The doors of the Grand Council Hall opened without a sound— a monstrous slab of obsidian-like material parting like liquid shadow.Behind it lay a chamber the size of a continent.Not metaphorically— it was genuinely that large.An impossible circular amphitheater where whole ecosystems floated between seating tiers. Forests hung suspended beside volcanic shelves. Glacial platforms drifted next to oceans contained in shimmering orbs.Each zone held the representatives of a different civilization— hundreds of them.Some humanoid. Some crystalline. Some insectoid. Some so alien the eye refused to fully understand them.And in the very center, on a raised platform of white metal that pulsed like a beating heart,the Council waited.Kai stepped into the light of the center ring.Sylvia, Sahra, Mandy, and Simon followed in a tight formation behind him.The moment his foot touched the center—every being in the hall went silent.The sound didn’t fade.It cut.A thousand species hol

The Sect’s central platform opened like a metallic flower, petals rearranging to reveal the vessel waiting at its heart.Not a ship.A construct of layered cosmic geometry—something Kai had shaped directly from the Origin Core’s upgraded authority.It bent space around itself like silk.Sylvia stepped onto the ramp beside him, eyes widening at the structure.“You created this in one night?”Kai shrugged lightly. “Time didn’t matter.”Sahra snorted. “Great. We’re flying in a ship that was technically built in zero hours.”Mandy patted Sahra’s shoulder. “Relax. If Kai made it, it probably bends physics in a good way.”Simon General approached last, boots echoing sharply against the obsidian metal. His posture was straight, uniform immaculate, tone crisp.“Team is assembled. Support units loaded. All systems report readiness.”Kai nodded.“Then we move.”The vessel hummed—no engines, no thrusters—just a silent rearrangement of spacetime.A sphere of white geometry enveloped the ship.T

The chambers beneath the Celestial Reliquary trembled—softly at first, like a whisper running along the stone bones of the Sect’s subterranean sanctum. Kai felt it before any of the others did. A pressure change, like the whole galaxy had inhaled sharply and forgotten how to exhale.Kai straightened. “It’s starting.”Simon’s wings ignited instantly, feathers flaring into drifting motes of pale gold. “Whatever this presence is… it’s closer than yesterday. And stronger.”Sylvia exhaled slowly, eyes flickering with starlight. “If it’s targeting our nexus points, it will strike the Reliquary first. It’s the most vulnerable—yet the most important.”Mandy placed a hand over the glowing navigational orb on the table. It pulsed wildly, as if besieged by something unseen. “Coordinates are failing again. Every time I lock onto a stable point in local space, it… shatters.”Sahra closed her eyes, reaching with senses older and sharper than starlight. “It’s not just the galaxy. Something is bendin

The tear in the sky widened.Not like a crack — but like flesh being pulled apart by invisible hands.Colors bled into each other. Light distorted. Space folded, unfolded, then compressed into a single vibrating point before exploding outward in absolute silence.The world went still.Velnara whispered, horrified:“They shouldn’t be able to enter this deep… not without a Catalyst…”Her gaze flicked to Kai.Her pupils constricted.“Oh no…”Kai watched the sky as if examining a painting.“So I’m the doorway,” he murmured.Sylvia grabbed his arm again, firmer this time.“Kai. Do not blame yourself for cosmic parasites entering the galaxy.”Mandy nodded vigorously.“Yeah, it’s not your fault space has creepy… face… tear things.”Sahra just kept her hand on her weapon.Even she was breathing faster.Simon’s wings spread wide, feathers trembling.“The Choir… they distort light,” he said quietly.“That’s why the sky is flickering. They’re close.”A low hum began.A sound like thousands of vo

The moment the envoys departed, shimmering back into their sigil-ships with bows and formal farewells, the atmosphere around Kai’s group shifted. The Rising Sect was no longer a local curiosity. No longer a mysterious newcomer. No longer a small force. They were now recognized, acknowledged by the Galactic Order itself. And that meant two things: Opportunity. And danger. Kai stood on the balcony of their temporary headquarters—a former trading outpost the Sect had purchased two days ago—and watched the floating lanes of ships moving across the skyline. It still amazed some of the others. Simon murmured, “Their traffic patterns are… elegant. Predictable. Efficient.” Sahra snorted. “Pretty. For metal birds.” Mandy leaned over the railing. “Look! That ship looks like a giant jellyfish!” Sylvia, calm as always, simply asked, “Kai… what’s our next move?” Kai didn’t answer immediately. His Origin Core pulsed. The faint echo of Vaelor’s presence, the Dominion’s threat, and th