The light at the center kept growing, thin like it could cut through space itself.
Everyone held their position.
No one dared to breathe too hard.
Then Arken stopped.
His eyes shifted away from the core for a fraction of a second.
"…Something's wrong," he said.
Ash didn't look at him. "Don't lose focus. We're at the critical phase."
"I'm not talking about us."
That was enough.
A few of the others hesitated, their energy wavering for a brief moment. The floor lights flickered in response, as if reacting to doubt.
Arken slowly raised his head.
His gaze moved past the chamber walls, past the fortress, past the visible edge of the moon.
Far on the dark side.
There was a pressure in space.
Not like their own work. Not like the controlled tear they were building.
Before anyone could react, space itself bend. A ripple passed through the void above the moon.
Then a tear opened.
