Orion couldn't shake the feeling that something inside him was shifting.
As the ship surged through hyperspace, the usual rhythm of the engines felt… different. The vibrations under his fingertips resonated with something deeper, almost as if his own body was attuning to the energy around him.
He didn't like it.
Lyra had been watching him closely since they left the anomaly behind, her gaze sharp and calculating. She didn't trust what had happened—and neither did he.
But the real question was: what was happening to him?
The moment the ship exited hyperspace near the Myridian Outpost, Orion exhaled, trying to ground himself. Myridian was a neutral trade hub, known for its black-market information brokers and those seeking to disappear. They needed answers, and this was the best place to start.
"Let's keep a low profile," Lyra muttered as they stepped onto the docking bay. "Last thing we need is to draw attention."
Orion gave a stiff nod, though something deep within him felt… uneasy. The station's artificial gravity pressed against him wrong, like the world itself had shifted a fraction of a degree off-axis.
He ignored it. For now.
They navigated through the bustling corridors, weaving between merchants, travelers, and mercenaries. The air was thick with the scent of burning fuel and exotic spices, the usual chaos of the outpost thriving around them.
Lyra led the way toward an old contact—Vek Toren, an information broker with a reputation for digging up things no one should know.
The moment they stepped into his dimly lit den, Vek's mechanical eye whirred as it zoomed in on Orion.
"Well, well," Vek drawled, leaning back in his chair. "Haven't seen you two in a while."
Lyra didn't waste time. "We need information on anomalous entities. Cross-dimensional incursions. And—" She glanced at Orion. "—genetic mutations."
Vek raised a brow, his cybernetic fingers tapping against his desk. "Interesting combination. What kind of trouble did you idiots get into this time?"
Orion clenched his jaw. "The kind that starts rewriting your DNA."
For the first time, Vek's smirk faded. His gaze turned calculating. "Show me."
Orion hesitated. But this was why they were here.
He exhaled slowly and reached out with his hand—
And the air shimmered.
A faint distortion pulsed around his fingers, a ripple in reality itself. Like the universe was struggling to define him.
Vek swore under his breath. "That… is not normal."
Lyra crossed her arms. "Tell us something we don't know."
Vek didn't answer immediately. Instead, he tapped a few keys on his interface, pulling up old, fragmented data streams. Glimpses of strange symbols, blurred images of beings that didn't belong to this plane of existence.
Then he turned to Orion, his expression grim.
"You're changing, kid."
Orion's pulse spiked.
"Into what?" he asked.
Vek exhaled, shaking his head. "That depends." His cybernetic fingers flexed. "On whether you survive it."
Silence settled between them.
Orion glanced at Lyra, her normally unshakable demeanor showing the faintest crack of concern.
He clenched his fists. He wasn't going to be a pawn in this. Not again.
"I need answers," Orion said. "And I need to know if this can be stopped."
Vek studied him for a long moment before sighing. "There's someone who might know."
Orion leaned in. "Who?"
Vek hesitated before speaking the name.
"The Keeper of the Nameless Vault."
The room seemed to grow colder. Even Lyra stiffened at the mention.
"You're joking," she said flatly.
Vek shook his head. "No joke. If anyone knows about this kind of thing, it's him." He paused. "But he doesn't give knowledge freely. If you go to him, be prepared to offer something in return."
Orion met Lyra's gaze. They both knew what this meant.
It was dangerous.
It was reckless.
And it was their only shot.
Orion exhaled. "Where do we find him?"
Vek smirked. "Hope you like impossible places."
Because the next stop on their journey?
The Edge of the Known Universe.