The Starcore Sanctum no longer felt sacred.
Its light was intact, its structure whole—but the certainty it once carried was gone. The Void Sovereign's words lingered like cracks beneath polished stone, unseen yet impossible to ignore.
Ethan stood alone near the Silent Star's core, its glow reflecting in his eyes. The Second Pulse remained steady, but something deeper had begun to stir—quiet, patient.
Waiting.
Lyra broke the silence first.
"He didn't attack… he didn't threaten," she said slowly. "That's what scares me."
Eldric nodded, his voice heavy.
"The Sovereign never speaks without purpose. Every word he said was meant to destabilize us."
Vahl'Serath snorted.
"Or to prepare him."
He looked directly at Ethan.
"Tell us. What did you feel when he spoke?"
Ethan didn't answer immediately.
He placed a hand over his chest.
"I felt… clarity," he said finally.
"Not agreement. Not trust. Just—understanding."
Lyra stiffened.
"That's dangerous."
"Maybe," Ethan replied. "But ignoring it won't make it disappear."
The Silent Star's core pulsed once—low and resonant.
Then the Sanctum reacted.
The Aftershock
Without warning, the chamber shook violently.
Lines of light tore across the floor, forming complex sigils that hadn't appeared before. The constellations along the walls rearranged themselves, spinning faster and faster.
Eldric's eyes widened.
"This isn't the Sovereign. This is the Silent Star itself."
The core brightened, then dimmed—then brightened again.
A projection formed above it.
Not a vision of the future.
Not a warning.
A record.
Stars ignited across the chamber, forming a vast cosmic map. Entire galaxies appeared—then vanished. Civilizations rose, evolved… and collapsed.
Lyra whispered, horrified.
"It's showing us… cycles."
Ethan watched as a familiar pattern repeated.
A Starbearer rises.
The Silent Star awakens.
The Void Sovereign appears.
And the universe ends—differently each time, but inevitably.
Vahl'Serath's voice was low.
"So many cycles… and we lost every one."
The projection slowed.
One cycle remained incomplete.
The present.
A glowing thread extended from Ethan's position, branching outward—splitting into countless possible paths.
Some burned bright.
Some collapsed into darkness.
Some ended in silence.
Eldric felt his breath catch.
"I've never seen this before."
Lyra looked at Ethan.
"You're not just part of the cycle… you're the variable."
The Silent Star pulsed again.
This time, Ethan heard it clearly—not as a whisper, not as power—
But as intent.
Not destroy.
Not delay.
Choose.
The Price of the Third Pulse
The Sanctum shifted once more.
A new chamber opened behind the core—sealed, ancient, and untouched even by the Guardian.
Eldric recognized the markings instantly.
"No… that chamber was forbidden."
Vahl'Serath growled.
"That is where the Third Pulse is sealed."
Lyra turned sharply.
"Sealed? Why would the Silent Star seal its own power?"
Eldric didn't answer at first.
Then, quietly:
"Because the Third Pulse doesn't just amplify the bearer."
He looked at Ethan.
"It changes what you are."
The door to the chamber cracked open slightly.
Cold—not void-cold, but existential—spilled out.
Ethan felt it immediately.
Not pain.
Not fear.
Detachment.
Lyra grabbed his arm.
"Ethan, listen to me. Whatever the Sovereign is planning, awakening another Pulse could push you closer to him—not farther."
Ethan met her eyes.
"And doing nothing guarantees the cycle repeats."
Vahl'Serath stepped forward.
"The Third Pulse has a cost," he said bluntly.
"Every bearer who attempted it lost something they could never reclaim."
Ethan asked the question no one wanted to answer.
"What did they lose?"
Silence.
Then Eldric spoke.
"Their ability to see the universe as human."
The chamber door creaked wider.
The Silent Star's core dimmed—as if deliberately stepping back.
Leaving the decision to him.
Ethan took a slow breath.
He looked at Lyra.
At Eldric.
At Vahl'Serath.
Then back at the opening chamber.
"If the universe is already dying," he said, calm but firm,
"then clinging to what I am now won't save it."
The Second Pulse brightened—steady, aligned.
But deep beneath it…
Something answered.
Not yet awakened.
But aware.
Ethan stepped toward the sealed chamber.
Behind him, the Sanctum's light flickered—
not in warning…
but in anticipation.