The base was quiet, the remnants of their encounter with Vark still weighing heavily on the group. Null stood in the centre of the communication chamber, his hands resting lightly on the console. The dim blue glow of the screen illuminated his face, but his expression, as usual, remained impassive. Infy floated nearby, their faint orb-like glow flickering slightly, a clear sign of agitation.

  Synthia lingered in the doorway after sending Helix and Nova off, watching as the two worked in complete silence. She could feel the tension radiating from them like a coiled spring ready to snap.

  She knew what they were trying to do, but she also suspected they wouldn’t be successful in getting into contact with their mentor and father figure.

  The comms system hummed as energy coursed through it. Null tapped a sequence of commands into the console. Synthia had watched this process before, but this time, there was a difference: desperation. The encounter with Vark, the weight of the revelations about the Merge program, and the growing stakes for Mars had put them on edge.

  Contacting Zero—Sariel—felt like the only way forward.

  The room pulsed faintly as the console hummed with an unusual energy. Null and Infy, still tense looked on. Then, without warning, the faint glow of the console flared, spilling soft white light into the room.

  Before they could react, the light coalesced into something tangible—a presence pressing heavily against their minds. Synthia flinched, gasping as her senses were pulled away, the lab dissolving around her.

  Null stiffened, his dark eyes narrowing sharply, while Infy’s orb flickered erratically, its light sputtering like an unsteady flame. The air seemed to thicken, charged with energy, before the group found themselves standing in an infinite, blank expanse—a mental construct, vast and void-like.

  A figure began to form before them, glowing faintly, its shape-shifting like starlight reflected on rippling water. Though its outline was hazy, its presence was unmistakable: Zero. But this was not the imposing form they had seen before—the massive, concentric rings of divine calculation. This was smaller, dimmer, softer—a fragment of himself, projected directly into their shared mind. It felt more like an echo of Zero than Zero himself.

  “Null. Infinity.” His voice echoed through the mental space, calm but weighted, as though carrying the strain of countless unsaid things. “This fragment is all I could send.”

  Null’s hands curled into fists as he took a deliberate step forward, his movements taut with restrained emotion. His eyes burned with questions, but he said nothing. Infy floated closer, their light dim and flickering erratically, betraying their unease.

  “Why?” Infy’s voice rang out in the void, raw and sharp with frustration. “Why now? Why only send this… piece of yourself and not address us yourself? Have you decided to abandon us?”

  Zero’s fragmented form rippled slightly, the soft glow of his essence pulsing faintly. When he finally spoke, his voice was steady, but beneath the surface was something rare for him—regret.

  “I have not abandoned you,” Zero said, his voice steady but weighted. “I was compelled to return to the Council, leaving only this fragment behind.”

  He paused, as though choosing his words carefully. “Your existence—both of you—has been discovered. You are no longer hidden. You were never a sanctioned action, and your ability to manipulate the fields has caused… upheaval.”

  Another beat of silence, the faint hum of his presence pressing against their thoughts. “I have been recalled to account for my choices, to justify what I have done to the Council.”

  The revelation rippled through the mental space like a shockwave. Null’s brow furrowed deeply, his fists clenching at his sides. He took a small, deliberate step back, his dark eyes narrowing. When he finally spoke, his tone was measured, but there was no mistaking the edge of anger beneath.

  “You knew this would happen. You knew we’d be found if we left. And you let us go escape anyway. Why? What was it all for? Are we just pawns in some game you’re playing?”

  Zero’s echo dimmed slightly, his voice calm but weighted. “I didn’t let you go lightly, Null. The factions are moving. Your ability needed to be honed, and your human side needed to be nurtured, you are too critical to be left unbalanced”

  “Critical to what?” Infy interjected sharply, their light flaring briefly. “You mean we were just tools? A means to advance your agenda?”

  Zero’s fragmented form pulsed faintly, the glow around him flickering as if losing energy. “No,” he said, his voice softening. “But the other factions—the ones who would see humanity controlled or extinguished—are no longer content to watch from the shadows. They have been gaining momentum, and their plans for Mars, for this system, are already unfolding. Your emergence changed everything. The balance has shifted, and this system… it will become a battleground. I can no longer protect you from what’s coming.”

  Null’s fists tightened further, and his voice rose, cutting through the mental space like a blade. “You created us,” he said, his words sharp and unrelenting. “And now you’re leaving us to deal with the fallout. Alone.”

  The echo’s rings rotated slowly, his tone losing cohesion yet carrying a faint note of regret. “No. You were never meant to walk this path alone.” His light turned toward Synthia. “That’s why she’s here. Trust her. She has the clarity and strength to guide you in ways I cannot. She sees humanity in a way I never will, unclouded by the biases and burdens I carry. Her judgment, her compassion—they are what you need now.”

  Infy hovered closer, their glow flickering with uncertainty. “And what about you?” they asked quietly, their voice stripped of its usual sharpness. “What’s going to happen to you?”

  Zero’s light dimmed, his fragmented form wavering slightly. “I don’t know,” he admitted. “The Council’s judgment will be final. Their decisions are not always predictable. I cannot promise I’ll return.”

  The atmosphere in the mental space grew heavy. Even Infy, usually brimming with energy, dimmed slightly, their light trembling faintly.

  “But this is not the end,” Zero continued, his voice resolute despite the strain in his form. “You have the tools to survive.

  The strength to face what lies ahead. Live, Null. Infinity. Not as experiments. Not as tools. But as yourselves. Learn from those around you. Grow. Adapt. You have the freedom I could never give you. Do not squander it.”

  The light that was Zero began to fade further, his presence dimming like the last traces of a sunset. For a long moment, the mental space was silent, save for the faint buzz of Infy’s presence and Null’s steady, unyielding gaze. And then, Zero was gone.

  His glow began to fade, the edges of his fragmented form dissolving into streaks of light. “Farewell, Null. Farewell, Infinity. Trust yourselves—and trust those who walk this path with you.”

  With those final words, his form collapsed in on itself, vanishing in a soft burst of light. The mental construct dissolved with him, the infinite space shrinking away as reality snapped back into focus.

  The group was back in the lab, the console dark and silent as though it had never been activated. The faint sound of the base’s systems filled the air, but it felt distant, hollow.

  Null stood motionless, his fists still clenched at his sides, his dark eyes fixed on the now-inert console. Infy hovered nearby, their orb flickering faintly, its usual brightness dimmed.

  “He’s gone,” Infy said softly, their voice trembling. “He’s… really gone.”

  Synthia hesitated for a moment before stepping further into the room. She had never seen either of them like this—Infy flickering erratically, Null’s rigid composure giving way to clear frustration.

  “Hey,” she said gently, her tone soft but steady. “It’s going to be okay. We’ll figure it out.”

  Infy’s orb whirled toward Synthia, flickering more brightly, it's light sharp and erratic, like the emotions behind it. Their voice cut through the quiet, trembling with frustration. “How could he leave us? He left Null. He left me. The one time we need him—really need him—and he’s just… gone. He could have taken us with him. He should have taken us with him. We could have helped him”

  Null stopped pacing abruptly, turning sharply toward her. His hands moved rapidly, the sharpness in his gestures carrying a rare intensity. She didn’t need Infy to translate.

  “This is his fault. He created this mess, and now he’s leaving us to clean it up. He knew what was happening—on Mars, in this system. He knew, and he left anyway. After all his talk about non-interference and Accords, he just left us… we should have been with him”

  Synthia stepped closer, She could sense they felt guilty and worried. Her voice calm but firm. “He made a choice, He chose what he thinks is best for you.”

  Null’s dark eyes flared, his hands signing sharply. “He told us he would guide us. Now we’re alone. Abandoned.”

  The word lingered in the air, raw and unfiltered. Synthia’s breath caught, her chest tightening at the emotion she could feel radiating from both of them. Null’s rare display of frustration—of fear—was as striking as it was painful. Infy hovered closer to him, flickering as though struggling to stabilise their own emotions.

  “Listen,” Synthia said softly, lowering her voice. “I know you’re angry and feeling guilty. And I know it feels like he left you in the middle of this chaos. But you’re wrong—he didn’t abandon you. If anything, it’s the opposite.”

  Null stilled, his hands lowering slightly, but his eyes remained locked on her. He signed slower this time, cautiously. “What do you mean?”

  Synthia took a deep breath. She’d thought about this moment since the first time she read Zero’s logs. She wasn’t sure it was enough, but it was all she had. “He left me information about you—about both of you,” she said gently. “Logs, notes, everything he could fit into one file. And… it’s not what I expected.”

  Infy pulsed faintly, their voice low and sharp. “What kind of information?”

  “Everything,” Synthia said, her tone steady but laced with emotion. “Your abilities, your progress, your stability—but more than that. At first, it felt clinical, detached, like he was just observing you as an experiment. But the more I read, the more I realized… he cared. He was careful. It wasn’t perfect, but he was trying to find a balance between guiding you and letting you figure things out for yourselves.”

  Null tilted his head, his expression cold but curious, his hands moving slowly. “If he cared so much, why did he leave us behind?”

  Synthia sighed, her voice softening. “Because he didn’t want to control you, Null. He didn’t want to smother you or make you feel like you were just another one of his experiments.

  I think he wanted you to learn how to navigate this world—your world—without him. That’s why he gave you tools instead of answers. That’s why he trusted you to figure things out, even when it meant stepping back.”

  Infy’s glow flickered, their voice quieter but no less sharp. “If that’s true, then why didn’t he tell us? Why hide all of this from us?”

  Synthia paused, choosing her next words carefully. “Because he thought it was the best way to help you. He knew you’d never trust him if you felt like he was pulling the strings. So he gave you space. He made mistakes—I won’t argue that—but I think, in his own way, he believed in you. He wanted you to succeed on your terms, not his. He also wanted to make sure you had a safety net, so he also requested that I look after you”

  Null’s fists, still clenched tightly at his sides, loosened slightly. The tension in his posture eased, just enough to notice. His hands moved cautiously. “And now? What do we do now?”

  Synthia smiled faintly, her expression softening. “Now, you keep going. You live. You fight. You make your own path. You aren’t alone in this, Null. You’ve got Infy. You’ve got us. Whether Zero is here or not, you’ve got the strength to figure this out. And we’ll figure it out together.”

  Infy’s light steadied, pulsing softly, their voice calmer. “We still don’t know what to do about Mars, or the Elves, or the factions. There’s so much we don’t know.”

  “You’re right,” Synthia said, nodding. “But we don’t have to know everything right now. We just need to take it one step at a time. You’re stronger than you realise—both of you. And I’ll be here to help you see that.”

  Null held her gaze for a long moment, his dark eyes searching hers. Then, slowly, he nodded. Infy pulsed brightly, a faint but steady flicker of hope replacing their earlier frustration.

  Synthia exhaled quietly, relief washing over her. “Good. Now, let’s get back to work. We’ve got a lot to figure out, and sitting here dwelling on what we’ve lost won’t help us find answers.”