My Infinite System.

The Star-Jumper slid back into the familiar space around Earth with a quiet hum, a speck of dust returning to its shelf. The blue-green marble hung in the viewport, deceptively peaceful. After the crushing silence of the Black Vault, the chatter of orbital traffic and the bright beacon of the Citadel felt like returning to a noisy, familiar room.

They didn’t bother with docking formalities. Reia had already sent a priority ping to Lucian the moment they hit the inner system. By the time the ship settled into its berth in the Citadel’s main hangar, he was already there, waiting.

He stood with Marc a few paces behind him, both of them still in combat gear, smelling of ozone and sweat. Lucian’s arms were crossed, his face a carefully neutral mask, but his eyes were sharp, taking in their grim expressions.

”You’re back fast,” he said by way of greeting. ”That’s either really good or really bad.”

”It’s... a lot,” Silas said, hopping down the ramp and stretching. ”My brain still hurts.”

Reia and Evelyn followed, with Kaela bringing up the rear, her posture as impeccably composed as ever. Reia carried a data crystal, its faint blue light pulsing in her hand.

”We found him,” Reia said, cutting straight to the point. ”We know where Alistair is.”

Lucian’s neutral mask cracked. Just a flicker in his eyes, a quick tensing of his jaw. Marc, behind him, went very still.

”Where?” The word was low, a demand.

”A galaxy called The Cradle,” Evelyn explained. ”In a region called the Veil. It’s a warzone between the two other primordial races, the Diva and Ashura. He’s hiding right in the middle of it.”

Lucian processed this, his brow furrowing. ”A warzone. Why?”

”Because it’s the last place anyone would look for him,” Kaela interjected smoothly. ”It is the heart of his old empire, now a scar everyone avoids. His presence there is an act of supreme arrogance, or perhaps desperation. He has created a pocket of absolute stability there, a void in the chaos.”

”Okay,” Marc said, speaking for the first time. His voice was calm, analytical. ”So we know the city. What’s the address? And how do we get there without getting vaporized by two ancient, pissed-off super-races?”

Reia held up the data crystal. ”That’s the other part. We can’t fly there. Their border patrols would detect us before we even got close. But we don’t have to.” She looked directly at Lucian. ”The Aethel didn’t use ships for long distances. They used something else. Pathways through the layers of reality. Nexus Points.”

Lucian stared at her, uncomprehending. ”Pathways.”

”Think of it like a subway system,” Silas offered helpfully. ”But, you know, for gods. Goes under all the traffic.”

Reia ignored him. ”There’s a Nexus Point that leads directly to the Veil. An entrance.” She paused, letting the significance hang in the air. ”It’s here. In our solar system. Out in the Kuiper Belt.”

For a long moment, there was no sound except the distant whine of a shuttle engine in the hangar. Lucian’s eyes widened slightly, the pieces clicking into place with an almost audible snap.

”Here?” he repeated, his voice dangerously soft. ”It’s been here the whole time?”

Evelyn nodded. ”It explains why he was on Earth, Lucian. It wasn’t just random. This system, this planet... it’s a station on his private train line.”

Lucian turned away from them, running a hand through his hair. He took a few steps toward a viewport showing the endless starfield, his back rigid. They could see the muscles in his shoulders tighten.

”So everything,” he said, his voice barely carrying over the hangar noise. ”The invasion. My mother. Marc being taken. All of it... it wasn’t just about awakening us. It was about securing this... this gateway. Our home was just a convenient stop on his commute.”

The cold, flat tone sent a chill through Evelyn. This wasn’t the hot rage from before. This was something colder, harder, more determined.

He turned back around, and his face was like carved stone. ”Show me.”

They moved to the Citadel’s war room. Reia slotted the crystal, and a holographic star map bloomed above the central table. She walked them through it all—The Cradle galaxy, the turbulent Veil, the unnaturally calm point at its center, and finally, the pulsating marker in the cold dark of the Kuiper Belt.

Lucian listened in silence, his arms crossed, his eyes fixed on the hologram. Marc leaned against the wall nearby, his expression unreadable.

When Reia finished, the only sound was the low hum of the projector.

”So,” Lucian said, finally breaking the silence. ”We have a back door straight into his living room.” He looked at Reia, then at Kaela. ”You’re sure this... pathway will work?”

”The theory is sound,” Kaela replied, choosing her words carefully. ”The mechanics, however, are a complete unknown. Our technology cannot activate a Nexus Point. The texts suggest it requires a specific... key. A resonance that only an Aethel can provide.”

All eyes shifted to Lucian.

He didn’t seem surprised. He gave a slow, grim nod. ”Of course it does.” He pushed off from the table he’d been leaning on. ”Then I guess I’m driving.”

”Whoa, hold on,” Marc said, straightening up. ”You’re just going to walk up to a cosmic mystery box and poke it with your Aethel-stick? We have no idea what’s on the other side. It could be a trap. It could just vaporize you the second you try.”

”What’s the alternative, Marc?” Lucian asked, his gaze steady. ”Wait for him to come to us again? Wait for him to decide Lucy’s ready? We have a chance to take him by surprise. I’m not wasting it.”

”I’m not saying we wait,” Marc countered, his voice rising. ”I’m saying we think this through! We just got this intel. We need to plan. We need to scout.”

”Scout how?” Lucian shot back. ”Send a probe? You heard them. It needs an Aethel to open. It’s me, it needs you, or it’s nothing.”

”Then it’s you with a plan,” Marc insisted, stepping forward. ”Not you charging in blind because you’re pissed off.”

The two brothers stared each other down, the air between them crackling with old arguments and new fears.

”He’s right, Lucian.”

Everyone turned to look at Reia. She met his stubborn gaze without flinching. ”This isn’t a monster gate. This is the unknown. We go, yes. But we go smart. We take the Star-Jumper. We approach the coordinates with extreme caution. We run every scan we can before you even think about interacting with it. If it really is a pathway, we need to know what we’re walking into.”

Lucian held her gaze for a long moment, then his shoulders slumped slightly. The fight went out of him, replaced by a weary acceptance. He knew they were right. His desire to smash something, to finally get his hands on his father, was a luxury he couldn’t afford.

”Fine,” he conceded, the word tasting bitter. ”We do it your way. Cautiously.” He looked around the room, at his brother, his friends, and the corporate CEO who had somehow become an ally. ”But we go soon. I’m not giving him any more time than we have to.”

He turned back to the hologram, his eyes locked on the quiet, waiting point in the Kuiper Belt.

”We’re going to use his own front door,” Lucian murmured, a predator’s smile finally touching his lips. ”And we’re not going to knock.”