$$ --

The Stellar Wing drifted through the vast stillness of deep space, its polished exterior catching faint glimmers of distant starlight. Around it, the void stretched endlessly, quiet yet oppressive, as if holding its breath. Inside the ship, the low hum of its engines reverberated through the silent corridors. The cockpit, bathed in soft, ambient light, was a sharp contrast to the ship’s desolate surroundings.

Kael stood at the console, his shoulders tense, his gaze fixed on the faintly flickering data on the screen. His Chrono Gauntlet glowed faintly, streams of temporal energy flowing through its conduits as he manipulated the ship’s sensors with calculated precision. His posture was sharp, his expression distant—haunted by something unsaid.

Behind him, Soryn leaned against the cockpit’s frame, arms crossed. Her Lumina Edge rested on her hip, its green and orange glow softly illuminating the edge of her figure. She observed Kael with a mix of curiosity and skepticism, her sharp eyes catching every flicker of his movements. Oracle hovered nearby, their crystalline form casting refracted light on the walls. The AI’s eye flickered rhythmically, a sign they were deep in analysis.

“Any luck, Oracle?” Kael asked, his voice steady but edged with urgency.

Oracle’s projection shifted slightly, their voice carrying a subtle playfulness despite the tension. “Luck isn’t part of my programming, Captain. Precision, however, is.” Their tone softened as they gestured toward the console. “The signal is Nexus in origin—faint but unmistakable. It’s… peculiar.”

“Define peculiar,” Kael said, narrowing his eyes at the data.

Oracle hesitated, an unusual pause for the AI. “It shouldn’t exist. Nexus Station X-17 was presumed lost decades ago when the Rift began. And yet, here it is, sending us a distress beacon.”

Kael’s fingers hovered over the console. A flicker of something crossed his face—determination laced with a shadow of regret. “We’re investigating,” he said firmly, his voice brooking no argument.

“Of course we are,” Soryn interjected, her voice sharp. “Because chasing ghost signals from a station that’s been gone for years makes perfect sense.”

Kael turned to her, his green eyes meeting her golden ones. “If there’s even a chance this is tied to a shard, we can’t ignore it.”

Soryn held his gaze, her jaw tightening. “And if it’s a trap? Or worse—a dead end? You’re gambling with all our lives.”

Kael didn’t answer immediately, his expression hardening. Instead, he turned back to the console, the glow of the Chrono Gauntlet reflecting off his face. “It’s worth the risk,” he said quietly, more to himself than to her.

Soryn’s hand rested lightly on the hilt of the Lumina Edge, the blade humming faintly at her touch. “You’re always so sure, aren’t you?” she said, her voice tinged with both frustration and curiosity. “What’s this really about, Kael? You’ve been chasing these shards like your life depends on it.”

Kael stiffened but didn’t turn around. “Because it does,” he replied cryptically, his tone a mix of resolve and pain.

Soryn tilted her head, her expression softening just enough to betray her intrigue. “You think these shards will fix everything. But what if they don’t? What if the Rift is beyond repair?”

Kael finally looked at her, his voice steady but his eyes betraying a flicker of vulnerability. “Then at least we’ll know we tried.”

Soryn studied him for a moment longer, her enigmatic expression giving nothing away. “Fine,” she said at last, pushing off the frame. “But don’t expect me to jump headfirst into this without asking questions.”

The tension in the room was broken by Oracle’s amused hum. “And this, dear crew, is why I’m here. To mediate these delightful moments of camaraderie.”

Soryn shot Oracle a sharp look, though the corner of her mouth twitched upward. “You call this camaraderie?”

“Relative to most crews? Yes,” Oracle quipped. “Besides, who else would keep Kael from diving headfirst into a black hole?”

Kael smirked faintly, his earlier tension easing just slightly. “Just get us the coordinates, Oracle.”

“Already done,” Oracle replied, their tone turning serious. “The signal is originating from a location deep within the Voidstream.”

Soryn’s face darkened. “The Voidstream? You’re joking.”

“Do I sound like I’m joking?” Oracle replied, their crystalline eye flickering. “The signal’s trajectory is erratic, but it’s definitely originating from within the Voidstream. It’s faint—like an echo—but unmistakable.”

Kael straightened, his hand resting on the console. “We’ve faced worse.”

“Have we?” Soryn shot back, her tone sharp. “Because flying into a chaotic storm of fractured timelines feels like a new level of suicidal.”

“We’ve been looking for a lead,” Kael said, his voice firm. “This is it.”

Soryn studied him, her fingers drumming against the hilt of her blade. Finally, she let out a frustrated breath. “Fine. But if this goes sideways, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Oracle’s projection shimmered as they retracted their interface. “A decision made. Setting course for the Voidstream.”

As the Stellar Wing’s engines roared to life, Kael watched the faint flicker of the signal on the console, his expression unreadable. In the silence, the hum of the Voidstream’s distant chaos seemed to echo in his mind while the Stellar Wing broke its steady drift, heading into the unknown.