The coordinates shimmered before them — not just in space, but in time. A spiral of light traced a path billions of years into the past, into the mythic age of the Architects. Seojun reached toward the map, and the vault responded. With a soft hum, a gateway formed — translucent, pulsing with blue-white energy.
"It's not just a jump drive," Nova murmured. "It's a temporal vector. This… this can take us to their beginning."
Hana stepped forward. "And if we go… we won't just be observers. We'll be walking into a world untouched by human thought."
Seojun nodded. "Then let's make sure we don't go as conquerors."
The crew prepared the Eidolon. Shielding arrays calibrated for temporal pressure. Neural anchors linked to keep their minds from unraveling in nonlinear time. As they crossed the threshold, reality twisted — stars moving in reverse, galaxies rewinding.
And then—
Silence. Light. A world suspended in creation.
They arrived above a planet that shimmered like a living gem. Structures floated midair, formed not from stone or steel but ideas. Towering beings moved among them — ten meters tall, translucent skin glowing with constellations beneath. The Architects.
The Eidolon's cloaking held. For now.
"They haven't noticed us," Elias whispered. "We're ghosts to them."
But the Seed in Seojun's chest pulsed violently — a beacon.
One of the Architect titans turned. Its eyes — or what passed for eyes — locked onto them.
"It sees us," Nova breathed.
Worse — it was coming.
The being didn't speak, but its voice echoed directly into their minds. Not in words, but in emotion: Pain. Hope. Warning.
Seojun clutched his head. The visions came like lightning: a war among the Architects. A betrayal. A Seed fractured across time. And a name — Vael'Tharan — whispered in agony.
"The one who fell," Seojun gasped. "The one who… became the Harbinger."
The Architect reached out. The Eidolon shook violently.
"Brace for contact!" Hana shouted.
But the ship didn't explode. Instead — it vanished.
And the crew found themselves standing on the planet's surface.
The Architect towered before them, kneeling.
Then — in perfect English — it spoke:
"You carry what we lost. You stand at the end… but this is the beginning. Will you remember us?"