The sky did not darken this time.
It opened.
Not with a tear.
Not with a beam.
But with coordinates.
Ethan was mid-flight above the equatorial ocean when the Convergence Node pulsed in a pattern he had never felt before.
Not defensive.
Not reactive.
Directive.
The System flared.
[External Transmission Received]
[Source: Tier-Unknown]
[Content: Spatial Coordinates + Structural Template]
Kaelith appeared beside him instantly.
"You felt that."
"Yes."
The stars above rearranged—not physically, but perceptually.
Lines connected distant points across the night sky.
A path.
A vector.
Beyond the planetary boundary.
The System translated.
[Evaluation Phase 5 — Sovereign Scalability]
[Objective: External Domain Projection]
Kaelith stared upward.
"They're giving us a target."
"Not a target."
Ethan's eyes narrowed slightly.
"A test site."
Far beyond their moon's orbit—
A region of empty space flickered faintly.
Dead.
No stellar body.
No planetary mass.
