was the precise timestamp from a civilization that theoretically never existed.
A map projected from the terminal, showing not stars, but a path. It led deeper into the subterranean complex, toward a room that wasn't on any blueprints. Kaelen followed, the air growing colder, until he reached a chamber containing a single, humming crystalline pillar.
was the coordinates in the sunken ruins of the Old Earth data center.
As he reached out to touch , the display changed, revealing that the anomaly wasn't a malfunction—it was a message.