The abyss stretched before him, vast and unknowable.


    Vorian drifted above the event horizon, his ship suspended between gravity and void. Below, the black hole churned—a cosmic wound upon reality, swallowing light itself. Twin jets of energy erupted from its poles, piercing the dark like infinite spears, stretching far beyond the limits of sight.


    A force of destruction, yet paradoxically, a source of creation.


    The silence was absolute. No air to carry sound, no voices to interrupt his thoughts. And yet, in this vast stillness, something stirred within him—a quiet recognition.


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    He had traveled further than most ever would. Crossed the gulf between stars, seen worlds beyond counting, met beings of shapes and minds alien to his own. And yet, the same pattern repeated itself. Encounters. Conversations. Departures. No roots, no ties, no reason to linger.


    He was not lonely.


    But something needed to change.


    Vorian’s gaze lingered on the endless jets of light, stretching beyond his comprehension. Perhaps there was something waiting at the end of that infinity.


    Perhaps, this time, he would not leave so quickly.


    With a slow breath, he adjusted his course.