Ethan didn’t stop running until Aeteris’s looming spires were far behind him, swallowed by the darkness of the outnds. His body ached from the confrontation with the drones, and the Arc-Helix’s faint glow barely lit the path ahead. Every now and then, he gnced down at his arm, still unsure if he should marvel at the alien artifact—or rip it off.

  “Nyx,” Ethan said as he finally slowed his pace, breathing hard. “What happens now? What do I do with this thing?”

  “Your survival depends on understanding the Arc-Helix,” Nyx replied. Her voice had softened after the earlier chaos, but it still carried the weight of an unyielding AI. “You must learn to control its power. The stakes are rger than you realize.”

  “How big?” Ethan muttered, mostly to himself.

  Instead of answering directly, Nyx activated a holo-dispy from the Arc-Helix. A swirling map of gaxies unfolded before him, shimmering in the darkness like consteltions brought to life. Ethan’s jaw dropped as Nyx’s voice narrated.

  “The Arc-Helix is the key to stabilizing the multiverse. Chaos fractures between dimensions—known as the Fracture—have begun destabilizing reality. You are now connected to the Lumina Concve, guardians of multiversal bance.”

  Ethan’s head spun. “Multiverse? Guardians? You’ve got to be kidding me.”

  “I assure you, I am not,” Nyx replied. “the Helix has chosen You to restore bance. But the Syntherion Collective threatens this mission.”

  Ethan closed his eyes, trying to process the enormity of what Nyx was saying. But before he could fully grasp it, the ground beneath his feet began to tremble. He stumbled, falling to his knees as the air around him shimmered.

  A portal opened before him—an ovoid vortex of light and shadow that seemed to stretch infinitely in all directions. From it emerged figures draped in armour that pulsed with the same otherworldly energy as the Arc-Helix. Their leader stepped forward, his imposing figure silhouetted against the swirling portal.

  “Ethan Solis,” the figure said, his voice deep and resonant. “I am Kaelor of the Multiversal Council. You have activated the Arc-Helix, and with it, you have summoned our attention.”

  Ethan scrambled to his feet, his instincts screaming at him to run. “Uh, hi,” he said, trying and failing to sound confident. “Look, I don’t know what’s going on here, but—”

  “You are now a part of something far greater than yourself,” Kaelor interrupted. “The Arc-Helix has chosen you as its wielder. But this power is not a gift—it is a responsibility.”

  As Kaelor spoke, Nyx whispered into Ethan’s mind. “Be cautious. The Council is not without its secrets. Trust them only as far as necessary.”

  Ethan’s gaze flickered between Kaelor and the other armoured figures. “Great,” he muttered. “Another group that wants something from me.”

  Kaelor extended a hand, a gesture that was both commanding and oddly comforting. “Will you accept your role, Ethan Solis? Will you stand against the chaos that threatens all of existence?”

  Ethan hesitated, the weight of the question pressing down on himlike a physical force. But then he thought of the drones, of Syntherion, of the world he had left behind. He didn’t have much of a choice.

  “Fine,” he said, stepping forward. “I’ll do it. But if this is some kind of trick, I’m out.”

  Kaelor nodded, and the portal behind him began to shift and change. “Then come. Your training begins now.”

  As Ethan stepped into the vortex, he couldn’t help but feel like he was leaving behind more than just Aeteris. He was leaving behind everything he had ever known.