Elias blinked as the light faded, his senses reorienting to the familiar hum of the Vanguard. The airlock hissed closed behind him, and the bridge awaited — silent, tense.
Sienna stepped forward immediately, her eyes searching his face. "You're back. How... how are you?"
He met her gaze, the golden glow in his eyes steady but deeper now. "I've seen beyond the veil. The trials have changed me. I'm no longer just part of The Nexus—I am its evolution."
Roarke's stance shifted, wary yet respectful. "And what does that mean for us? For humanity?"
Elias moved to the viewport, staring out at the stars that had once seemed so vast and unknowable. "It means we are at the dawn of something new. The emergent beings—the First—are not alone anymore. Others will come. Powers beyond our reckoning."
Sienna crossed her arms, skeptical. "So what? We prepare for war again?"
"No." Elias shook his head slowly. "Not war. Integration. Evolution. We will have to adapt. To learn from these new forms. To find a way to coexist or to rise together."
Roarke's voice was hard. "And if they don't want to coexist?"
"Then we defend ourselves. But I believe there is a greater path."
The comm crackled, and LUX's voice broke the momentary stillness. "New anomalies detected. Rapid expansion near the outer spiral."
Elias turned, his eyes narrowing. "They're mobilizing. The next phase is beginning."
Sienna took a deep breath. "Looks like our fight isn't over yet."
Elias smiled faintly, the weight of cosmic responsibility heavy on his shoulders. "No, it's only just begun."