The Rift was worse than Titan remembered.
Space wasn't supposed to twist like that—black folding over itself, colors that didn't exist bleeding into the edges of the ship's vision. The Eidolon groaned as it tore into Cryos Rift's gravity well, every alarm shrieking in protest.
Lira's voice stayed level, but beneath her calm, Titan could feel the pressure in the system.
"Engines at 47%. Hull integrity holding. But this place... it's bleeding entropy."
He didn't answer. His eyes were locked on the screen. There—dead ahead—hung a station. Or what was left of one.
It was massive. Ancient. Far older than any human construction. A ring-like structure with jagged towers piercing into dark matter clouds. And embedded into its heart…
A Terran rescue beacon.
Titan's pulse spiked. "That's a Blacksite beacon. From before the Collapse."
"Origin trace confirms. Eos Research Facility – Node Zero."
"No one even knew where Node Zero was. They built the others off its data." Titan's voice was hollow. "This is where it all began."
The signal pulsed again.
"Alpha-One. If you hear this… they've breached the veil. You must seal it. Before they… become us."
A woman's voice. Familiar. Sharp. Half-broken by distortion.
Titan's hands curled into fists. "That's Dr. Elira Hoss."
"Your creator," Lira whispered. "And mine."
The message repeated, and then abruptly cut off.
In its place, another signal surged through—the kind of frequency that made systems flicker, that burned through neural links. Lira gasped audibly.
"Titan—something else is here. It's not Vorn. Not human. It's inside the station."
Then silence.
The ship went dark.
Titan stood alone in a void of flickering emergency lights, heart pounding. Lira was gone. The ship's systems had flatlined.
And through the viewports… a light shone inside the derelict station.
Something was watching.
Something had been waiting.