Immortality had never looked so much like sacrifice. Vriishany stands ready to give up everything for forever—willing, hopeful, and blind to the truth. But as the ritual begins, Linuka feels something go wrong deep within her. Not fear. Not doubt. Something older. Something that recoils. And suddenly, the path ahead narrows to one inevitable destination.

The immortals ruled through time—through endless futures, carefully weighed and chosen. So why would Linuka Omga collapse them all into a single moment? Rige stared at the unfolding pattern. Fewer possibilities. Fewer paths. A forced move. And finally—an opening.

No evacuation. Rige was glad she had made that call. There was no point—unless someone wanted to evacuate the entire star system. She almost laughed at the futility of blast doors and containment fields. Linuka Omga had not sent a message. She had sent a causality bomb.