## 🌌 Chapter 17 – *Echoes of the Past*
The hum of the *Vanta Skimmer*'s engines filled the quiet bridge as the crew tried to recover from their harrowing journey through the Epoch Rift. Despite their relief at escaping its clutches, a heavy tension lingered in the air.
Aarin stood by the observation window, eyes fixed on the stars that stretched endlessly before them. The Rift's chaotic light was now just a distant shimmer, but its shadow still haunted their minds.
His comm-link crackled again, the mysterious voice returning — barely audible, yet filled with an ancient sorrow.
"*Time's guardians… heed the past… lest the future unravel…*"
---
Elara leaned forward, analyzing the signal's origin. "The voice is encoded in temporal frequencies older than any civilization we know. Whoever—or whatever—sent it has knowledge beyond our time."
Raylen frowned. "Great. So we're dealing with some ancient cosmic oracle now? Fantastic."
Selene crossed her arms. "Ancient or not, we can't ignore it. This warning might be our only lead on the Null's next move."
---
Aarin gathered the crew in the strategy room, holograms of timelines and star maps spinning around them.
"We need to trace that message," he said. "Find where it originated and what it means."
Elara nodded. "I've begun decrypting fragments of the signal. It references a lost archive — the Celestial Library, hidden on a planet outside known space."
Raylen smirked. "A lost library. Because everything else was too easy."
Selene smiled faintly. "Libraries are where the truth hides. Let's find it."
---
Days later, the *Vanta Skimmer* jumped to the coordinates Elara pinpointed — an obscure, icy planet bathed in pale starlight.
The planet's surface was barren, covered in frozen ruins of an ancient civilization. Towering spires and crumbling halls stretched beneath swirling auroras.
Exploring the ruins, the team uncovered a vast subterranean archive, its walls inscribed with glowing glyphs that pulsed with latent energy.
Elara's voice trembled. "This is the Celestial Library. It contains knowledge about time, creation, and destruction."
---
As they delved deeper, the crew encountered remnants of an ancient AI guardian — a sentient construct named Aethra.
"You seek answers about the Null," Aethra intoned, its voice echoing like wind through the halls. "Beware, for the Null is but a shadow of a greater darkness."
Aarin stepped forward. "What darkness? How do we stop it?"
Aethra's holographic form flickered, revealing cryptic visions: collapsing stars, broken timelines, and a malevolent force feeding on chaos itself.
"To confront the Null, you must understand the origin of the fracture," Aethra said. "Only by mending the first tear can the future be saved."
---
Back aboard the *Vanta Skimmer*, the crew grappled with the revelation.
Aarin's mind raced. "The Null isn't the root problem — it's a symptom. If we don't heal the original fracture in time, all timelines will unravel."
Elara agreed. "Our mission just became even more critical. We need to find this 'first tear' and seal it."
Raylen tapped furiously at his console. "And I thought fixing one timeline was tough. Now we've got to patch the entire cosmos."
Selene's gaze hardened. "We fight for every moment. For every life."
---
As the crew prepared for their next leap into the unknown, Aarin received a personal message — a recording from his missing father.
The hologram flickered to life, his father's weary face etched with hope.
"Son, if you see this… know that I believed in you. The fracture began long ago — before you were born. You are the key to healing it. Trust yourself. Trust those who stand with you."
Aarin swallowed hard, determination blazing in his eyes.
"This ends with us."
---
The *Vanta Skimmer* launched once more into the cosmic sea, chasing whispers of time and fate, toward the origin of all that was broken.
The battle for the universe was far from over — but the light of hope burned brighter than ever.
---
**\[End of Chapter 17]**
-