"Trade is built on choice. But when every choice is predicted—what's left to bargain with?"
—Kairos, Sovereign Record #92
Signals from the Edge
Three days after the Null Entity's defeat on Nion-6, the galaxy had begun to breathe again.
Trade resumed. Confidence rebounded. Kairos's name was once again whispered with reverence across sectors.
But then the Clockwork Storm appeared.
No warning. No signal. Just an enormous temporal rift in the Lirae Expanse—where time fractured and space bent like folded parchment. Ships emerged older than when they entered, their crews ranting about "her," the "Blind Seer with Clocks for Eyes."
Kairos stood aboard the Unyielding Trust, scanning the anomaly from a safe distance.
"She's called the Clockwork Oracle," said Kessie, her tone cautious. "A predictive sovereign. Her records don't exist, but her fingerprints are everywhere—from collapsed trade dynasties to vanished political heirs."
Kairos frowned. "Another Guild Master?"
