In the distant star system, the foreign Hunger finally stabilized.
Kaito's lattice locked into place, dividing expansion into rotational equilibrium. The red giant stopped collapsing. The distortion compressed into a controlled dual-core rotation.
It was done.
Another world—saved.
The Watcher recalibrated, its form regaining structural clarity.
Containment successful. Scalability confirmed.
Kaito did not celebrate.
He felt the rupture from Earth like a scream across vacuum.
He turned instantly.
"What happened?"
The Watcher extended perception toward his home system.
The luminous grid shifted.
Earth's Boundary was no longer smooth.
It was cracked.
And something thin and unfamiliar pulsed within one of the fractures.
For the first time—
The Watcher's tone sharpened.
Anomaly classification unknown.