Elias fell through infinity.
It wasn't hyperspace. It wasn't time. It was something else, something deeper—like being pulled beneath the fabric of the universe itself. He could see glimpses of realities that never were, echoes of civilizations erased before they could rise.
The voice from The Nexus whispered again.
"You seek to understand. Then you must remember."
Suddenly, the falling stopped.
Elias found himself standing—not in space, not on the Vanguard, but somewhere ancient.
A colossal chamber, walls etched with pulsing golden glyphs, stretching beyond the horizon. He turned slowly, his breath catching in his throat. The air itself hummed with impossible energy.
And at the center of it all—
A being of pure golden light.
It wasn't human. It wasn't Forgotten. It was something older. Something that had existed when the universe was still young.
And then—the memories flooded in.
The Forgotten had once been gods—rulers of a different existence, a universe before this one. They had shaped the stars, bent the laws of creation to their will.
But they weren't alone.
There was something greater than them.
A force that opposed them. A war was waged, and the Forgotten lost. Their universe was consumed, rewritten into the one Elias now knew—the current universe.
But they had survived.
Trapped, sealed beyond The Nexus—waiting for the cycle to break.
Waiting to return.
The golden entity spoke again, its voice vibrating through Elias's bones.
"The Nexus was never meant to be a prison. It was meant to be a barrier. A wall between what was, and what is."
Elias's mind reeled. "But the seal is breaking."
The entity's form pulsed. "Yes. And now, you must choose."
A deep rumble shook the chamber.
Elias could still feel the battle raging beyond—humanity fighting a war it couldn't win. The Forgotten ripping through reality, forcing their return.
The Nexus was failing.
"You are the last key, Elias Voss. The last decision."
Elias's breath was ragged. "What choice?"
The golden being shifted, its form splitting into two paths.
On one side, Elias saw humanity's survival—but at a cost. The Nexus would collapse, sealing the Forgotten inside forever, but it would also sever the fundamental connection between this universe and the ones before it.
No more anomalies. No more unnatural energy.
Humanity would live, but it would never advance beyond what it already was. No more leaps in physics, no more bending the rules of reality. The universe would become stable—but stagnant.
On the other side—
A future where the war continued.
Where The Nexus remained open, but humanity would have to fight forever. The cycle would never end. They would gain power beyond comprehension, unlocking truths hidden for eons—but they would never know peace.
Elias's heart pounded.
One choice.
One future.
And whatever he decided…
Would change existence forever.