Despite the approval of the Galactic Sovereign Council, peace was not the reward that followed.
It never was.
Kairos Vant stood atop the Skyglass Pinnacle, overlooking the Lumeris skyline. The city had grown wider and brighter. Its spires hummed with karmic resonance. Pilgrims, merchants, and thinkers from across the galaxy now called it home.
But beneath all the celebration, he could feel it.
Something wrong.
A silence where there should be noise. A quiet unraveling at the edges of reality.
He turned as Raya Quill approached, tablet in hand, her expression grim.
"They're back," she said quietly.
Kairos took the data slate. One word blinked at him.
INVERSION WELLS: CLASSIFIED BREACH – SYSTEM UXX-129
"Another one?" he muttered.
Raya nodded. "That makes five in two weeks. This one devoured an entire trade station. No distress beacon, no survivor logs, just… vanished. And before it disappeared, the last thing received was this."
She tapped the slate, and the playback began.
