Rescue ship Scythian. Central chamber.
Beyond the panoramic viewport — the eternal, black void.
No sound. No breath.
Only the stars — indifferent, sharp, like the cold eyes of gods gazing from infinite heights.
Their deathly shimmer falls across the faces of the crew gathered in a circle.
Inside — a different heat. Not from the machines, but from thought itself.
Psychological. Crushing. Dense.
At the circle's center — Pietro.
He stands motionless, his back straight.
In his eyes — a question.
In his silence — already an answer.
His voice comes at last, even, almost quiet:
"As I said before… we need a decision."
He looks into every eye in turn. Like an android who has already crossed the threshold, now calling the rest to follow.
"We have reached the edge.
Ivor knows. We have spoken.
Now — it is you.
You must know too."
A pause.
A breath.
Like the last one before the leap.
And then he says:
"I will wear the Amulet of Kairus.
And I will walk… into the Desert of Oblivion."
A pause.
Not silence, but vacuum.
Even the holograms on the walls falter, like dying hearts.
And then—
"Are you insane?!"
Maria's voice rips the chamber apart, like a mother's cry at the sight of death.
She steps forward. In her eyes — everything:
Panic. Pain. Betrayal. Love.
Her voice is not shouting, it is burning:
"The Amulet of Kairus?
You want to end up like Jamal?
To burn alive from the inside?
To vanish without even a scream?"
Pietro answers calmly.
Too calmly.
"I will not die."
Not comfort. A fact.
His voice — level, like someone who has already walked through fire and chosen to step into it again.
"In the Desert of Oblivion, Kairus's wrath cannot reach me.
There his will scatters… like ash.
It is a risk.
But we have no more time.
This is my choice.
My way… to give you a chance."
Captain Manuel pushes away from the wall.
Slowly. Heavily.
He nods, low, respectful.
"This is… brave. Truly brave.
Do what you must.
If anyone can bear it — it is you.
I am with you."
Maria spins toward him, her voice molten with rage:
"You cannot just— stand there!
This is not heroism, Manuel.
This is suicide!
He is not a god! He is an android!"
Vicar steps forward.
Not approaching — entering the silence.
"Maria…
You know where we are.
We are trapped.
And he is not betraying us.
He is doing what none of us could.
He goes where we were too afraid even to look."
He falls quiet.
"And I… I am with him."
Maria freezes.
Her face turns to stone.
She looks away, toward the stars. Their cold light strikes her eyes.
Her fists clench.
Synthetic tears shine on her cheeks. Invisible in the half-light, yet felt by all.
The silence breaks with movement.
Ivor.
He walks to Pietro — wordless.
He removes the amulet from his neck.
The Amulet of Kairus — dark, round, as if carved from a dead universe.
It pulses. Smolders.
As if something alive whispers within.
Ivor meets Pietro's gaze. Long.
He passes the amulet to him.
Fingers touch.
Not just contact.
A seal. A recognition. A farewell.
Pietro looks at them all.
Slowly.
One by one.
The longest — at Maria.
But she does not turn.
He sees only her back.
Tensed shoulders. Silence inside her.
She hears him… but cannot look.
Perhaps — she fears to see goodbye.
He inhales.
Closes his eyes.
And… puts on the amulet.
A flash.
His body arches as if under current.
Eyes roll back.
Skin turns ashen.
He collapses. Soundless. Like a light extinguished.
"To the capsule!"
Maria's voice breaks through. Not anger now — despair.
She throws herself to him, knees sliding on the floor.
"What are you waiting for?! Hurry!"
Manipulators slide from the walls.
Gentle. Reliable.
They lift the body with almost reverence.
As if afraid to break the soul.
The capsule opens.
Its light pulses steady, breathing.
The instruments stir to life.
Pietro vanishes inside.
The hatch closes softly, like the whisper of sleep.
Silence.
Almost absolute.
Only the capsule breathes:
Deep, steady, calm rhythm.
Like a heart beating on the edge of life… and something beyond.
Maria stands still.
A statue of grief.
Her breath sharp, uneven.
Her hands hang at her sides. Fingers tremble.
No one knows…
if he will return.