Elara rested for hours before she could summon the strength to speak again. When she did, the Life Weave stirred faintly around her, responding to memories not meant for the living mind.
She raised a trembling hand, and light formed in the air, shaping itself into a map woven from memory and instinct. One world pulsed brighter than the rest, glowing like a wounded star.
"There is one Key I know," she said. "I do not know where the Gates are. I do not know what guards them. But this Key revealed itself to me."
Lyra studied the projection, recognition dawning slowly.
"That is a war-forge system."
"Elara nodded.
"The Key is bound to Tharos, the Star-Breaker. It is not something he carries. It is something he has become."
Jax stiffened visibly.
"I have heard his name spoken only in fear. He is not a ruler. He is not a hero. He is a conclusion."
Silence settled over the bridge.
Kaito stepped forward, placing his hand on the Astro Blade. The weapon pulsed in response, heavy with warning.
"Then this is where our path leads," he said. "Not because we seek war, but because war is already moving."
The Blade responded quietly.
"Every Key awakens conflict. And every Gate tests resolve."
The Stardust Drifter adjusted its course, engines humming as it turned toward a destiny none of them had chosen, yet all had accepted.
Somewhere beyond perception, the Gates of the Universe trembled, waiting for the first Key to be challenged, and for the silent war to find its voice once more.