The ship trembled as it entered the scarred system—the one the Vaelari called "The Wound." Gravity fluxed unnaturally, and stars bent in unnatural angles around the rift's faded remnants.
Kaela kept her eyes on the viewport. "This place shouldn't exist… it's like reality is barely holding together."
Merek's readings flickered with instability. "Residual energy from the original summoning. It's not just a scar—it's a threshold."
Lira added quietly, "And something is stirring beneath the surface of the Core."
As they neared the planet at the system's center, Titan felt a pressure building in his chest. Visions flickered in his mind—images of towering crystalline spires, swirling glyphs, and the echoing voices of the Vaelari.
He gripped the edge of the console.
"Titan?" Kaela asked, stepping toward him. "What's wrong?"
He looked up, eyes glowing faintly.
"I've seen this place before… in dreams. In memories that aren't mine."
Lira scanned him. "There's latent genetic resonance—Vaelari energy imprinted on your neural patterns. You're not just connected to them… you're partially descended from them."
A silence fell over the crew.
Titan stared out at the Core's surface—jagged, glowing with buried light.
"I was born to close what they opened."