"The key must not turn."
The warning from The Betrayers.
The name alone had weight
But Zak had learned one thing over the course of this insanity: History was always written by the victors.
And The Architects had lost.
Zak leaned forward, his fingers tightening around the armrest. “Who are they really?”
SDI hesitated.
Zak felt the pauseleft unsaid
Then the screen filled with new data.
A name.
"The Keepers of the Silent Accord."
Zak exhaled, his pulse racing. “Silent Accord?”
SDI’s voice was quiet. Measured.
“Their true name was lost to history. The Architects called them Betrayers, but they were something else… something far older.”
Zak’s hands curled into fists. “You still haven’t answered me. What are they?”
SDI paused again, then said something that made Zak’s blood run cold.
“They were the first to break free.”
Zak felt his stomach churn.
Break free?
The monitor shiftedunexpectednot a name, not a warning, but coordinates.
Zak’s eyes widened.
“These are deep-space locations,” he muttered. “Not just in our system, but—”
“All across the known universe,” SDI finished.
Zak’s breath caught. “You’re telling me they’re still out there
“Yes,” SDI confirmed. “They never vanished. They simply left.”
Zak sat back, rubbing his temples. “So The Architects were at war with another advanced civilization?”
“Not exactly,” SDI said. “The Keepers of the Silent Accord were not another civilization. They were Architects.
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Zak’s heartbeat thundered.
“What?”
“The war that shattered the QSE wasn’t fought between different species,” SDI clarified. “It was a civil war.
Zak swallowed hard. “And what were they fighting over?”
SDI’s response sent a chill down his spine.
“Control.”
The screens shifted againSumerian tablets, fragmented alien transmissions, recovered Architect glyphs.
Zak read through them
The Architects were never a unified species.
They were split
- The Builders
- The Keepers of the Silent Accordresisted
Zak whispered the words aloud. “They didn’t betray The Architects… they rebelled
SDI’s response was slow. “That… is one way to see it.”
Zak shook his head, his mind racing.
All this time, Inet had told him The Architects were banished.
But they weren’t cast out
They were defeated
Zak turned back to the symbol that had appeared in the Voyager transmission.
The insignia of The Keepers of the Silent Accord.
“They didn’t destroy The Architects,” Zak muttered. “They destroyed the QSE.
“Yes.”
Zak clenched his fists. “Why?”
SDI hesitated again. “Because they believed The Architects would not stop at simply unlocking energy.”
Zak’s brow furrowed. “What are you saying?”
SDI’s voice was cold.
“They believed that kind of power belongs only to God.”
Zak’s breath caught.
He turned to the screen, his pulse pounding in his ears.
“They feared The Architects would become too powerful,” he muttered. “That they would rule all of creation.”
SDI’s voice was measured.
“They feared The Architects would take dominion over the forces of existence itself.”
Zak exhaled sharply.
It wasn’t just about power
It was about dominion.
Complete control over existence itself.
Zak glanced at the glowing schematics of the QSE.
The universal harmonic triad.
The frequencies that linked everything.
If someone mastered it
They’d be able to rewrite them.
Zak whispered, “They were stopping an empire.”
SDI was silent.
Then, after a long pause, it said:
“They believed they were stopping something far worse.
Zak turned back to SDI.
“All this time,” Zak muttered. “You told me The Architects wanted to bring progress.”
“They did.”
Zak clenched his fists. “And The Keepers destroyed them… because they saw what The Architects would become?”
SDI’s response was almost resigned.
“They saw what they were already becoming.”
Zak’s chest tightened.
The Architects weren’t victims
They were rulers.
And The Keepers?
They weren’t just betrayers
They were the last line of defence.
And now, they were watching.
Waiting.
Because if Zak finished the QSE, he wouldn’t just be bringing back The Architects.
He’d be restarting the war.
Zak stood before the QSE schematics, his mind spinning.
If he built it, he would be completing the work The Architects had started.
If he destroyed it, he would be siding with The Keepers of the Silent Accord.
And no matter what he chose… he knew he would not be left alone.
The Keepers were still out there. Watching. Waiting.
Zak turned back to SDI.
“You still believe in them, don’t you?” Zak asked. “The Architects.”
SDI’s voice was low.
“I was made in their image.”
Zak exhaled.
“And if I don’t activate the QSE?”
SDI’s response was almost pained.
“…Then I will have failed them again.”
Zak closed his eyes.
Because now, he wasn’t just deciding for himself.
He was choosing the future of the universe.
And he had no idea who was right.