The chamber didn't empty immediately.
But the energy changed.
Not as tense.
Worse.
Focused.
The older commander stepped back toward the central display.
"Prepare the projection."
The room dimmed.
Lights fading until only the circular floor beneath them remained illuminated. Then—
The air shifted.
And the system activated.
A holographic structure unfolded above them.
Layer by layer.
Star maps.
Systems.
Clusters of inhabited worlds—some stable, some marked, some…
Gone.
Sera's eyes narrowed.
"…That's not just our sector."
"No," the commander said.
His voice carried differently now.
"This is everything we still have."
Silence.
The projection zoomed outward.
Hundreds of systems.
Then thousands.
Then—
Sections went dark.
Entire regions.
Missing.
Sera stepped forward.
"…What happened there?"
The commander didn't hesitate.
"They stopped responding."
A pause.
"Just like Virelia."
The room held still.
Because now—
This wasn't one world.
This was a pattern.
The projection shifted again.
Zooming inward.
One system.
Highlighted.
A single planet rotated slowly at the center of the display.
Dark.
But not dead.
Alive.
Kael stepped forward.
Something about it—
Felt familiar.
"What is it?" he asked.
The commander answered:
"Designation: Eryndor."
The image sharpened.
Continents covered in dense terrain—forests, mountains, massive structures integrated into the land itself. But unlike Virelia—
This world hadn't collapsed.
Not yet.
"We lost contact three days ago," the commander continued.
"No confirmed Bloom presence."
A pause.
"But the signal patterns…"
He glanced at Kael.
"They match what you described."
Kael didn't react outwardly.
But inside—
Something shifted.
That same awareness.
Faint.
Distant.
"…It's already started," he said.
The room went quiet again.
Because of how certain he sounded.
The commander nodded once.
"That's why you're going."
Sera turned sharply.
"No."
Her voice cut through the room.
"You don't send him back into that after what just happened."
The commander didn't look at her.
"We don't have a choice."
"You always have a choice," she snapped.
This time—
He did look at her.
"And if we're wrong?"
A beat.
"If we don't act now—if this spreads unchecked—"
He didn't finish.
He didn't need to.
Sera's jaw tightened.
She looked at Kael.
Waiting.
For him to say something.
For him to refuse.
Kael didn't.
He stepped forward.
Closer to the projection.
Closer to the planet.
And for a moment—
It felt like it was looking back.
"I'll go," he said.
Sera's head snapped toward him.
"…Kael."
He didn't look at her.
"Not because you're sending me," he continued.
His voice calm.
Controlled.
"Because it's already happening."
That was the truth.
And everyone in the room felt it.
The commander gave a single nod.
"Then we move immediately."
The projection collapsed.
Lights returned.
Orders began moving through the room.
But Kael didn't follow.
Not yet.
He turned.
And walked out.
Sera followed.
Of course she did.
The corridor outside was quieter.
Controlled.
But after everything—
It felt empty.
They didn't speak at first.
Just walked.
Until—
Sera stopped.
"…You're really doing this."
Kael didn't turn.
"Yes."
"That's not an answer."
Now he did.
Looked at her.
"What do you want me to say?"
"That you're not ready," she said.
A beat.
"That you don't even know what you are right now."
Silence.
Kael held her gaze.
Then—
"I know enough."
Her expression hardened.
"That's not good enough."
She stepped closer.
Lowered her voice.
"…You touched it, Kael."
A pause.
"You changed."
He didn't deny it.
Didn't argue.
Because she wasn't wrong.
But she wasn't right either.
"I didn't lose control," he said.
"No," she replied.
"That's what scares me."
That landed.
Not as conflict.
As truth.
Kael looked away briefly.
Then back at her.
"I can feel it," he said.
Her expression shifted.
Slightly.
"…What do you mean?"
Kael took a breath.
Carefully.
"Not like before."
A pause.
"Not pressure."
He searched for the right word.
"Structure."
Sera didn't speak.
Because she understood enough of that—
To know it wasn't normal.
"But it doesn't control me," Kael said.
Firm.
Clear.
"I decide what I do."
Another silence.
Then—
Sera nodded.
Once.
"…Then I'm coming with you."
Kael didn't react immediately.
Because he expected that.
"That's not your call," he said.
She stepped closer.
"It is now."
A beat.
"You think I'm letting you walk into that alone again?"
Kael almost said no.
Almost.
But then—
He didn't.
Because this time—
He knew better.
"…Fine," he said.
And just like that—
It was decided.
They stood there for a moment.
No orders.
No pressure.
Just quiet.
Then Sera spoke again.
"…Don't change on me."
Kael didn't answer right away.
Because he couldn't promise that.
But he said it anyway.
"I won't."
And for the first time since Virelia—
Sera almost believed him.
Far away—
Across the void—
Eryndor shifted.
Not collapsing.
Not yet.
But something beneath it—
Was waking up.
And this time—
It wasn't just watching.
It was waiting.