Orion sat on the cold deck, still shaking as Lyra helped steady him. His vision flickered with the afterimages of an entire universe collapsing—of crystalline worlds dissolving like dust in sunlight. But the terror wasn't fading.
Because now he understood.
And understanding was far more horrifying.
Commander Rhea crouched in front of him, tone tight but controlled.
"Orion. You said the Unmaking isn't trying to destroy us. Explain."
Orion swallowed hard.
"It's trying to correct a chain reaction… something started by Archive Zero. Something that shouldn't exist. A fracture in time that—"
He hesitated.
Lyra squeezed his hand."It's okay. Tell us."
Orion drew in a long, shaky breath.
"It's not destroying universes, Commander. It's erasing timelines that lead to… itself."
Silence.
Not confusion.Not disbelief.
Just a terrible, quiet understanding that settled like a weight on everyone's chest.
Prof. Solven exhaled sharply."A self-preserving paradox. A recursive collapse. Fascinating."
Lyra gave him an incredulous glare."Solven. Not the time."
Agent Vale crossed his arms, voice low.
"This tracks with temporal cascade theory. A dangerous result can attempt to erase the conditions that created it. The Unmaking isn't an invader."A pause."It's a consequence."
Orion nodded.
"Yes. And that's why it follows the Infinity Signal. Because the Signal came from the future—my future—and Archive Zero's experiment. The Unmaking tracks it backward, like following a scent trail through time."
Dr. Kessler tapped her tablet with increasing urgency.
"That means if the Infinity Signal reached us—"
"—then we're already part of the cascade," Orion finished."Our universe has been marked."
Rhea stood up slowly.
"So what you saw in Seraxis' memories… was another universe's version of Archive Zero repeating the same mistake?"
Orion nodded.
"And failing to stop it each time."
The holo-table suddenly flickered—not malfunctioning, but activating.
Seraxis appeared, weak and unstable.
"Orion Hale," the Archivist said softly. "The link has shown you the truth. But there is something more."
The projection shivered.
A new fractal formed in the air above the table.
A star—but not a normal one.
Its surface rippled with geometric patterns.Its corona spiraled like a fractal.Its light bent into impossible trajectories.
Orion stared, jaw falling open.
"What… what is that?"
Seraxis' glow dimmed."A Refracted Star."
Rowan stepped closer, mechanical arm buzzing nervously.
"I've only heard myths. A star that exists simultaneously across multiple overlapping dimensions."
"A star," Kessler whispered, "that acts as a gateway."
Seraxis nodded painfully.
"It was once the anchor of our universe. The point at which all timelines aligned. When the Unmaking entered our realm… the Star fractured."
The fractal hologram split in two—then four—then eight—each smaller copy pulsing with unstable energy.
"Each shard," Seraxis continued, "became a rupture point. When one collapsed… our universe followed."
Lyra's face paled.
"Are you saying we have one too?"
Seraxis flickered violently.
"Every universe has one."
The holo-map expanded outward until it showed a cluster of stars—carved in fractal geometry—overlaying the Milky Way.
There.
Near the galactic rim.A star hidden inside a gravitational puzzle of interlocking waves.
Rhea frowned.
"That region is sealed. Restricted space. No stable jump coordinates."
Rowan grimaced."Yeah, because anything that gets near it gets shredded. Probes dissolve into quark fog. Shuttles lose molecular cohesion. That star is… wrong."
Kessler leaned in, eyes wide.
"Because it's not just a star. It's our Refracted Star."
Orion's pulse quickened.
He already knew the truth before Seraxis spoke the final confirmation:
"This is where Archive Zero first tapped into time."Its body dimmed again."This is where the Unmaking was born."
The hologram of the impossible star pulsed exactly like the countdown clock—in perfect synchronization.
Lyra whispered the words no one wanted to say:
"So if that star collapses…"
Vale finished calmly:
"Then so do we."
Orion stepped forward.
"Seraxis. Can the Refracted Star be stabilized?"
Seraxis' glow flickered like dying embers.
"If your universe has not yet fractured completely… there may be a way."
"What way?" Rhea demanded.
Seraxis' body cracked—a slow, heartbreaking sound.
"You must reach the Star. You must find the original Archive Zero site. And you must stop the initial spark that begins the chain reaction."
Orion clenched his fists.
"Stop the origin point…"
Lyra whispered:
"…by preventing our version of the experiment."
Kessler stared at Orion.
"Which means going directly into the most dangerous gravitational anomaly in the galaxy."
Rowan muttered,"Great. Fantastic. Love it."
Solven clapped softly."A delightful challenge."
Vale's eyes narrowed.
"There's one catch."
Everyone turned toward him.
"Archive Zero is not abandoned."
A pulse rippled across the star hologram—dark, rhythmic, predatory.
"Something is still there," Vale said."And it never stopped its work."
The countdown pulsed again:
09:23:20:49
Time was beginning to thin.