For three years, Aria Venn had tried to forget Elysia.

She had failed.

Every night, she dreamed of the same ocean.

The same blue planet.

The same little girl in the white dress.

And always, before Aria woke, the girl whispered the same words.

I remember you.

Aria never understood what they meant.

Until the night the stars disappeared.

---

The observation deck of the research station was silent.

Aria stood alone behind the glass, watching the universe.

She was no longer the captain of the Horizon.

After the events on Elysia, the ship had been decommissioned.

The surviving crew had been separated.

The official report claimed they had discovered an uninhabited planet and suffered a navigation failure.

No one believed the report.

But no one knew the truth.

Only Aria and Marcus remembered fragments.

Fragments that became weaker every year.

Marcus had remained with her.

They now worked together at the Deep Space Observation Network, a massive scientific station orbiting Earth.

Their job was simple.

Watch the stars.

Listen for signals.

Search for life.

Aria had always thought it was ironic.

She had spent her life searching for something unknown.

Then she had found it.

And now she was pretending she hadn’t.

A soft alarm interrupted her thoughts.

Aria turned.

“Marcus?”

No answer.

She walked toward the communication room.

Marcus was sitting in front of a dozen screens.

He looked pale.

“What happened?”

He didn’t turn around.

“Look.”

Aria stepped beside him.

Every screen showed the same thing.

Nothing.

The stars had disappeared.

Not all of them.

Only one section of space.

A perfect circle.

A region nearly fifty light-years wide had become completely dark.

Aria stared.

“What am I looking at?”

Marcus swallowed.

“That’s the problem.”

“Explain.”

“There’s nothing there.”

“Nothing?”

“No stars.”

“No planets.”

“No radiation.”

“No gravitational distortion.”

Aria frowned.

“That’s impossible.”

Marcus nodded.

“I know.”

She looked at the data.

“How long?”

“Twenty-seven minutes.”

“When did it start?”

“Exactly at 03:17.”

Aria froze.

“What?”

Marcus finally looked at her.

“03:17.”

Aria stared.

The number meant nothing.

Then she remembered.

The old submarine.

The underwater facility.

The Memory Sea.

03:17.

That was the exact time when the first Aria had opened the door.

Aria stepped backward.

“No.”

Marcus stood.

“You remember?”

Aria looked at him.

“Not clearly.”

“Try.”

Aria closed her eyes.

A memory appeared.

Darkness.

Water.

The first Aria.

The little girl.

And a voice.

WHEN THE STARS GO DARK, WE WILL RETURN.

Aria opened her eyes.

“Marcus.”

He was already looking at her.

“What?”

“We need to leave.”

“Why?”

“Because this isn’t an astronomical event.”

“What is it?”

Aria looked at the dark region of space.

“It’s a message.”

---

Six hours later, the station was in emergency lockdown.

The scientists had tried everything.

They couldn’t explain the darkness.

The region didn’t appear to be empty.

It was worse.

It was hidden.

Something was blocking every form of observation.

Radio waves.

Light.

Gravitational signals.

Even quantum sensors failed.

The area simply didn’t exist.

At least…

not to the instruments.

Then a signal arrived.

One second.

That’s all it lasted.

One second.

But it was enough.

Every screen on the station displayed a single image.

A blue ocean.

Aria froze.

Marcus whispered:

“Elysia.”

The image changed.

The ocean disappeared.

A city appeared.

The city from Aria’s memories.

The underwater city.

The city that had been erased.

Then the image showed a girl.

The little girl.

Hope.

Aria stepped closer.

“Hope.”

The girl looked directly at the camera.

She spoke.

Her voice was quiet.

“Aria.”

Aria’s heart stopped.

Marcus looked at her.

“She knows you’re watching.”

The girl continued.

“You’re not supposed to remember.”

Aria stepped closer.

“Then why did you call me?”

Hope smiled.

“Because you are the only one who can hear me.”

The image flickered.

Aria shouted:

“Wait!”

Hope continued.

“Elysia is awake.”

The screen went black.

Then one final sentence appeared.

THEY ARE COMING.

The lights returned.

Everyone in the room stared at Aria.

Marcus spoke first.

“Who are they?”

Aria didn’t answer.

She was thinking about the last words.

Not the Forgotten.

Not the Memory Sea.

Something else.

Something beyond Elysia.

Something that even Hope feared.

Aria turned toward the commander.

“We need to launch the Horizon.”

The commander stared.

“The Horizon was destroyed.”

“No.”

Aria shook her head.

“Not completely.”

---

The old ship was buried beneath a military facility on the Moon.

It had been damaged during the escape from Elysia.

But it had never been destroyed.

The government had kept it hidden.

Aria and Marcus stood inside the hangar.

The Horizon was enormous.

Scarred.

Broken.

But still alive.

Marcus ran his hand across the hull.

“I thought we’d never see this again.”

Aria looked at the ship.

“Neither did I.”

A voice came from behind them.

“Then you’re both idiots.”

Aria turned.

A woman stood there.

Commander Selene Ward.

The head of Earth’s Deep Space Command.

Aria knew her.

She had been the person who ordered the Horizon’s original mission.

Selene walked toward them.

“You two were supposed to be retired.”

Marcus smiled.

“We were.”

Selene looked at Aria.

“Then the stars went dark.”

Aria nodded.

“You saw the signal.”

“Everyone saw it.”

Selene’s expression became serious.

“Tell me what we’re dealing with.”

Aria hesitated.

“You won’t believe me.”

“Try.”

“Elysia is alive.”

Selene frowned.

“The planet?”

“Yes.”

“And it sent a message.”

“Yes.”

“What did it say?”

Aria looked at Marcus.

Then back at Selene.

“It said they’re coming.”

Selene crossed her arms.

“Who?”

Aria answered:

“I don’t know.”

Selene studied her.

“You’re hiding something.”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because I don’t remember enough.”

Selene stepped closer.

“Then let’s go find out.”

Aria looked at the Horizon.

“Where?”

Selene activated a holographic map.

The dark region appeared.

“Here.”

Aria stared.

The location was beyond known space.

Far beyond Elysia.

Marcus looked confused.

“That’s impossible.”

Selene nodded.

“That’s what the scientists said.”

“Then what changed?”

Selene touched the map.

A new signal appeared.

It was moving.

Fast.

The dark region was expanding.

Aria’s blood went cold.

“How fast?”

Selene answered:

“One light-year every thirty minutes.”

Marcus stared.

“That’s not possible.”

Selene looked at Aria.

“Nothing about this is possible.”

Aria watched the darkness spread.

“How long until it reaches Earth?”

Selene hesitated.

“Six days.”

Silence.

Aria looked at Marcus.

Six days.

That was all.

“We launch now.”

---

The Horizon left the Moon.

Earth disappeared behind them.

The ship accelerated.

The stars stretched into lines.

Aria sat in the command chair.

Marcus was beside her.

The ship’s systems were unstable.

The engines were old.

But they worked.

For three days, nothing happened.

Then they reached Elysia.

The planet appeared ahead.

Blue.

Beautiful.

Silent.

Aria stared.

“It hasn’t changed.”

Marcus checked the scanners.

“That’s not true.”

“What?”

“Look.”

The planet was surrounded by a strange energy field.

Aria frowned.

“What is that?”

Marcus scanned it.

“I don’t know.”

Then the planet spoke.

Not through the communication system.

Not through the radio.

The voice appeared inside Aria’s mind.

ARIA.

She closed her eyes.

“Hope?”

YES.

“Where are you?”

EVERYWHERE.

Aria opened her eyes.

The entire planet had begun glowing.

Marcus stared.

“Captain.”

Aria looked through the window.

The ocean was moving.

The continents were changing.

The mountains were shifting.

The planet itself was transforming.

“What is happening?”

Hope answered.

I AM WAKING UP.

Aria felt fear.

“Why?”

BECAUSE THEY HAVE ARRIVED.

Aria looked toward the stars.

Nothing.

Then she saw it.

A small light.

Then another.

Then thousands.

Ships.

No.

Not ships.

Something much larger.

Massive structures were emerging from the darkness.

They were unlike anything humanity had ever built.

They looked like enormous black trees.

Their roots stretched across space.

Their branches surrounded stars.

Their surfaces were covered in glowing symbols.

Marcus whispered:

“What are those?”

Hope answered.

THEY ARE THE FIRST.

Aria stared.

“The first what?”

THE FIRST CHILDREN OF THE MEMORY SEA.

Aria felt cold.

“What do they want?”

Hope’s voice became afraid.

THEY WANT TO REMEMBER.

The structures moved.

The stars disappeared behind them.

Aria watched in horror.

“Remember what?”

Hope answered:

THE BEGINNING.

Aria looked at Marcus.

“What beginning?”

Hope’s voice whispered:

THE BEGINNING OF THE UNIVERSE.

Silence.

Then Aria understood.

The Memory Sea wasn’t created by Elysia.

It wasn’t created by humanity.

It had existed before planets.

Before stars.

Before time.

Elysia had only been one part of it.

And the beings approaching weren’t coming for Earth.

They weren’t coming for Elysia.

They were coming for something much older.

Something that had been hidden inside the memories of every living creature.

The first memory.

The memory of creation.

Aria whispered:

“What happens if they find it?”

Hope answered:

THEY WILL REMEMBER EVERYTHING.

“And then?”

THEY WILL REMEMBER THAT THEY WERE NEVER ALONE.

Aria’s heart stopped.

“What does that mean?”

Hope didn’t answer.

Instead, the planet began to shake.

A crack appeared across the surface of Elysia.

Then another.

The entire planet was opening.

Aria watched as the oceans separated.

A massive light emerged from the center.

Marcus stared.

“What is that?”

Hope answered:

THE HEART OF ELYSIA.

Aria looked at the light.

Inside it was something.

A structure.

A machine.

No.

A person.

Aria stepped closer.

“Who is that?”

Hope whispered:

THE FIRST ARIA.

Aria froze.

The woman inside the light opened her eyes.

She looked directly at Aria.

Then she smiled.

Aria couldn’t breathe.

“She’s alive.”

Hope answered:

SHE NEVER DIED.

Aria stared.

“Then where has she been?”

Hope’s voice became quiet.

WAITING.

“For what?”

The first Aria spoke.

Her voice traveled across space.

FOR YOU.

Aria felt tears in her eyes.

“Why?”

The first Aria raised her hand.

The stars around Elysia began disappearing.

One by one.

The dark structures moved closer.

The first Aria spoke again.

BECAUSE YOU ARE THE ONLY VERSION OF ME WHO CAN END THIS.

Aria shook her head.

“End what?”

The first Aria looked behind her.

Something was moving inside the light.

Something enormous.

Something that made the Memory Sea look small.

Aria stepped backward.

“What is that?”

The first Aria answered:

THE CREATOR.

The word echoed through Aria’s mind.

Marcus stared.

“Creator of what?”

The first Aria looked at Aria.

EVERYTHING.

Then the stars went dark.

Every star.

Every planet.

Every light.

The entire universe disappeared.

For one moment, there was nothing.

Then Aria heard a voice.

Not Hope.

Not the First Aria.

Not the Memory Sea.

A voice older than time.

It spoke directly into her mind.

ARIA VENN.

Aria couldn’t move.

The voice continued.

YOU HAVE REMEMBERED ME.

Aria whispered:

“Who are you?”

The answer came.

I AM THE FIRST MEMORY.

Aria’s heart stopped.

The voice continued.

AND YOU ARE MY LAST.

The universe suddenly exploded with light.

Aria screamed.

The Horizon shook violently.

Marcus grabbed the controls.

“We’re losing power!”

Aria looked through the window.

Elysia was gone.

The dark structures were gone.

The stars were gone.

Everything was gone.

Except one thing.

A door.

Floating in empty space.

A giant white door.

Aria stared.

A message appeared on the ship’s screen.

OPEN THE DOOR.

Marcus looked at her.

“Don’t.”

Aria stared at the door.

“Why?”

Marcus shook his head.

“Because I remember.”

“What?”

He looked terrified.

“That’s how it started.”

Aria looked at him.

“What started?”

Marcus whispered:

“The first time we opened the door…”

He pointed toward the darkness.

“…the universe ended.”

Aria froze.

Then the door began to open.

And behind it…

was Earth.

But not the Earth they knew.

This Earth was covered in oceans.

Its cities were gone.

Its continents were gone.

And standing on the surface…

was the little girl.

Hope.

She looked directly at Aria.

And smiled.

Then she raised her hand.

Behind her, billions of people appeared.

Every person humanity had ever forgotten.

Every lost civilization.

Every dead world.

Every erased memory.

They were all waiting.

Hope spoke.

WELCOME HOME, ARIA.

The door opened completely.

And Aria realized the terrible truth.

They had not come to Elysia.

Elysia had come to them.

TO BE CONTINUED…