Zak took a slow, deliberate breath.

  His mind buzzed with the weight of his decision.

  No turning back.

  The QSEAntiquus Porta

  This wasn’t just a theory

  Something on the other side

  And now, he was going to meet it.

  The underground facility was a battlefield of tension.

  Agent Connors' cold, unreadable gaze

  “You have no idea what you’re doing,” he said flatly.

  Zak’s jaw tightened. “Neither do you.”

  Connors' lips thinned. “We’re not asking anymore.”

  Zak didn’t flinch. “Then shoot me.”

  A tense silence.

  Zak could feel his heartbeat pounding against his ribs.

  He wasn’t bluffing.

  And Connors knew it.

  Finally, the agent sighed and motioned to his men. “Stand down.”

  Zak exhaled slowly, his hands clenching into fists.

  He had won this round.

  But he knew Connors wasn’t done with him yet.

  “SDI,” Zak said, turning back to the AI. “Are we ready?”

  SDI’s interface flickered. “The portal’s harmonic frequency is stabilizing. However—”

  Zak cut him off.

  “Don’t tell me to stop. Just tell me how to do this.”

  SDI paused.

  Then, its response came, calm and precise.

  “Step onto the Quantum Interface Platform. Synchronization will begin automatically. Your molecular structure will temporarily align with the harmonic field.”

  Zak’s stomach twisted.

  He was about to step into a machine that had never been tested.

  A machine that might never bring him back.

  He took a breath.

  Then, he stepped forward.

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  The platform beneath his feet

  The harmonic frequencies surged.

  The Antiquus Porta glowed.

  Zak heard Raines whisper behind him.

  “God help us.”

  And then, everything went white.

  Zak was weightless.

  He couldn’t see. Couldn’t move. Couldn’t breathe.

  He was everywhere and nowhere at the same time.

  The harmonic triad frequencies danced through him,

  For a moment, he thought he was dying.

  Then, suddenly—

  A voice.

  "You have come far."

  Zak’s eyes snapped open.

  He was standing.

  The world around him was impossible.

  The sky above was not a sky at all

  Shapes floated in the distance

  He wasn’t in space.

  He wasn’t on a planet.

  He was somewhere else entirely.

  Zak turned slowly, his heart hammering.

  Then, he saw them.

  The Ones Who Fled.

  They weren’t human.

  Not even close.

  They were tall,facesvaguely humanoiddefied logic.

  One of them stepped forward.

  Its voice didn’t come from its mouth. It came from everywhere.

  "Zak Carter. You carry the key."

  Zak’s throat went dry.

  He forced himself to speak.

  “Who… are you?”

  The being tilted its head.

  "We are what remains."

  Zak swallowed. “Of what?”

  The being’s form wavered, darkening.

  "Of those who built your world."

  Zak’s stomach dropped.

  They weren’t the Keepers.

  They weren’t the ones who tried to stop the QSE.

  They were the ones who made it.

  The true Architects.

  The ones who had been erased from history.

  Zak took a shaky step forward.

  “What happened to you?”

  The Architect’s voice softened.

  "We were betrayed."

  Zak felt a cold dread

  “The Keepers?” he asked carefully.

  The being shook its head.

  "No. Not the Keepers. The ones who came after."

  Zak’s mind raced.

  The ones who came after?

  Who—

  Then, realization struck him like a thunderbolt.

  "The Dominion," he whispered.

  The Architect nodded.

  "They have always been there. Waiting. Guiding. Keeping your kind from remembering."

  Zak felt his world tilt.

  The Dominion wasn’t just a modern shadow organization.

  They had been there since the beginning.

  They weren’t controlling just governments.

  They were controlling history.

  Zak’s breathing was shaky.

  He forced himself to ask the question that had haunted him since the beginning.

  “The Antiquus Porta… is it a machine?”

  The Architect studied him.

  "It is more than that."

  Zak clenched his fists. “Then what is it?”

  The being’s gaze was unreadable.

  "A lock. And a door."

  Zak felt his pulse spike.

  “What’s on the other side?”

  The Architect’s voice was quiet.

  "A war that never ended."

  Zak’s breath hitched.

  He shook his head. “No, the war ended. The Keepers stopped you.”

  The Architect’s form flickered, its voice sadder now.

  "You misunderstand. The war did not end. It was merely… paused."

  Zak’s heart pounded.

  "You mean—"

  "Yes, Zak Carter. The enemy never left. And now, they know you are here."

  Zak felt the ground beneath him shift.

  The world around him blurred, twisted.

  Something was pulling him back.

  The Architects began to fade.

  "You must prepare, Zak Carter. What you build now will determine what comes next."

  Zak tried to hold on.

  “Wait! What do I do?”

  The last thing he heard before the world collapsed around him was one final message.

  "Finish the QSE. It is the only way."

  Then—

  Darkness.

  Zak’s eyes snapped open.

  He was on the platform again.

  The QSE hummed softly

  His hands were shaking.

  The Dominion agents stood there, watching him.

  Dr. Raines’ face was pale.

  Agent Connors spoke first.

  “What did you see?”

  Zak slowly turned to face him.

  And then, for the first time, he understood the full scope of what he had done.

  The war wasn’t over.

  It had only just begun.

  And now, he was right in the middle of it.