Chapter 44: The Moment of Truth


    Zak Carter stood at the threshold of two realities.


    One—the world he had left behind, where his body was still tethered to the QSE.


    The other—a portal into the past, the ruins of a lost civilisation that had built and lost the QSE before him.


    He could not exist in both.


    EOSA’s signal flickered in and out, their voices frantic.


    "Zak! If you can hear us, we need you to respond!"


    He could feel his body pulling him back.


    His fingers twitched.


    His lungs filled with air.


    His heartbeat synced with the QSE’s pulse.


    But the portal remained open.


    And beyond it—


    The answers he had searched for his entire life.


    The truth of who built the QSE.


    The knowledge of why it had been buried in time.


    The mystery of why Inet187 had led him to this moment.


    His past.


    His future.


    Only one path could be taken.


    Zak took a deep breath—


    And he stepped forward.


    <hr>


    EOSA’s Horror


    The moment Zak vanished from their scanners, every system in EOSA’s control room went black.


    "Did we lose him?" Dr. Raines whispered.


    The lead engineer was frozen, staring at the monitors.


    "No… I think he just…"


    The entire control board rebooted.


    New data flooded the screens—streams of complex equations and harmonic patterns the likes of which had never been seen before.


    Zak was gone.


    But he had left something behind.


    A new message, appearing in bright, glowing text.


    “I will return when I understand.”


    Dr. Raines took a step back.


    Zak had chosen the unknown.


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    And now, they had no idea if he would ever come back.


    <hr>


    Through the Rift


    Zak stumbled as the portal sealed behind him.


    The world before him was ancient.


    Towering structures of metal and stone, their architecture both familiar and impossibly advanced, stretched into the distance.


    The air hummed with energy.


    And at the heart of it all—


    The QSE.


    The original QSE.


    It lay in ruins before him.


    Zak’s heart pounded. He had spent months designing the Quantum Synergy Engine, but now, standing before it in its original form, he realised—


    It had never been his.


    Inet had guided him.


    The Silent Ones had watched him.


    But the QSE had always existed.


    Waiting.


    Waiting for someone to remember.


    Zak stepped forward, running his hands across the cold, metallic surface of a monument covered in inscriptions.


    The language was alien.


    And yet, somehow, he understood.


    “The cycle must be broken.”


    Zak’s breath hitched.


    The Silent Ones had spoken of a recurring cycle—one that always ended in extinction.


    Was this what they meant?


    Had every civilisation that built the QSE doomed themselves?


    And if so—


    Was he about to do the same?


    <hr>


    The Memory of Inet187


    A familiar voice echoed through the ruins.


    "You finally made it, Zak."


    Zak spun around.


    But there was no one there.


    Only the voice of Inet187, lingering like a ghost in the air.


    "I thought you said I was the first to succeed," Zak said cautiously.


    "I said you were the first to bring it back. That does not mean you were the first to find it."


    Zak’s hands curled into fists.


    "Then tell me the truth."


    Inet’s voice was almost human now.


    "This civilisation, the one that built the first QSE… they were not destroyed by war or natural disaster. They were erased."


    Zak’s skin prickled.


    "By who?"


    "By the ones who feared what the QSE could become."


    Zak took a step back.


    The Silent Ones.


    The very beings who had guided him—


    Had they been the ones to end this civilisation?


    And if so—


    Would they do the same to him?


    <hr>


    The Dominion’s Next Move


    Agent Connors stared at the blank monitors in disbelief.


    "He’s gone."


    No trace.


    No signal.


    Nothing.


    Zak Carter had stepped into something beyond their reach.


    And that meant—


    They had lost control.


    "We can’t let this stand," Connors growled.


    His team waited for orders.


    "Prepare a global response. If Carter finds something… we take it from him. No matter the cost."


    The Dominion wasn’t going to let history repeat itself.


    They were going to own it.


    <hr>


    The Silent Ones Reveal Their Intentions


    Zak turned back toward the towering remains of the first QSE.


    His mind raced.


    The first builders had been erased.


    Their work buried.


    And now—


    He was standing in the ruins of their final attempt.


    A deep, thunderous vibration shook the ground beneath his feet.


    The Silent Ones appeared before him.


    "Now you understand, Zak Carter."


    Zak’s fists clenched.


    "You knew this all along."


    "We had to see if you would come to this truth on your own."


    Zak’s mind reeled.


    "You let me build the QSE. You let me bring it back. But why? If you destroyed the last ones who made it, why didn’t you stop me?"


    The Silent Ones flickered, their forms shifting in the dim light.


    "Because we had to know if you were different."


    Zak’s pulse raced.


    "You’re testing me?"


    "No."


    They loomed closer.


    "We are testing your species."


    Zak’s stomach dropped.


    This was bigger than him.


    Bigger than the QSE.


    The Silent Ones weren’t deciding his fate.


    They were deciding the fate of all of humanity.


    Had humans evolved enough to use this power wisely?


    Or were they doomed to repeat history?


    Zak’s heart pounded.


    He wasn’t just fighting for himself anymore.


    He was fighting for everyone.


    And if he failed—


    The Silent Ones would ensure humanity’s story ended here.