<div>


    Chapter 34: The Forgotten One


    Zak Carter no longer existed.


    At least, that’s what the world believed.


    The QSE was gone.The anomaly was sealed.The records were erased.


    EOSA’s final report was classified, buried under the highest level of security clearance.


    The Dominion scrubbed every trace of its involvement.


    The world moved on.


    But the universe never forgets.


    A Presence in the Void


    Zak was aware.


    Not alive. Not dead.


    Just… somewhere.


    He could feel everything and nothing at once.


    Time stretched and collapsed, folding over itself like ripples in a pond.


    He tried to move—but he had no body.


    He tried to speak—but there was no sound.


    He was trapped in the very void he had created.


    And then, he heard it.


    A whisper.


    "You do not belong here."


    Zak’s pulse—if he even had one anymore—quickened.


    The voice was not human.


    It was ancient. Familiar.


    And it was not alone.


    EOSA’s Quiet Investigation


    Dr. Raines sat alone in a darkened office.


    His hands trembled as he scrolled through confidential files.


    Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    Officially, the QSE project had never happened.


    Zak Carter had never existed.


    The anomaly was dismissed as cosmic background radiation noise.


    But Raines knew better.


    He had seen the last transmission.


    He had heard the final whispers.


    And he wasn’t the only one.


    An encrypted message blinked onto his screen.


    Sender: UNKNOWNSubject: "Zak Carter is still out there."


    Raines’ breath caught.


    His fingers hovered over the keyboard.


    Then—


    A second message.


    "Do not trust the Dominion. They are still watching."


    Raines’ pulse pounded.


    Someone else knew the truth.


    And now, so did he.


    The Dominion’s Next Move


    Agent Connors stood in a silent war room.


    The large screen before him displayed Zak’s last recorded energy signature.


    An analyst spoke hesitantly. “Sir, we confirmed it. The energy displacement is… unusual.”


    Connors narrowed his eyes. “Define unusual.”


    The analyst swallowed. “Zak Carter didn’t die. His energy signature was—redirected.”


    Connors’ blood ran cold.


    “Redirected where?”


    The analyst’s voice dropped to a whisper.


    "We don’t know. But something took him."


    Connors turned to the screen.


    If Zak was still out there…


    That meant the experiment wasn’t over.


    It was just beginning.


    Zak’s Awakening


    The whispers grew louder.


    Zak felt himself being pulled.


    Dragged across something vast, ancient, and unknowable.


    He saw stars forming, dying, collapsing into nothingness.


    He saw worlds lost to time.


    And then—


    He saw them.


    The Banished Ones.


    Not the ones he had freed.


    These were older.


    Darker.


    "You are not meant to be here."


    Zak tried to speak.


    Nothing came out.


    "You tampered with the gate. You altered the balance."


    The void shifted.


    And Zak felt it.


    The weight of what he had done.


    He had thought the war between the Architects and the Banished Ones was over.


    He was wrong.


    Something had been watching all along.


    Something greater.


    And now, it had noticed him.


    A Choice Yet to Come


    Zak felt his consciousness being pulled apart.


    Was he dying? Transforming? Becoming something else?


    He didn’t know.


    But one thing was certain.


    This wasn’t the end.


    It was just the next step.


    And the universe had plans for him.