The Black Star emerged from hyperspace with a violent jolt. The stars stretched into lines and then returned to their places. The silence in the cabin was heavy.
Kael sat motionless in the pilot's seat. He hadn't moved for several seconds, as if waiting for something else to happen. Nothing happened.
"Are we here, or are we still dying?" Zara asked from the back.
Rex glanced at the readings. "We're here. But not where we planned to be."
Lira moved closer to the console. "It's not a jump error. Someone moved us slightly. As if they corrected the trajectory."
Kael frowned. "Impossible."
Taro was already digging through the data. "It's possible if someone knew the starting point and the destination. And if they had access to pre-war technology."
Zara snorted. "So, the artifact again."
The artifact lay secured in its capsule but was still pulsing gently. Calmly. Regularly.
Kael looked at it. "It's leading us."
"Or setting us up," Rex replied.
The space ahead of them was empty. No stations. No known routes. Only darkness and a distant, pale star.
Lira enlarged the image. "There's something else. A very weak signal. Like an echo."
"Natural?" Kael asked.
"No, too regular."
Zara moved closer. Her smile was narrower than usual. "Is it just me, or does it feel like someone is watching us but not showing themselves on purpose?"
Taro nodded. "It's not observation. It's a test."
Silence fell again.
Kael finally activated the maneuvering engines. "We're not standing still. We're flying toward the signal."
"If it's a trap," said Rex, "it's a perfect one."
Zara loaded her weapon. "That's good. It's been a long time since we had a good one."
The star in front of them slowly grew, and with it, something else. An invisible line in space that wasn't on the maps. The Black Star crossed it.
At that moment, all the sensors went haywire. The screens showed conflicting data or nothing at all. It was as if the space in front of them didn't want to be described.
Kael slowed down. The ship was responding normally, but everything around them seemed dead.
"This place is empty," Lira said. After a moment, she added, "And full at the same time."
Rex looked at her askance. "Choose one."
Lira enlarged the image. Delicate disturbances appeared on the screen, like ripples on water. "These aren't objects. They're boundaries. Someone has divided the space here into layers."
Zara leaned against the wall. Her eyes sparkled. "So we're inside something."
Taro nodded. "Inside an observation zone. Very old. Very precise."
The artifact in the capsule brightened slightly. Not suddenly. As if it were reacting with relief.
Kael felt a familiar tension in his neck. "It's the same feeling as at the station."
"Because it's part of the same network," said Taro. "Nodes. Lines. Space used to be mapped differently. Not by the stars, but by intention."
There was silence.
The first signal appeared suddenly. Not on the radar. In the communication system. It wasn't encrypted.
"It's an invitation," said Lira. "One-way."
Zara smiled broadly. "I love invitations."
Kael didn't respond immediately. He stared at the point in space where the signal seemed to be thickening. As if something was waiting there, but had no form.
"Tell me one thing," Rex said. "If we fly there, will we come back the same way?"
Taro shrugged. "I don't know if the path will still be there."
Kael initiated the maneuver. The ship slowly turned toward the signal.
"This isn't an escape," he said. "It's an entrance."
As they approached, space began to change. The stars shifted unnaturally. Distances lost their meaning. The Black Star wasn't accelerating, yet the point was getting closer and closer.
Lira held her breath. "Kael. It's not an object."
"Then what is it?"
"It's an observer."
Zara straightened up. Her voice was calmer than usual. "So someone is watching."
In an instant, the signal disappeared.
Next, a light appeared. Not blinding. Focused. As if someone had turned on a lantern directly on them.
The ship shook slightly. The systems came back to life, but the data was different. Changed. As if reality had been rewritten.
A structure appeared on the screen. Huge. Not a station. Not a ship. Something in between.
Taro paled. "This is not the technology of any known faction."
Zara reloaded her weapon. "So we're in the right place."
Kael looked at the artifact. It pulsed in the same rhythm as the light in front of them.
"We're not the first," he said quietly. "But we could be next."
The light went out. And the signal returned. This time with a single word.
"Come closer."
The Black Star moved slowly toward the light. There was no acceleration, no deceleration. The ship simply changed position, as if space itself was making way for it.
Kael kept his hands on the controls, even though he knew that little depended on him at this moment. The systems were responding correctly, but all the indicators had a slight delay, as if reality had to think before responding.
"This place is letting us through," said Lira. "Or examining us."
Zara leaned closer to the front screen. Her usual maniacal smile was gone. It had been replaced by concentration. "They're not shooting. They're not blocking. It's worse."
Rex nodded. "Means they want to talk."
The light in front of them began to take shape. Lines, previously invisible, formed a structure resembling the interior of a huge hall. There were no walls or ceiling. There were only layers of space, one on top of the other.
The ship stopped.
The communicator activated itself.
"Carriers," said a voice. It wasn't metallic. It wasn't human either. It sounded like several voices speaking at once, but perfectly synchronized. "You have crossed the observation line."
Kael didn't answer right away. He looked at the rest of the crew. No one looked ready, but no one wanted to back down either.
"We didn't know it existed," he said finally.
"That's true," replied the voice. "The lines are meant to remain invisible. Unless someone carries the key."
The artifact glowed brighter. Warmth spread throughout the ship.
Taro swallowed. "It's not a single entity. It's a collective. Consciousness scattered throughout this zone."
"Guardians," added the voice. "Observers. Archivists of the end."
Zara snorted. "You have terribly dramatic names."
There was a moment of silence. Then something that could be considered a response. A slight shift in light.
"Chaos is assigned to you," the voice replied. "And it is necessary."
Rex tightened his fingers around his weapon. "What do you want?"
"A decision," came the reply. "The artifacts have been activated. The lines are beginning to close. The factions are already moving. War is not a question of if, but where."
Kael felt pressure in his head. Not pain. More like the weight of information. Images flashed by. Systems cut off from hyperspace. Fleets colliding in the void. Planets isolated like diseased organs.
"You can become a flashpoint," said the voice. "Or a node of balance."
Lira spoke softly. "And if we refuse?"
"You will be erased from the trajectory," replied the Guardians. "Not immediately. Over time."
Zara laughed briefly. Without humor. "So, classic. Let us choose, but only one option."
Kael looked at the artifact. It pulsed steadily. As if waiting.
"We are not your pawns," he said. "We will not guard the galaxy for you."
The light dimmed for a fraction of a second.
"No," replied the voice. "You will be yourselves. That will suffice."
The space began to change. The structure in front of them broke down into layers of light.
"The first line has been crossed," said the Guardians. "The next will be bloody."
The signal disappeared.
The Black Star was back in normal space. The stars returned to their places. The systems stabilized.
For a long moment, no one spoke.
Finally, Zara reloaded her weapon. "Great. The galaxy is falling apart, and we're right in the middle of it."
Kael slowly exhaled. "And that's exactly why no one else should have these artifacts."
Rex nodded. "That was contact. The next one will be a shot."
The artifact dimmed. But it didn't go out.
The Black Star set a new course. And somewhere far away, beyond maps and lines, someone was already waiting for them.