Arthur crouches, lashing together a small hut of branches and scrap—something he’s done a thousand times before.

  “This should be cozy.”

  He spends his days gathering stones for a fire pit, fashioning small-game traps from sticks and braided cord, cataloging every plant and animal he encounters.

  It reminds him of Earth after the Second Fall—those long months of bare survival.

  Only here, everything is just alien enough… just dangerous enough… to keep trying to kill him.

  His beard thickens. His clothes fray. The hut becomes a modest cabin.

  Arthur wears furs now and hunts with a spear he shaped by hand.

  Once a week, he leaves the carcass of a deer-like creature at the colony gate.

  Every week, it’s gone.

  ---

  In the Void, Sarah sits on the red couch with Arthur’s head resting in her lap, watching him sleep.

  His dream spills into a memory book—he’s dancing with Anna.

  Sarah smiles and brushes the hair from his face.

  He stirs awake. She smiles softly.

  “Just two more months until our ship comes for us.”

  She looks around the endless shelves.

  “I wonder if they’re making it.”

  Arthur rises. Shoes form on his feet.

  “I doubt it.”

  He exhales.

  “The food’s gone. No more than eight people are still alive in there.”

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  Sarah frowns.

  “You really think it’s that bad?”

  “I hope not,” Arthur says. “But I think it’s likely.”

  He pauses.

  “We’ll go to the ridge tomorrow. From there, we should be able to see the settlement.”

  She slides off the couch, splashing lightly in the shallow water.

  Arthur stops, lying down beside her.

  “What are you thinking about?”

  She rolls onto her side, studying him.

  A moment passes.

  “Just everything we’ve seen. Everything we’ve done.”

  She almost smiles, but the weight of loss steals it away.

  “All these years.”

  She lifts his face gently so he has to meet her eyes.

  “Do you ever think—what if I’d never gone to DV Cornerstone?

  If I’d never volunteered to put my mind in the drive?”

  Her voice softens.

  “What would you be like now?”

  Arthur props himself on one elbow.

  “No. I can’t.”

  He rolls onto his back, staring upward.

  “I would’ve lost myself long ago.”

  He turns toward her again.

  “Out there, I look like a caveman—but in here, I’m still me.”

  He leans in and kisses her gently.

  “Without you, I don’t know where I’d be. But it wouldn’t be anywhere good.”

  They lie there, facing one another in the quiet white.

  ---

  The next day, Arthur hikes to the ridge overlooking the colony. The trek is long—longer than simply walking back to the settlement.

  He kneels at the edge of the stone rise and removes a thin pane of glass from his pack.

  He taps its corner. Faint blue data flickers to life.

  “Expand.”

  The glass zooms in on the colony below—empty streets, silent rooftops.

  “Energy sources.”

  A readout appears: low-level heat. Minimal power detected.

  “Life signs.”

  Six red markers bloom across the display.

  Arthur exhales slowly, lowering his head.

  “Six. Worse than I thought.”

  He slides the glass back into his pack and stares into the valley for a long moment.

  Then he closes his eyes—and steps into the Void.

  ---

  Sarah drifts between the shelves, scanning spines as if searching for something lost.

  “Idiots,” he says quietly. “Three hundred people… down to six.”

  Arthur watches her move.

  “That kind of collapse doesn’t happen by accident.”

  He keeps his eyes on her as he speaks.

  “Could’ve been illness. Infighting.”

  A pause.

  “Probably both. Killing each other over supplies.”

  He stops.

  “What are you looking for?”

  She turns, walking toward him, water rippling around her feet.

  “Nothing important. I’ll find it eventually.”

  A tear slips down Arthur’s cheek.

  “They could’ve survived. We were doing it right. One victory and they thought they’d won.”

  His voice hardens.

  “Damn Byrand.”

  Sarah brings up the menu as she walks. Music begins softly.

  The Void shifts—becomes a terrace lit by hanging lights, night pressing in at the edges.

  She reaches him and takes his hand.

  “Dance with me.”

  Arthur hesitates.

  She says it again, firmer.

  “Dance with me.”

  He steps into her arms.

  “You did everything you could,” she says. “I mean that. You gave them a real chance—and they let it slip away.”

  Arthur looks aside.

  “I know.”

  He closes his eyes.

  “But I should’ve taken over. Challenged him openly.”

  “Byrand was conniving,” she says. “We didn’t see it soon enough.”

  Arthur meets her gaze.

  “If I’d stayed, they probably would’ve killed me.”

  He spins her gently.

  “Sometimes, it doesn’t seem worth trying.” He looks into her eyes. “I know we have to. It’s just hard lately.”

  She pulls him closer as they sway.

  “We have to hold onto the good things. The things worth remembering.”

  She rises on her toes and kisses him.

  Arthur pulls back slightly, studying her.

  “Can’t you just call any memory book to your hand?”

  She smiles.

  “Yes. But I like wandering through them.”

  She leans in and kisses him again.

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