The storm did not form naturally.
Mardust knew that the moment he felt it.
The red sky above Mars twisted in slow, spiraling layers, clouds folding in on themselves like a living thing awakening from a long sleep. Lightning cracked—not white or blue, but deep violet—splitting the heavens with thunder that carried weight, not sound.
Mardust stood at the center of it, unmoving.
"This isn't just weather," he said quietly.
CONFIRMED.
ANOMALOUS ENERGY CONVERGENCE DETECTED.
SOURCE: UNKNOWN.
SCALE: EXCEEDS PLANETARY PARAMETERS.
Mardust narrowed his eyes. "Exceeds planetary? That's… not comforting."
The ground beneath his feet vibrated, not violently, but rhythmically—like a heartbeat. Each pulse echoed through his bones, syncing with the energy flowing inside him. He closed his eyes and reached outward, not with hands, but with awareness.
Space answered.
Not the empty void—but layers. Currents. Threads of gravity and energy woven together like an unseen ocean.
Mardust inhaled sharply. "I can feel it… the structure of reality."
HOST PERCEPTION EXPANDED.
NEW ABILITY AVAILABLE FOR UNLOCK:
▸ COSMIC SENSE (DORMANT)
"Unlock it."
Pain exploded behind his eyes.
The world shattered.
Mardust screamed—but no sound escaped his lips.
Reality peeled back like broken glass. He saw Mars not as land and sky, but as equations of mass and force, spinning in elegant balance. He saw the gravity well of the planet, the pull of its moons, the distant tug of the sun—each force a glowing thread in a vast cosmic web.
Beyond that—
Stars.
Galaxies.
Structures so massive his mind nearly collapsed trying to comprehend them.
He fell to one knee, clutching his head. "Too much—!"
ADJUSTING PERCEPTION PARAMETERS.
COSMIC SENSE PARTIALLY UNLOCKED.
WARNING: FULL ACCESS CURRENTLY FATAL TO HOST.
The vision stabilized.
Mardust panted, sweat and dust streaking his face. "So this… this is what's out there."
He looked up slowly.
And froze.
Above Mars, far beyond the atmosphere, something moved.
It wasn't a ship.
It wasn't a moon.
It was a scar—a distortion in space itself, like reality had been clawed open and poorly stitched back together.
"What… is that?" he whispered.
UNKNOWN STRUCTURE.
CLASSIFICATION PENDING.
ENERGY SIGNATURE: PRE-GALACTIC.
THREAT LEVEL: UNDETERMINED.
Mardust stood. "Pre-galactic? You're telling me that thing existed before galaxies formed?"
CORRECT.
DATA MATCH: ANCIENT COSMIC RELIC.
DESIGNATION: VOID SEAL.
The name sent a chill through him.
"A seal?" Mardust repeated. "As in… keeping something contained?"
The storm above intensified, lightning striking the ground around him without touching him, drawn instead into the energy field he unconsciously projected.
LIKELY.
VOID SEALS ARE THEORETICAL CONSTRUCTS USED BY PRE-COSMIC CIVILIZATIONS TO IMPRISON ENTITIES BEYOND UNIVERSAL LAW.
Mardust's jaw tightened. "And this one is… failing."
OBSERVATION: SEAL STABILITY AT 62%.
DEGRADATION RATE INCREASING.
He laughed once—short and incredulous. "Of course it is. Why wouldn't the galaxy-ending prison be breaking down near me?"
The ground split beneath his feet as his power surged instinctively. He forced himself to calm down, breathing slow and steady.
"System," he said firmly, "what happens if that seal breaks?"
There was a pause.
PROJECTED OUTCOME:
▸ PLANETARY ANNIHILATION — 98.7%
▸ GALACTIC CASCADE FAILURE — 72.4%
▸ UNIVERSAL LAW DEGRADATION — POSSIBLE
Silence followed.
Mardust stared at the sky.
"So… worst-case scenario?" he said quietly. "Everything dies."
ACCURATE.
He closed his eyes.
Caroline's face rose in his mind.
Mayson's steady voice.
Stephen's fire.
The twins' faith.
"No," he said. "That's not happening."
He raised his hands.
The storm answered.
Gravity bent inward, lightning freezing mid-strike as if time itself hesitated. Rocks lifted from the ground, orbiting him in widening arcs. The air screamed as pressure collapsed toward his position.
WARNING: HOST ENERGY OUTPUT ESCALATING RAPIDLY.
RECOMMENDATION: GRADUAL TESTING.
"I don't have time for gradual," Mardust said, teeth clenched. "I need to know how strong I am now."
He thrust his hands outward.
The storm exploded.
Clouds were torn apart, energy dispersing across the sky in a massive shockwave that flattened the surrounding terrain for kilometers. Dust and debris froze in midair, suspended by warped gravity.
Mardust stood at the center, unharmed.
He stared at his hands.
"I didn't even feel strain," he whispered.
HOST HAS ENTERED ADVANCED POWER THRESHOLD.
NEW ABILITIES AVAILABLE:
▸ GRAVITATIONAL DOMAIN (MINOR)
▸ ENERGY COMPRESSION
▸ MATTER REFORGING (LIMITED)
His breath caught.
"Show me," he said.
A translucent field snapped into existence around him—a domain where gravity obeyed his will absolutely. Within it, time slowed slightly, matter softened, energy condensed like liquid light.
Mardust stepped forward.
The ground reshaped itself under his feet, forming smooth platforms where none had existed. He reached down and grabbed a chunk of Martian rock.
It flowed.
Like clay.
His eyes widened. "Matter reforging…"
LIMITED BY HOST EXPERIENCE AND MENTAL LOAD.
EXTENDED USE MAY CAUSE NEURAL STRAIN.
"Noted," he muttered, releasing the stone.
He looked back toward the sky—to the Void Seal.
It pulsed.
A faint crack of darkness spread across its surface, like a fracture in obsidian.
Mardust felt it then.
A presence.
Something ancient.
Something aware.
A whisper brushed the edge of his consciousness—not words, but intent.
Hunger.
He staggered back. "It knows I'm here."
CONFIRMED.
VOID-BOUND ENTITY HAS REGISTERED HOST PRESENCE.
The storm returned—stronger, angrier. Gravity fluctuated wildly, threatening to tear the planet's surface apart.
Mardust planted his feet.
"System," he said, voice steady despite the fear pounding in his chest. "Can I stabilize the seal?"
CURRENT CAPABILITY: INSUFFICIENT FOR FULL REPAIR.
PARTIAL STABILIZATION: POSSIBLE WITH RISK.
"What kind of risk?"
HOST LIFE FORCE EXPENDITURE.
POTENTIAL PERMANENT DAMAGE.
UNKNOWN LONG-TERM EFFECTS.
He didn't hesitate.
"Do it."
CONFIRMATION REQUIRED.
ACTION MAY REDUCE HOST RETURN PROBABILITY TO EARTH.
That stopped him.
For the first time since awakening, Mardust faltered.
He saw Caroline standing on the balcony, looking at the stars.
His children training, growing, believing.
"I will go back," he said quietly. "I have to."
The seal pulsed again—another crack forming.
The presence pressed closer.
TIME WINDOW CLOSING.
Mardust clenched his fists.
"Then give me another way."
Silence.
Then—
ALTERNATIVE DETECTED.
OPTION: ANCHOR SEAL TEMPORARILY USING HOST AS A LIVING CONDUIT.
RESULT: SEAL STABILIZED.
COST: HOST WILL BE MARKED BY VOID ENERGY.
He swallowed. "Marked how?"
UNKNOWN.
POSSIBLE CONSEQUENCES:
▸ ATTRACTION OF COSMIC ENTITIES
▸ SYSTEM EVOLUTION
▸ HOST TRANSFORMATION
Mardust exhaled slowly.
"So… either I die trying to save everything… or I live with consequences."
He smiled faintly. "That sounds familiar."
He stepped forward.
"Do it."
Energy unlike anything before surged through him.
Dark—not evil, but vast and cold—intertwined with his cosmic power. The sky split open as threads of light shot from his body toward the Void Seal, wrapping around it like chains forged from gravity itself.
Mardust screamed as the force tore through him.
The seal shuddered.
The cracks halted.
Then—slowly—began to close.
The presence shrieked inside his mind, fury and frustration echoing like a dying star.
With a final pulse of blinding light—
The storm collapsed.
Silence fell.
Mardust dropped to one knee, gasping.
Smoke rose from his skin. Strange black-gold symbols flickered briefly along his arms—then vanished.
PROCESS COMPLETE.
VOID SEAL TEMPORARILY STABILIZED.
HOST STATUS: ALIVE.
NEW CONDITION DETECTED: VOID MARK (DORMANT).
He laughed weakly. "Of course there's a mark."
He looked up at the now-calm sky.
The Void Seal remained—quiet, sealed, watching.
Mardust stood slowly, leaning on his strength.
"So," he said softly, "the galaxy just got a little more complicated."
CONFIRMED.
HOST ACTION HAS ALTERED COSMIC PROBABILITY STREAMS.
MULTIPLE FACTIONS MAY NOW TAKE INTEREST IN HOST.
He turned away from the horizon and began walking.
Each step felt heavier.
More significant.
"I guess," he murmured, "there's no going back to being just a man."
The red dust swirled around him as he moved across the Martian plain—no longer merely surviving, no longer training.
He was now a variable in the universe.
A living disruption.
A man marked by the void.
And far away, across the stars—
Something ancient opened its eyes.