Calmness of mind is one of the wondrous jewels of wisdom. It is the result of long and patient effort in self-control. Its presence; an indication of ripened experience, and of a more than ordinary knowledge of the laws and operations of thought.
The hiss of the bulkhead door sliding open was lost in a noise of controlled chaos. Before the Voidwalker, Kallus, and Artemis lay the nerve centre of the Nexus Station's defence: the Watcher Zone's main Monitoring Room. It was a cavern of shimmering holoscreens and cascading data streams, each one a different shade of emergency red or critical amber. Dr Xypha stood at the heart of the digital storm, her silhouette sharp against the light, fingers dancing across a translucent console. She moved with a frenetic grace, trying to tame a group of failure.
"Ah, the cavalry arrives!" Xypha's voice, though strained, retained its characteristic playful lilt. She didn't turn, her eyes locked on a schematic flashing with dark, creeping blotches of purple-black energy. "And they brought the waking giant. Good to see you on your feet, Walker. I was beginning to think you enjoyed my preservation gel a little too much."
Kallus Eldrath stepped forward, his long coat sweeping around him, his expression; a mask of scholarly concern. "Doctor. What is the extent of the incursion?"
"The Oblivion Hive are disgustingly efficient, I'll give them that," Xypha muttered, rerouting a power conduit with a flick of her wrist. A dozen error messages vanished, replaced by three more. "They've hit us where it hurts. The Supply Zone is a mess—the railway is down, and they're corrupting the energy core. The Storage Zone is compromised; the darkness is… seeping into the containment fields around the relics. And the Base Zone is a ghost town, comms are cut. They've systematically severed our limbs."
"But the station still stands," Artemis noted, her hand resting on the hilt of a blade at her hip.
"The heart and brain are still kicking," Xypha confirmed, finally turning to face them. A mischievous glint shone in her tired eyes. "The Control Zone is isolated, completely sealed off from the corruption. For now. That's our sanctuary."
Kallus's gaze fell upon the silent Voidwalker, who stood just behind them, his large frame looking out of place amidst the frantic technology. The man's eyes darted from screen to screen, a flicker of veiled anxiety in their depths, a man drowning in a world he didn't understand. "Is there anything we can do to aid you, Doctor?" Kallus asked.
Xypha offered a weary but genuine smile. "Your presence is reassuring, Keeper, but this is my battlefield, it's like a war of codes and digits. You three look like you've been through a war of your own. Go to the Master Control Zone. Rest. We'll need you clear-headed when the real fight begins. Especially you," she added, her gaze softening as it met the Voidwalker's. "Don't rush it. The universe has waited this long for you; it can wait a little longer."
——
The transition from the Watcher Zone to the Master Control Zone was like stepping from a raging tempest into a silent dawn. The urgent red alerts and blaring alarms were replaced by the gentle, ambient hum of a fully functional system. The lighting was soft, cast from luminescent panels in the ceiling that mimicked a serene twilight sky. At the center of the vast, circular room was a holographic spherical wonder which seemed to hold the star-dusted velvet of the cosmos, calm and indifferent inside. The air itself felt clean, untainted by the creeping dread that had permeated the rest of the station.
The Voidwalker stood looking out the viewport windows, his reflection a faint ghost against the stars. He had been quiet during the short journey, a vessel of unanswered questions. Now, in the stillness, they began to surface.
His voice was rough, the words fragmented as if his mind was still learning how to assemble them. "What… is the Nex?"
Kallus moved to stand beside him, his tone that of a patient teacher. "Imagine the universe is an ocean, vast and deep. Most see only the waves on the surface. But beneath, there is a current. A silent, powerful force that flows through everything, connecting every star, every planet, every living soul. It is the breath of reality, the network of creation. That is the Nex. Some of us, like my family, have learned to hear its call, to feel its tide, and in doing so, bend it to our will." He made a small gesture, and a mote of silver light danced in his palm before fading. "It is not a tool to be wielded, but a partner in a cosmic legacy."
The Voidwalker processed this, his brow furrowed. His next question came more clearly. "The God Emperor… who is he?"
This time, Artemis answered, her voice warmer and more direct than her father's grand personifications. "He's the man who saved us from tearing ourselves apart. He practically saved humanity you know, a long time ago. Fast forward to after the Nexium Wars, the worlds were shattered, fighting over the last scraps of power. He united them. He rescued people left behind on forgotten worlds… people like you." She paused, her gaze kind. "He saw the bigger picture, the tension that was gathering at the edges of galaxies, and knew the Imperium had to be one to face it."
A long silence stretched between them, filled only by the station's soft hum. The Voidwalker turned from the stars to face them, his expression etched with a profound and vulnerable confusion. The anxiety that had flickered in the Monitoring Room was now laid bare.
"Do you… know who I am?"
Kallus and Artemis exchanged a look. It was Artemis who spoke, stepping closer. She reframed the question, not with facts, but with a profound philosophy.
"No," she said gently. "We know what you are—a man of immense importance, attuned to what my father believes to be a prophecy, in the Nex of course. But who you were? That is a story whose pages were torn out. Some might see that as a loss. I see it as an opportunity."
She pointed to the starfield behind him. "Every event, every memory, is just a point of light in the darkness. We connect them to create constellations, to tell ourselves a story of who we are. Your sky is clear. You are not bound by a past you cannot remember. You can choose which stars to follow ya know, what constellation to draw. Your past isn't a chain; it's more of an absence. And you get to be the one to fill it."
He stared at her, the stark imagery of a clear sky resonating within his own empty mind. The frantic searching for a lost identity began to subside, replaced by a nascent calm. The interpretation she offered was a balm, a way to build meaning from nothingness. He felt an unconscious seed of trust take root. These people weren't giving him orders; they were giving him perspective.
His speech, when it returned, was slower, more deliberate, the fractured edges smoothed away by a new understanding. "So… my past is not a missing piece. It is… an unwritten page."
"Exactly," Artemis affirmed with a smile.
Before more could be said, a small, box shaped robot rolled silently into the room, its single blue screen glowing softly. It was Dev, Dr. Xypha's companion unit.
"Pardon the interruption," its synthesized voice stated, calm and programmed to present emotion. "Dr. Xypha requests your presence. She has stabilised the primary systems. It is time to plan your counter-attack."
The quiet respite was over. Kallus's expression hardened, his mind already turning to the rising darkness and what this attack truly signified. Artemis's hand returned to her weapon, her easy manner replaced by a warrior's focus.
The Voidwalker looked from them to the stars one last time. The questions still lingered, clouds on the horizon of his mind, but they no longer felt like a storm. He was no longer just a lost man. He was here, now, with a part to play. And for the first time since waking, that felt like enough.