Alex Vortex had always believed that the universe was silent.
Stars looked peaceful from a distance. Space documentaries spoke of beauty, balance, and laws of physics that never broke. Reality, according to science, followed rules.
That belief died at 2:17 A.M.
Alex was awake, lying on his bed in his small apartment on the edge of the city. Rain tapped against the cracked window, each drop echoing like a ticking clock. The power had gone out an hour ago, plunging the building into darkness. Only the pale glow of the moon illuminated the room.
His phone buzzed.
UNKNOWN CALLER
Alex frowned. No signal. No power. No internet.
Yet the phone vibrated again.
Against his better judgment, he answered.
"Hello?"
Silence.
Then… breathing.
Not human breathing. Too slow. Too deep. Like something massive inhaling from very far away.
"Can you hear it?" a voice whispered.
The voice was female. Calm. Terrifyingly calm.
"Hear what?" Alex asked, his throat suddenly dry.
"The universe screaming."
The call ended.
Alex stared at the screen, his heartbeat pounding in his ears. Before he could think, the air inside the room shifted. The temperature dropped sharply, his breath turning visible.
The walls trembled.
Outside, the rain stopped mid-fall.
Every droplet froze in the air.
Time itself had paused.
Alex sat up slowly, panic crawling up his spine. He moved his hand toward the floating raindrops outside the window—and flinched as blue sparks danced across his fingers.
"What the hell…?" he whispered.
Then the sky cracked.
Not thunder. Not lightning.
The sky split open, like glass struck by a god's hammer.
A vertical裂—an impossible tear—appeared above the city, glowing with swirling shades of violet, crimson, and black. Symbols burned along its edges, letters Alex had never seen but somehow understood.
ACCESS GRANTED.
His vision blurred. Pain exploded behind his eyes. Memories not his own flooded his mind—dying stars, collapsing worlds, alien screams, and a throne made of shadows.
He screamed.
The floor vanished beneath his feet.
Alex fell.
He woke up choking.
Not on air—but on light.
Blinding white radiance surrounded him. The ground beneath was solid, cold, metallic. He pushed himself up, coughing, his body shaking.
This was not his room.
This was not Earth.
Towering structures loomed in the distance, floating islands connected by glowing bridges. The sky above wasn't blue—it was layered, like multiple skies overlapping, each moving at a different speed.
Ships—massive, organic-looking vessels—hovered silently, their surfaces pulsing as if alive.
Aliens.
Not humanoid. Not friendly.
They noticed him.
A shrill sound pierced the air.
Alex froze as creatures emerged from the shadows—tall, skeletal beings with elongated limbs and hollow eyes glowing red.
One of them spoke.
Its voice echoed inside his skull.
"The Core has awakened."
Before Alex could react, a beam of dark energy shot toward his chest.
Something answered from inside him.
Pain turned into fire.
Symbols ignited across his skin, glowing gold. The beam shattered mid-air, dispersing like ash.
The creatures stepped back.
Fear.
They were afraid of him.
A portal exploded open beside Alex, and a figure emerged—a woman.
She landed gracefully, dark hair flowing, eyes glowing faintly silver. Her armor was sleek, alien, etched with runes similar to the ones burning on Alex's skin.
She looked at him.
And her expression broke.
Shock. Relief. Guilt.
"You're alive," she whispered.
"Who are you?" Alex demanded, backing away.
She raised her hands slowly. "My name is Lyra Nox. And if I'm standing here… then it means we've already failed once."
Before Alex could ask what she meant, the sky darkened.
The floating islands trembled.
A presence descended.
Reality bent.
Every creature dropped to its knees.
Lyra's face drained of color.
"No…" she breathed. "He found you already."
A colossal shadow formed above them, its shape constantly shifting, refusing to be fully seen.
A voice spoke—not loudly, yet it shook existence itself.
"Return what is mine."
Alex felt his heart stop.
The voice wasn't speaking to Lyra.
It was speaking to him.
Lyra grabbed Alex's arm. "We don't have time. Listen to me very carefully."
She activated a device on her wrist. The air twisted violently.
"You are not human," she said. "You are the Multiverse Core. Every universe is tied to your existence."
"What? That's impossible!" Alex shouted.
Lyra's eyes filled with pain.
"I was sent to protect you," she continued. "But if I fail… every reality dies."
The shadow reached for them.
Lyra hesitated.
Just for a second.
And in that second, Alex saw something terrifying in her eyes.
Doubt.
The portal swallowed them.
Alex woke up screaming.
He was back in his apartment.
Rain fell normally.
The lights flickered back on.
His phone lay beside him, cracked—but silent.
For a moment, he wondered if it was all a dream.
Then he noticed the glowing symbol on his wrist.
And the voice whispered again, closer this time:
"Run, Core."
Alex looked at the window.
Lyra stood outside, watching him from the shadows.
Her lips moved silently.
I'm sorry.
The sky cracked open once more.
END OF EPISODE 1
NEXT EPISODE TEASE:
Alex learns the truth about his past… and Lyra receives a command that will change everything.