Chapter 87: The Door Opens

  The hum of the QSE deepened.

  It wasn’t just running—it was reacting.

  Zak could feel the shift. The harmonic frequencies weren’t just stabilising anymore. They were aligning, synchronising across layers of dimensional resonance he couldn’t fully comprehend. This wasn’t merely an escalation—it was a transformation. A moment where everything felt poised to tip.

  Something was happening.

  Something irreversible.

  The door was opening.

  And Zak wasn’t sure if anyone could close it again.

  The chamber dimmed subtly, shadows bending in ways they shouldn’t. The Entity’s silhouette warped, flickering between the known and the unseen. Its voice emerged like a memory clawing its way into the present.

  "The Architects tried to control what lay beyond," it said. "They tried to shape it—to mould it to their will."

  Zak’s hands curled into fists.

  "And they failed."

  The Entity's hollow gaze held him.

  "They didn’t fail. They disappeared."

  Zak's breath hitched.

  They hadn't just vanished. They had stepped through the threshold. And something—something on the other side—had kept them.

  On a nearby terminal, EOSA analysts scrambled to decipher a new stream of data.

  ? TRANSMISSION INTERCEPTED FROM DEEP SPACE PROBE? UNKNOWN SIGNAL DETECTED—FREQUENCY MATCHES QSE OUTPUT? MESSAGE DECRYPTION IN PROGRESS...

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  Dr. Raines leaned in, voice low. “That’s impossible.”

  Agent Connors stood rigid, jaw clenched. “Tell me that isn’t what I think it is.”

  The analyst’s face drained of colour. “The QSE signal isn’t just transmitting. It’s being answered.”

  The Rift Expands

  Zak barely noticed the dialogue as the resonance shifted again. A dull pressure built in the base of his skull. He turned—and saw the first fracture.

  Barely the size of a pinhole at first, but shimmering with something unnatural. As if space was bruising around it.

  Within seconds, it grew. Warped. Stretched.

  The rift had begun.

  And Zak... stared.

  Because this wasn’t a breach in matter—it was a rent in understanding itself.

  At first, it was only darkness. Then—a silhouette. A massive structure, drifting in a void that seemed to defy direction or gravity. Jagged spires curved upward like talons. Lights blinked from its surface in a rhythm that echoed the QSE’s heartbeat.

  Zak’s voice trembled. “That’s not a gateway. That’s a prison.”

  Dr. Raines took a step back, whispering a prayer he didn’t finish.

  Within the rift, something stirred.

  And in that moment, the intercepted transmission crackled through.

  YOU HAVE REACHED TOO FAR. YOU MUST—

  Then, silence.

  Zak leaned in. “Finish it.”

  The analyst shook his head. “That’s all there is.”

  Zak’s stomach twisted. The warning had been cut off. Or worse—it had been interrupted.

  The Unseen Watchers

  He could feel it now. Not sound. Not movement. But presence.

  Something was aware of them.

  Something watching through the fracture.

  The Entity’s voice trembled. “They see you now.”

  Zak inhaled slowly, steeling himself. “Then let them come.”

  The final warning lights on the console erupted in crimson. The room itself pulsed. Engineers shouted, Dominion guards reached for weapons, and still, the rift grew.

  But Zak didn’t move.

  He knew, deep down, that this wasn’t a moment of retreat—it was the ultimate call to courage.

  Something crackled through the rift again—an image, this time. A shifting glyph, hovering mid-air, burning with violet light. It rotated slowly, etching itself into Zak’s vision. He blinked—and it was still there, like a brand scorched into reality.

  “What is it?” Connors asked, backing away.

  Zak didn’t answer. Because he wasn’t sure.

  The glyph pulsed once—then duplicated. Two, then three, then dozens began orbiting each other like celestial bodies.

  The Entity trembled. “A signal... or a summons.”

  Zak clenched his fists. “Whatever it is—it’s not just responding. It’s preparing.”

  Above them, the rift widened. Darkness leaked in like liquid, seeping into the edges of the chamber.

  The countdown had ended.

  The experiment was no longer theirs.

  And something was about to come through.