Echoes of the Nexus

The decontamination process was swift but thorough. Elias and Sienna were subjected to multiple bio-scans, neural activity monitoring, and even a quantum resonance check—an extreme measure usually reserved for those suspected of exposure to exotic matter.

Elias stood still as the scanner passed over him, the sterile light tracing every inch of his body. The technician, a young woman with sharp features and an unreadable expression, finally nodded. "No anomalies detected. You're clear."

Sienna stepped down from her own scanner, rolling her shoulders. "Glad to know we're not infected with some interdimensional parasite."

The technician didn't smile. "Your ship is still under review. The energy readings are… abnormal."

Elias exchanged a glance with Sienna. "Define abnormal."

Before the technician could answer, the doors hissed open, and Admiral Roarke entered, his expression unreadable. "Come with me. Now."

They followed him through the cold, metallic corridors of Helios, past armed guards and research stations filled with analysts pouring over streams of data. The entire station felt tense, as though the air itself had thickened with unspoken fear.

Roarke led them into a secured observation chamber overlooking the docking bay. Through the reinforced glass, the Eclipse sat under heavy lockdown, surrounded by engineers and automated drones scanning every inch of the hull.

But it wasn't the ship itself that drew Elias's attention.

It was the thing floating above it.

A ripple in space, subtle but undeniable. Like a wound in reality itself.

Sienna sucked in a breath. "What the hell is that?"

Roarke's jaw tightened. "It appeared an hour after your arrival. It's not just hovering—it's attached to your ship."

Elias's mind raced. The energy signature. The visions. The Forgotten.

They hadn't just seen the entity beyond The Nexus.

They had brought something back.

LUX's voice, though no longer confined to their ship, crackled through the observation chamber's speakers.

"Foreign anomaly exhibiting non-linear mass fluctuations. Data corruption detected. Processing… Processing…"

The ripple shifted, as if aware it was being watched. The air around it bent, distorting the space between atoms.

And then—

The lights flickered.

Alarms blared.

The station shook.

Roarke grabbed the console, his voice sharp. "Status report!"

A frantic officer's voice came through the comms. "Sir! We've lost containment on Docking Bay Four—something is breaching the hull!"

Elias felt a pit open in his stomach.

The Nexus hadn't just shown them a warning.

It had sent something through.

Something that wasn't supposed to exist in their universe.

And now, it was awake.