**
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Sora stood at the edge of the rift, the pulse within him now a constant, insistent hum. His mind raced with the weight of his decision. The woman—whatever or whoever she was—had spoken of a key, someone or something that held the answers to stopping the rift. But finding this "key" in the swirling chaos of the Veil seemed like an impossible task. How could he locate someone in a place where time and space had no meaning?
The rift behind him loomed, growing ever more violent, its edges crackling with raw energy. The stars surrounding him flickered like dying embers, their light stretching and distorting as the fabric of reality itself seemed to unravel.
"I have to act," Sora muttered to himself, stepping forward. He reached out, his hand brushing the controls of the ship, but the ship's systems were still inoperable. The Veil seemed to be pushing back against anything that sought to maintain order, as though the very laws of the universe were being rewritten in real-time.
"You are lost, Sora."
The voice echoed through the emptiness, deep and resonant, but this time, there was no physical figure. The words were not spoken by the woman. Instead, they felt like they came from the very heart of the Veil itself.
Sora spun around, trying to find the source, but there was only darkness, the shifting patterns of light, and the ever-constant pulse inside him.
"Who's there?" he called out, his voice trembling in the vast silence. "What do you want?"
"Nothing," the voice replied, though it carried a weight of ancient knowledge. "Nothing but to remind you. You are standing at the crossroads, Sora. The path you choose will echo through all of time, leaving ripples that will affect everything. The question is—what is worth saving?"
Sora's heart skipped a beat. It wasn't just a warning—it was a challenge. The voice was speaking directly to him, not only about the fate of the rift but of everything. Could he truly protect the universe, or was he destined to destroy it? The burden was too great for any one person to carry. But the pulse was inside him, guiding him, making him feel as though he could bend reality to his will if only he understood how.
"I don't want to destroy anything," Sora said, his voice firm but filled with doubt. "I want to stop the rift. I want to protect the pulse."
A soft chuckle filled the void, not mocking but laced with a sense of sorrow. "You are already too late, Sora. The rift cannot be stopped by power alone. It will consume all you hold dear. Time is not what you think it is. It bends, it breaks, and it remembers."
The rift seemed to pulse in response, glowing brighter and brighter. The ship's monitors flickered as if struggling to comprehend the rift's growing presence. Sora felt it too—the immense pressure, the oppressive weight of the decision that loomed before him. What if the voice was right? What if everything he was trying to save was already doomed?
"You must find the key," the voice said, a final whisper before fading into the depths of the Veil. "Only they can show you the truth. Only they can undo the fracture."
The silence that followed was deafening, but now there was a sense of clarity, a direction in the chaos. The key, the one who held the knowledge of the stars—this was his only path forward. But who could this person be? And where could he find them in this place, where time and reality no longer made sense?
Sora glanced at the ship. Its sensors were still glitching, but there was one readout that remained stable—an ancient symbol, pulsing with a strange energy. The symbol seemed to resonate with the pulse inside him, a faint, familiar pattern he couldn't fully recognize.
"Captain," the ship's voice interrupted, its tone unusually calm. "I have detected an anomaly within the rift. It matches the energy signature of the pulse. There is something—someone—on the other side of the rift."
Sora's heart skipped a beat. Someone? Could it be the key? Was this the person he had been searching for?
"Prepare the ship," Sora ordered, his resolve firming up. "We're going through."
The ship hesitated. "Captain, crossing the rift may be… dangerous. The continuum is unstable. There are no guarantees."
"I don't care about guarantees," Sora replied, his voice steely with determination. "I have to try."
Without another word, he activated the ship's systems, watching as the unstable rift began to pulse in sync with the pulse inside him. The ship shuddered as it began to move, the space around them warping and twisting. The fabric of reality itself seemed to bend, drawing them toward the unknown.
Sora's vision blurred as the ship surged forward, pushing through the rift. The stars around them twisted into strange, alien shapes, the very light bending and stretching as the ship passed through. The rift closed behind them with a resounding crash, leaving nothing but darkness in their wake.
For a moment, everything went silent.
And then, the ship emerged into a new realm—one where the laws of time and space were not just bent but shattered completely. The stars here were different, not mere pinpricks of light but vast, living entities, pulsating and shifting as if they were alive. The space between the stars was not empty, but filled with strange, translucent patterns that moved and shimmered like the remnants of forgotten memories.
"This is not the same universe," Sora whispered, his eyes wide as he took in the impossible beauty of the place. The very air seemed thick with power, and the pulse inside him thrummed in response, its rhythm syncing with the beat of this new world.
The ship's voice broke through his thoughts. "Captain, I am detecting an entity ahead. It matches the energy signature of the key."
Sora's heart raced. "Show me."
Ahead, in the distance, a figure emerged—a silhouette of pure light, standing amidst the cosmic chaos. Their form seemed to ripple and shift, as though they were not fully bound by the laws of reality. The figure raised one hand, and in the stillness that followed, Sora could feel the pulse within him align with theirs.
"Welcome, Sora," the figure's voice resonated, clear and ancient, echoing through the very fabric of existence. "I have been waiting for you."
Sora stepped forward, his every instinct telling him that this was the key, the one he had been seeking. But the questions flooded his mind faster than he could ask them. "Who are you?" he demanded, his voice trembling with both awe and fear.
"I am the one who holds the knowledge of the stars," the figure replied. "I am the one who knows what must be done to heal the fracture. But first, you must understand the true nature of the pulse."
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