Mara remembered everything.

At least, she thought she did.

Memories had returned like pieces of broken glass.

Her mother.

The first city.

The six navigators.

The war.

The escape.

The black city following Veyra.

And the planet they had spent eighty years trying to reach.

But one memory refused to become clear.

A door.

A white door standing in an endless black room.

Behind it, someone was calling her name.

Not Mara.

Not Navigator Seven.

Another name.

A name she could almost remember.

Then the memory disappeared.

Mara opened her eyes.

The underground chamber was shaking.

Jonas stood beside her.

“You’re back.”

Mara looked at him.

“How long?”

“Thirty seconds.”

“It felt like years.”

“That’s because you were remembering.”

Seren was standing beside the old navigation chair.

Her expression had changed.

She looked almost relieved.

Mara stood.

“Tell me the truth.”

Seren nodded.

“No more lies.”

“Who are the Forgotten?”

Seren looked toward the sealed door.

“They were the original inhabitants of Veyra.”

Mara frowned.

“Humans?”

“Yes.”

“Then why are they attacking us?”

“Because they believe you stole something from them.”

“What?”

“The city.”

Mara stared at her.

“Veyra was theirs?”

“Originally.”

“Then who built it?”

“The Forgotten.”

Jonas stepped forward.

“That makes no sense.”

Seren looked at him.

“The people you call the Forgotten were once the most advanced civilization humanity had ever created.”

“Created?”

Seren nodded.

“They were not born naturally.”

Mara felt a chill.

“What do you mean?”

“They were engineered.”

Jonas looked confused.

“By humans?”

“Yes.”

Seren paused.

“Humanity created a new generation of people who could survive anywhere.”

Mara looked at the images on the wall.

“The Forgotten.”

“Yes.”

“They were stronger?”

“Stronger. Smarter. Faster. They could survive radiation, extreme temperatures and environments that would kill ordinary humans.”

“Then why were they forgotten?”

Seren looked at her.

“Because humanity became afraid of them.”

The chamber shook.

A heavy impact came from above.

The Forgotten were breaking through.

Mara looked toward the ceiling.

“Why are they attacking now?”

“Because you activated Veyra.”

“What does that mean?”

“You woke the city.”

Mara looked at the navigation system.

“What is Veyra?”

Seren answered quietly.

“A weapon.”

Mara froze.

“You said it was a city.”

“It is both.”

Jonas stepped back.

“What kind of weapon?”

Seren looked at the enormous underground machinery.

“Veyra can move through space.”

“Yes.”

“It can move through time.”

Mara stared.

“What?”

“It can enter different points in history.”

Jonas shook his head.

“That’s impossible.”

“Your entire life has been built around something impossible.”

Mara looked toward Seren.

“Why didn’t my mother tell me?”

“Because she knew what Veyra could do.”

“And?”

“She was afraid you would use it.”

“Use it for what?”

Seren’s face became serious.

“To erase the Forgotten.”

Silence.

Mara remembered the war.

Millions of people running.

Cities burning.

The Forgotten fighting humanity.

She suddenly understood.

Her mother had not built Veyra to escape.

She had built it to give humanity a choice.

Destroy the Forgotten.

Or save them.

Mara looked at the sealed door.

“Where is my mother now?”

Seren looked away.

“She is with them.”

Mara froze.

“What?”

“Your mother joined the Forgotten.”

Jonas stared at Seren.

“Why?”

“Because she discovered the truth.”

“What truth?”

Seren’s eyes filled with sadness.

“The Forgotten never wanted to destroy humanity.”

Mara whispered:

“Then who started the war?”

Seren looked at her.

“Humanity.”

Another explosion.

The door began bending inward.

Mara stepped toward it.

“Open it.”

Jonas looked at her.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

Seren activated the controls.

The door opened.

Three armored figures stood outside.

They raised their weapons.

Mara didn’t move.

The first figure removed its helmet.

A young woman stood there.

Her skin was pale.

Her eyes were silver.

She looked at Mara.

Then whispered:

“Navigator Seven.”

Mara looked at her.

“Who are you?”

The woman stepped forward.

“My name is Nera.”

“Why are you attacking us?”

“We aren’t.”

Mara frowned.

“You just broke through half the city.”

“We were trying to reach you before they did.”

“Who are they?”

Nera looked at Seren.

Then at Mara.

“The Architects.”

Mara’s blood ran cold.

“Who?”

“The people who built the Forgotten.”

Jonas asked:

“And where are they?”

Nera looked upward.

“They’re already inside Veyra.”

Suddenly, every light in the chamber turned white.

A voice filled the city.

NAVIGATOR SEVEN HAS BEEN FOUND.

Mara looked toward the ceiling.

The voice continued.

BEGIN EXTRACTION.

Nera grabbed Mara’s arm.

“Run.”

They ran.

The chamber doors closed behind them.

Mara followed Nera through a narrow corridor.

Jonas and Seren were behind them.

“What are the Architects?”

Mara asked.

Nera didn’t stop.

“They are not human.”

Mara froze.

“You said the Forgotten were created by humans.”

“They were.”

“Then who created the humans?”

Nera looked back.

“That’s what nobody remembers.”

Mara’s mind went blank.

The mysterious voice.

The ancient city.

The planet.

The seven navigators.

Everything suddenly connected.

Humanity had not discovered Veyra.

Humanity had discovered something much older.

Something that had been watching them.

Waiting.

Nera opened a door.

They entered a huge chamber.

Hundreds of people were standing inside.

Some were humans.

Others were like Nera.

Different.

Stronger.

More advanced.

Mara stared.

“This is the Forgotten?”

Nera nodded.

“They survived.”

A man approached.

He was tall.

His eyes were silver.

His face looked strangely familiar.

Mara stared at him.

Then she recognized him.

“You’re…”

The man smiled.

“My name is Cael.”

Mara couldn’t speak.

Cael looked exactly like the older version of her father.

But her father had died when she was four.

Mara stepped backward.

“That’s impossible.”

Cael looked sad.

“Your father didn’t die.”

Mara’s heart stopped.

Jonas whispered:

“Mara…”

She stared at Cael.

“Where is he?”

Cael pointed toward the center of the chamber.

A transparent room stood there.

Inside was a man.

Older.

Weak.

Connected to machines.

Mara walked toward the glass.

She knew him immediately.

Her father.

Alive.

He opened his eyes.

“Mara?”

Her knees almost gave way.

“Dad?”

He smiled.

“My little navigator.”

She placed her hand against the glass.

“Why did you leave me?”

“I didn’t.”

“Then why?”

“Your mother and I had to protect you.”

“From what?”

He looked toward the ceiling.

“The Architects.”

Mara wiped her tears.

“Who are they?”

Her father looked terrified.

“The beings who built the first city.”

“Veyra?”

“No.”

He shook his head.

“Something older.”

The room suddenly went dark.

Every Forgotten turned toward the ceiling.

Nera whispered:

“They’re here.”

A sound echoed through the city.

Not footsteps.

Not machinery.

A heartbeat.

BOOM.

BOOM.

BOOM.

The entire city began responding.

The walls moved.

The streets changed.

Buildings shifted.

Veyra was waking.

Mara felt the same pulse inside her chest.

The blue symbol on her forehead appeared again.

Her father looked at her.

“You activated it.”

Mara nodded.

He smiled.

“Then we still have a chance.”

“A chance for what?”

He pointed toward the stars.

“To stop the Architects.”

A massive window opened.

Outside Veyra, the black city was no longer alone.

Hundreds of enormous structures had appeared.

They surrounded Veyra.

Like a fleet.

But they weren’t ships.

They were living machines.

Nera whispered:

“The Architects have arrived.”

Mara stared at them.

“What do they want?”

Her father answered:

“You.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re not Navigator Seven.”

Mara frowned.

“Then who am I?”

Her father looked at her.

“The first Navigator.”

Silence.

Mara’s symbol began glowing.

The city responded.

Every light inside Veyra turned blue.

Then the mysterious planet appeared on the main screen.

But its coordinates had changed.

It was no longer forty-two million light-years away.

It was directly ahead.

The planet was not a planet.

It was an enormous sphere.

A world-sized machine.

At its center was a black opening.

Her father whispered:

“That’s the prison.”

Mara looked at him.

“What’s inside?”

He answered:

“The first human.”

Mara stared.

“Humanity’s first ancestor?”

“No.”

He shook his head.

“The first human who ever escaped.”

Mara felt a chill.

“Escaped from where?”

Her father looked at the approaching Architects.

“From the place where they were created.”

A message appeared on every screen.

OPEN THE PRISON.

Then another.

RETURN THE FIRST NAVIGATOR.

Mara looked toward Seren.

“What happens if I refuse?”

Seren answered:

“They destroy Veyra.”

Mara looked at Nera.

“And if I surrender?”

Nera shook her head.

“They destroy everything.”

Mara looked at Jonas.

He gave her a small smile.

“So I guess we’re choosing the third option.”

Mara smiled.

“Which is?”

“Make them regret finding us.”

For the first time, Mara laughed.

Then she stepped toward the central control system.

The entire city became silent.

She placed her hand against the navigation core.

A voice entered her mind.

CHOOSE YOUR DESTINATION.

Mara looked at the prison planet.

Then at the army surrounding Veyra.

Then at her parents.

She closed her eyes.

“Take us inside.”

The city disappeared.

Not into space.

Not into time.

Into the prison itself.

The Architects followed.

And as Veyra entered the black sphere, Mara heard a voice whisper inside her mind.

A voice she had heard in her childhood dreams.

MARA.

She opened her eyes.

The voice continued.

I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR YOU FOR A VERY LONG TIME.

Mara stared into the darkness ahead.

Then a gigantic eye opened.

And she realized the prison had never been built to contain something.

It had been built to contain someone.

To be continued…