The Artemis IV drifted through the cold corridor between Mars and Earth, its engines humming faintly against the endless dark. The crew had gone days without sleep—staring at the pulsing red ring that now surrounded the planet they called home.
From the cockpit, Liora watched the transmission logs looping endlessly: the same message repeating across every frequency, in every known language, in some that weren't even human.
> "The bloom has begun."
"The bloom has begun."
"The bloom has begun."
It played like a heartbeat of the cosmos—steady, unrelenting.
Kai shut off the sound with a heavy hand. "If I hear that again, I'm throwing the comm array into space."
Nova's tired laughter didn't hide her fear. "Doesn't matter. It'll still find us somehow."
Eris said nothing. He stood near the viewport, the faint glow of the crystal in his chest casting blue light across his suit. His reflection looked older now, worn and shadowed by the weight of what he'd seen on Mars.
Liora turned toward him. "You haven't said a word since the pulse reached Earth."
He exhaled slowly. "Because I can feel it. The energy's pulling toward the planet—like a tether."
"The same energy from Mars?" she asked.
"Not just Mars." He looked at her. "The same one from the beginning—the one that made the crystal."
Nova straightened. "Are you saying this thing's alive?"
"Alive," Eris said, "and remembering."
Before anyone could respond, alarms blared across the cabin. The ship jolted violently, throwing them off balance.
Kai grabbed the railing. "What now?!"
"Spatial distortion!" Nova yelled, her fingers racing across the console. "Something's opening ahead of us—no, not ahead… around us!"
Through the viewport, space itself rippled like water disturbed by a stone. The stars twisted, bending inward toward a single, glowing point.
Liora's breath caught. "A rift."
Eris steadied himself. "It's trying to pull us in."
"Engines to full!" Nova shouted. "If we don't break free now—"
The ship shook violently. Metal groaned. A deep hum filled the cabin—the same resonance that came from Mars. Eris's chest flared with light, and the rift responded. The colors in the void changed—red, gold, blue—until the entire field became blinding.
Liora screamed over the noise, "It's reacting to you!"
Eris clenched his fists. "Then maybe I can control it!"
He reached toward the console and placed his hand on the ship's interface. The crystal's glow surged into the control matrix, flooding every system with energy.
For a heartbeat, time stopped.
The rift froze, light bending in slow motion. Eris's mind filled with visions—flashes of red soil, golden temples, and a colossal being buried beneath the Martian core. He saw Earth bathed in the same crimson glow, oceans parting, continents trembling.
Then—everything shattered.
The ship was hurled through the rift.
---
When they awoke, there was silence.
Outside, no stars. No Mars. No Earth.
Only a vast, colorless void filled with fragments of shattered worlds drifting endlessly.
Nova's voice shook. "Where… where are we?"
Liora whispered, "Not where. When."
Eris opened his eyes. The glow in his chest flickered weakly.
And before them, floating among the ruins of dead planets, was a single, pulsing crystal—larger than a moon.
It beat once.
And a voice filled the void:
> "Welcome back, Eris. You've reached the Echo Plane—the birthplace of gods."