Veyra disappeared.

There was no explosion.

No flash.

No sound.

One moment the city was floating in empty space.

The next, the universe vanished.

Mara felt the world beneath her feet tilt.

She grabbed the edge of the control chamber.

Jonas fell against the wall.

“Tell me that’s normal.”

Mara looked at him.

“I have no idea.”

“Excellent.”

The enormous machine in front of them continued glowing.

Seren stood inside the blue projection.

Her expression was calm.

Too calm.

Mara stared at her.

“Where are we going?”

“Home.”

“You said that already.”

“No.”

Seren looked directly into Mara’s eyes.

“I said the word. You chose the destination.”

Mara looked at the strange planet displayed above the machine.

“Why does it feel familiar?”

“Because you’ve been there.”

Mara shook her head.

“I’ve never left Veyra.”

Seren smiled.

“That’s what you were made to believe.”

Before Mara could answer, the chamber shook.

Jonas grabbed the nearest railing.

“What now?”

Seren’s expression changed.

“The city is resisting.”

“Resisting what?”

“Your memory.”

The machine suddenly released a burst of energy.

Mara screamed.

Images flooded her mind.

A child running through a green field.

A woman holding her hand.

A silver city beneath a purple sky.

A spacecraft.

A fire.

A voice.

Forget.

Mara fell to her knees.

Jonas rushed toward her.

“Mara!”

She couldn’t hear him.

The memories continued.

She saw herself as a child.

But she wasn’t inside Veyra.

She was standing on a planet.

A real planet.

There were trees.

Rivers.

Mountains.

And people.

Thousands of people.

Everyone was looking toward the sky.

Something enormous was descending.

A black city.

Veyra.

Mara watched herself being carried into it.

She was six years old.

A woman was crying.

Mara recognized her.

Her mother.

The memory changed.

Her mother was standing beside the same machine.

Seren was there too.

But Seren looked different.

Younger.

Human.

Mara’s mother held her shoulders.

“Listen to me.”

Young Mara was crying.

“Where are we going?”

“Somewhere safe.”

“Are you coming?”

Her mother looked away.

“I can’t.”

Mara screamed.

The memory ended.

Mara opened her eyes.

She was back inside the chamber.

Jonas was kneeling beside her.

“Mara?”

She pushed herself up.

“My mother.”

Seren looked at her.

“You remembered.”

“You knew her.”

“Yes.”

“What happened to her?”

Seren didn’t answer.

Mara stood.

“What happened to my mother?”

Seren looked down.

“She stayed behind.”

“Where?”

“On the planet we left.”

Mara’s heart sank.

“Is she alive?”

Seren remained silent.

“Answer me.”

“I don’t know.”

Mara stared at her.

“You know more than you’re saying.”

Seren looked at the machine.

“We are approaching the destination.”

The entire chamber became bright.

A massive holographic map appeared.

The strange planet was getting closer.

Jonas looked at it.

“That’s not possible.”

Mara turned.

“What?”

“We’ve traveled outside the galaxy.”

Mara stared.

“How far?”

Jonas checked the readings.

His face became pale.

“Forty-two million light-years.”

Silence.

Mara looked at Seren.

“How?”

“Veyra doesn’t travel through normal space.”

“Then where does it travel?”

“Between possibilities.”

Jonas laughed nervously.

“That sentence makes absolutely no sense.”

Seren looked at him.

“It will.”

The hologram changed.

The strange planet disappeared.

In its place was an enormous black structure.

A city.

Another Veyra.

But unlike their city, this one was damaged.

Its outer shell was broken.

Large sections were missing.

Thousands of lights were dead.

Jonas whispered:

“That’s the city following us.”

Mara felt cold.

“How did it get here?”

Seren shook her head.

“It didn’t.”

Mara looked at her.

“What?”

“This is not the city following us.”

“Then what is it?”

Seren’s face became serious.

“This is the city that came before Veyra.”

Mara stared.

“How many cities are there?”

“Seven.”

“Seven?”

“Seven human cities were built to escape.”

Jonas looked at the hologram.

“And the others?”

“Destroyed.”

Mara stepped closer.

“By whom?”

Seren didn’t answer.

The black city suddenly transmitted a message.

Every screen inside Veyra activated.

A woman’s face appeared.

She looked almost identical to Seren.

Mara froze.

“Who is that?”

Seren whispered:

“My sister.”

The woman on the screen smiled.

“Hello, Seren.”

Seren looked frightened.

“You shouldn’t be here.”

The woman laughed.

“You brought her back.”

Mara stepped forward.

“Who are you?”

The woman looked directly at her.

“My name is Lyra.”

She smiled.

“And you are Mara Ellison.”

Mara’s heart stopped.

“How do you know my name?”

Lyra laughed softly.

“Because I gave it to you.”

Mara stared.

“What?”

“You weren’t born Mara.”

Silence.

Jonas looked at her.

“What does that mean?”

Lyra continued.

“Your original name was Navigator Seven.”

Mara shook her head.

“No.”

“You were the final navigator created by the Veyra project.”

“I don’t believe you.”

Lyra smiled.

“You don’t have to.”

The screen showed an image.

Mara.

But not the Mara standing in the chamber.

A different Mara.

Older.

Standing beside Lyra.

And beside them was Mara’s mother.

All three were smiling.

Mara stared at the image.

Her mother was alive.

She had not died.

She had not stayed behind.

She was standing beside Lyra.

Mara’s voice trembled.

“Where is she?”

Lyra looked at her.

“Still waiting.”

“Where?”

Lyra pointed toward the planet behind them.

“Home.”

The transmission ended.

Mara turned toward Seren.

“You lied to me.”

Seren looked at her.

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because if you remembered too soon, you would have gone looking for her.”

“And?”

“You would have been captured.”

“By Lyra?”

“No.”

Seren looked toward the black city.

“By the people controlling her.”

The chamber shook.

Warning alarms activated.

Jonas ran toward the control panel.

“We have incoming objects.”

“Ships?”

“No.”

“Then what?”

He looked at the screen.

His face became pale.

“People.”

Mara frowned.

“What?”

Jonas pointed toward the outer city.

Hundreds of small objects were appearing around Veyra.

They looked like capsules.

Then the capsules opened.

Humanoid figures emerged.

Thousands of them.

They were wearing silver armor.

Mara stared.

“Are they human?”

Seren answered:

“Yes.”

“Who are they?”

“The Forgotten.”

Mara watched as the figures moved toward Veyra.

“What do they want?”

Seren looked at her.

“You.”

The lights went out.

The city entered emergency lockdown.

Doors sealed across every district.

The artificial sky disappeared.

People began screaming.

Mara heard something through the walls.

Footsteps.

Thousands of footsteps.

Jonas looked at her.

“We need to move.”

“Where?”

“Anywhere.”

Seren pointed toward the machine.

“The control chamber.”

“We’re already there.”

“No.”

She pointed downward.

“There is another level.”

A section of the floor opened.

A staircase appeared.

Mara looked into the darkness.

“Where does it go?”

Seren answered:

“To the original navigator.”

Mara frowned.

“I thought I was the navigator.”

“You are.”

“Then what’s down there?”

Seren’s voice became quiet.

“The person who taught you.”

Mara descended.

Jonas followed.

The staircase seemed endless.

They passed old rooms.

Abandoned laboratories.

Broken machines.

Photographs.

Thousands of photographs.

All showing children.

Children like Mara.

Each one had a number.

Navigator One.

Navigator Two.

Navigator Three.

Navigator Four.

Navigator Five.

Navigator Six.

And finally—

Navigator Seven.

Mara.

She stopped.

Her photograph was different.

There was another picture beside it.

A woman.

Her mother.

Underneath was a name.

Dr. Elara Ellison — Chief Architect of Veyra.

Mara touched the photograph.

“She built the city.”

Seren nodded.

“Yes.”

“Why didn’t she tell me?”

“Because she wanted you to have a normal life.”

Mara laughed.

“Nothing about my life has ever been normal.”

They reached the bottom.

A circular room waited beneath them.

In its center stood a chair.

Connected to thousands of wires.

Mara stared at it.

“What is this?”

Seren answered:

“The first navigation system.”

Mara stepped closer.

“Who used it?”

Seren looked at her.

“You.”

Mara froze.

“I’ve never been here.”

“You were six years old.”

Mara looked at the chair.

Suddenly, the room came alive.

The lights turned blue.

A recording began.

A little girl appeared.

Mara.

Six years old.

She was sitting in the chair.

Her mother stood beside her.

“Are you ready?”

Young Mara nodded.

“What will happen?”

“You’ll forget.”

“Everything?”

“Not everything.”

“What will I remember?”

Her mother smiled.

“Your name.”

The recording continued.

“We need you to forget the city.”

“Why?”

“Because one day you’ll need to find it again.”

Young Mara looked confused.

“Why?”

Her mother hugged her.

“Because the city will need you.”

The recording ended.

Mara stood motionless.

Jonas whispered:

“You were never a passenger.”

Mara looked at him.

“I know.”

A loud explosion shook the chamber.

The Forgotten had entered the lower levels.

Seren looked toward the door.

“We’re out of time.”

Mara stepped into the chair.

“What happens if I sit here?”

“You remember everything.”

“Everything?”

“Yes.”

“Even my mother?”

“Especially her.”

Mara sat down.

The machine activated.

Thousands of lights surrounded her.

She closed her eyes.

A voice whispered:

WELCOME BACK, NAVIGATOR SEVEN.

Her memories returned.

Her mother.

The original planet.

The first city.

The six failed navigators.

The war.

The escape.

The reason Veyra had been moving for eighty years.

And finally—

the truth about the mysterious planet.

Mara opened her eyes.

She was crying.

Jonas looked at her.

“What did you see?”

Mara slowly stood.

She looked at Seren.

Then toward the ceiling.

Then at the city around them.

“We’re not running from them.”

Jonas frowned.

“Then what are we doing?”

Mara looked at the coordinates.

The destination had changed.

The mysterious planet was no longer marked HOME.

It was marked:

PRISON.

Mara whispered:

“We’re taking Veyra back.”

Seren smiled.

“For the first time, you remember.”

A massive explosion shook the chamber.

The Forgotten had arrived.

Mara turned toward the door.

Her eyes glowed blue.

And somewhere beyond the stars, the ancient city began waking up.

To be continued…