Trần Hoàng Nam stood still, eyes fixed on the two shards before him. One glowed with a soft, radiant light—warm, stable, humming with the resonance of ancient knowledge. The other pulsed with raw, chaotic energy—Dark Matter in its purest form, promising power beyond comprehension.
Behind him, the air vibrated with urgency. The Eventide Pod's systems screamed warnings in digital tongues. Above them, the armada loomed larger, closing in, casting their shadows across the alien surface like vultures descending on carrion.
Ái Lan placed a hand on Nam's shoulder. "We don't have time. Whatever we choose… it has to be now."
Nam exhaled. "One gives us the truth. The other gives us the means to fight."
"And neither gives mercy," the Aethryn whispered, their voices now trembling through the ground. "You cannot hold both. The mind fractures under the weight."
Nam reached out—and closed his hand around the white shard.
A flash. No heat, no pain. Only... expansion.
The universe bloomed inside his mind. He saw the rise and fall of civilizations older than galaxies. He felt the birth of stars, the collapse of dimensions, the screams of species who had touched Dark Matter—and paid the price.
The Aethryn knelt.
"You carry our legacy now. The knowledge of the Infinite Weave."
Nam staggered. "What... what do I do with it?"
"Survive. Or perish trying. But the truth must not die again."
Suddenly, the ground beneath them shook. The Dominion had arrived.
Dropships broke through the sky, engines screaming. Armored soldiers—Voidtroopers—rappelled down in sleek black exo-suits, guns already aimed.
From one of the ships descended a tall figure in silver armor—General Bùi Hữu Hoàng, the warlord of the Dominion, eyes gleaming with cruel intelligence.
He spotted Nam.
"Well, well. The disgraced strategist finds godhood in exile." He smirked. "Hand it over."
Nam's voice was cold. "You don't even know what it is."
Hoàng raised his weapon. "I don't need to. I just need to own it."
Ái Lan stepped forward, a plasma pistol in each hand. "Over my dead body."
"Gladly," Hoàng sneered, and motioned for his troops to fire.
But before the first shot was released, the Aethryn acted. A ripple of thought surged across the battlefield, halting every Dominion soldier mid-motion.
"They are not ready," the Aethryn said. "But you will make them ready."
Nam turned to Lan. "We're not fighting to win. Not yet."
"Then what?"
"To get out alive—and take this knowledge back to those who still believe."
Nam reached into the pod and activated the Eventide jump drive.
"Coordinates?" Lan shouted.
He looked at her. "Anywhere but here."
A blinding flash engulfed them.
And just like that, they vanished—leaving behind a battlefield suspended in thought and war, where the next move could determine the fate of the entire galaxy.