Chapter 4 – When Memory Bends

Kael couldn't stop trembling.

Even after the lights stopped flashing and the alarms faded, his knees refused to trust the ground. His heart thudded so loud it filled his ears. Juno sat beside him, lips pressed into a hard line, her blaster still shaking in her grip.

The version of Kael—older, ruined, glowing—was gone.

Vanished.

As if the ship itself had swallowed him.

"Where did he go?" Kael asked, breathless.

Juno slowly holstered her weapon. "Nowhere. That's the problem. He didn't teleport. He didn't die. He unraveled."

Kael blinked. "What does that mean?"

Juno looked him in the eyes, her voice soft, almost afraid. "It means time is bending. Loops are starting to fold in on themselves."

A slow silence fell.

Kael felt like a child again, the day his dog vanished without a trace on the streets of Sobo Prime. He remembered searching all night, crying in alleys, until his father finally found him asleep in a drainpipe.

Except this time, it wasn't a dog that disappeared.

It was himself.

Juno stood and walked over to the vault screen. She typed quickly, fingers dancing like she was composing a piano piece only she could hear.

"You said the star chose you," she said without looking at him.

Kael nodded.

"Then we need to find out what else it's chosen," she added.

Just then, a soft chime rang from the console.

"Search complete," the ship's AI announced in a robotic child's voice.

Juno tapped the screen. A hologram appeared.

It showed a constellation—but not like the ones on old star charts. This one moved. It twisted and glitched, constantly reassembling itself into different shapes.

Kael stared at it.

One second it looked like a bird. Then a child. Then a crown. Then… something he couldn't even describe. Like a feeling made of stars.

"What is that?" he whispered.

Juno's face was pale. "The Loopbane Constellation."

Kael tilted his head. "What's that mean?"

She turned to him. "It only appears in records tied to loop fractures. It shows up seconds before people go missing. Or when planets start repeating the same day. This constellation is a warning."

"A warning of what?"

"That someone is trying to break the system."

A sudden knock on the door startled them both.

Three soft taps.

Kael flinched.

Juno drew her weapon again. "No one should be here."

Kael approached the door slowly. "What if it's another version of me?"

Juno shook her head. "Too gentle. Not like last time."

He opened it carefully.

A girl no older than eleven stood outside.

She had bright blue eyes, messy braids, and wore a scarf made of glowing fibers. A small metal cube floated beside her head, spinning softly.

"Hi," she said. "I'm Luma. Are you Kael?"

Kael glanced at Juno, confused. "Uh… yeah?"

The girl stepped in like she owned the place. "Good. Took me forever to find you."

The cube buzzed, showing a rotating map of Praton's orbit.

"Wait," Juno said. "That's restricted data. Only the Archives have access to—"

"I hacked it," Luma said simply. "The loop told me where to go."

Juno blinked. "You talked to the loop?"

"I listen," Luma said, plopping down on a stool. "Most people forget. But I don't. I remember everything."

Kael knelt beside her. "Are you like me?"

Luma stared at him, dead serious. "No. I'm smarter. You're braver."

He smiled despite himself. "Thanks… I think."

She turned to the cube. "He's going to need us."

Kael frowned. "Who?"

The cube rotated, then showed a blurry image: a teenage boy screaming into an empty void. Behind him, a planet exploded in silence.

"My brother," Luma whispered.

Kael looked at the image. "He's in a loop?"

She nodded. "Stuck. If we don't find him in time, he'll get erased."

Juno crossed her arms. "Why are we the ones who have to fix all this?"

Luma met her eyes. "Because the Architects won't. They've abandoned the code."

Kael's heart clenched. He didn't know who these Architects were, but every time they were mentioned, it felt like a string pulling tight inside him.

"They created the loops," he said. "Why abandon them?"

"Because something stronger is coming," Luma said.

Juno scoffed. "What could be stronger than the gods of time?"

Luma didn't answer with words.

Instead, she pressed her palm to the cube. The hologram changed again.

This time it showed a black shape moving through galaxies, swallowing stars, bending light itself.

The AI voice crackled. "Warning. Entity classified: The Hollow One. Power level: Unknown. Movement: Irregular. Probability of destruction: 93%."

Kael stared at the shadow.

It wasn't a thing. It was a presence.

He suddenly felt cold.

Juno rubbed her arms. "Where is it now?"

The cube zoomed in.

Kael's eyes widened.

"It's heading for Sobo."

A silence hit the room like a slap.

Juno's voice trembled. "My family is on Sobo."

Kael's breath caught. "So is the only place I've ever called home."

Luma whispered, "And so is my brother."

Kael stood up. "Then we don't wait."

Juno nodded. "We go now."

They rushed toward the hangar bay. Luma skipped alongside them, cube hovering loyally at her shoulder. Kael tried not to think about the Hollow One or exploding planets or unraveling bodies.

But his heart pounded louder than any alarm.

Just before they reached the ship, Kael stopped.

Something shimmered in the corner of his eye.

He turned—and saw Maya.

Not as she was in pictures. Not a memory.

She was real. Standing in the shadows. Watching him.

"Maya?" he whispered.

She smiled faintly… then turned and walked away, fading into the wall.

Juno called out. "Kael! What's wrong?"

Kael blinked.

Nothing there.

He shook his head. "Nothing. Let's go."

But deep down, he knew.

Maya was calling him from somewhere inside the loop.

And he was running out of time to answer.

To be continued…