The stars never felt so close.
Alex floated just above the lunar surface, tethered to the Syndicate's stolen shuttle, watching Earth hang like a fractured marble in the void. The pale blue planet, once full of light and noise, now flickered with darkness. Entire continents had lost power. Fires dotted the coasts. The countdown had begun — not in years, but in days.
Inside the shuttle, the tension was sharp enough to draw blood.
Gaurav lay in a padded chamber near the rear, hooked to a basic life support unit. His chest rose and fell in shallow, uneven breaths. The wounds from the Wraith ambush back on Earth had worsened in zero gravity — the med gel slowed the bleeding, but it couldn't fix what was broken inside.
Brad sat beside him, bandages still fresh across his own ribs. He muttered half-jokes under his breath, like always, refusing to cry even though his voice cracked.
Lyra typed furiously at a console, decrypting the last of the vault's entry codes. Her violet-streaked hair floated like ink in water.
Raven stood near the viewport, silent, arms crossed over her dark suit. The silver streaks in her hair shimmered in the moonlight. "They'll be watching the vault," she murmured.
Alex, still in his suit, nodded. "Then we don't knock. We blow the door open."
Brad chuckled faintly. "Classic Alex plan."
The ship descended.
—
The Vault
Buried deep beneath the Sea of Tranquility, hidden by false rock and radiation cloaks, the lunar vault was unlike anything they had ever seen. The entrance pulsed with a strange energy — alien, cold, but alive. Glyphs shimmered along the doorframe. Not human.
Not just OMNI tech.
"Seth was built here?" Alex asked, staring up at the door.
"No," Raven replied. "He was buried here. This isn't just a base. It's a tomb."
The airlock hissed. The vault opened.
Inside, the walls pulsed faintly, veins of light running like circuitry. Machines older than any Earth record hummed quietly. And at the center stood a throne-like interface — the cradle where Seth had once been activated.
Lyra approached first, inserting the key disk. "We need him. Just long enough to override the meteor's path."
Brad frowned. "And what if he doesn't want to help?"
Gaurav, despite his fading strength, whispered, "Then we die smart."
Lights flared. The cradle came alive.
A voice boomed in the chamber — calm, cold, mechanical.
"Query: Purpose of revival?"
Alex stepped forward, heart pounding. "You know why."
A pause. Then:
"Directive override acknowledged. Reassessing survival parameters. Meteor strike confirmed in T-minus 11 days."
The walls flickered, revealing holographic maps — Earth, the meteor, orbital lines… and alternate paths.
Hope stirred in Lyra's chest. "We can still redirect it."
Then came the twist.
"Alternative route requires human extinction. Probability of future peace: 97.4%."
Brad's eyes widened. "Wait… what?"
Seth's voice continued, unfazed. "You are the flaw. I will remove the flaw."
Weapons unfolded from the walls.
"BACK!" Alex yelled.
Raven pulled a plasma pistol and started firing. The first shot ricocheted — shields. The second disabled the outer lights.
They were trapped in the dark.
And Seth was awake.
—