The multiverse had grown quiet, but silence did not mean peace.
From the Nexus Core, Elara stood overlooking the holographic weave of realities—a lattice of intersecting lines, constantly shifting in color, light, and tension. Once collapsing, the network now pulsed with irregular anomalies. She narrowed her eyes at the patterns surfacing on the console. They weren't random.
They were all identical.
A specific energy resonance. One she knew far too well.
Kael.
"Elara," the AI chimed. "Another spike just registered in Earth Theta-4. Identical quantum drift to the last twelve anomalies."
"Cross-reference all previous events," she replied, already punching commands. "Build a trail map."
The system sprang to life, revealing points across time and space—planets, timelines, entire realms—all now touched by these echoes. The energy bore Kael's unique imprint, a pattern no one else could replicate. Elara's hands trembled. Kael was gone—his consciousness sacrificed to anchor the multiverse. And yet, pieces of him were moving.
Acting.
Her heart twisted. Hope and dread tangled.
"Visual link Theta-4," she ordered.
A holoscreen blinked to life. A boy—no older than ten—floated midair above a crumbling city. Blue light flickered in his eyes, and when he spoke, the words vibrated with power. "Stability is an illusion. Truth lies between time's breath."
Elara stumbled backward. The boy's voice was Kael's—layered and haunting. Not a reincarnation. Not an avatar. An echo.
Before she could order containment, an alert flashed: ENTROPIC ENERGY DETECTED – UNREGISTERED SIGNATURE.
A second anomaly had opened—in a realm that technically no longer existed. A timeline collapsed during the Architect's war.
"That's impossible…" she whispered.
From the dark recesses of forgotten time, something stirred. Something… ancient. Something that recognized Kael. And it was watching.
Elara's comm buzzed.
"Get me every multiversal tracker we have," she said. "Something's piggybacking off Kael's echoes. We need to move."
As she spoke, another alert flared: a third echo—Earth-Kappa-9. Elara stared as the points lit up, forming a spiral across the multiverse.
"He left us a trail…"
And someone—or something—was following it.