The alarm blared through the corridors of the Orion-7 research station, an urgent cacophony of synthetic voices and flashing red lights. Dr. Alina Kade barely registered it. Her attention was locked onto the display in front of her—a swirling vortex of shimmering energy suspended in the containment chamber beyond the thick observation glass. It was beautiful. Terrifying. And completely impossible. Yet there it was. "Dr. Kade! We have to shut it down!" yelled Lieutenant Imani Royce, her exosuit boots clanking as she skidded into the lab. She was clutching a pulse rifle, eyes darting nervously to the containment field readouts. "The quantum distortions are destabilizing the whole station." Alina barely turned. "We can’t. We’re witnessing something beyond standard physics. The Rift is responding… it’s evolving." She tapped a series of commands into her console, bringing up the latest data stream. The readings were unlike anything recorded in human history. What had started as an artificial wormhole—a controlled experiment to test faster-than-light travel—had become something else. Something alive. And it was growing. "That's exactly the problem!" Royce took a cautious step closer. "The station’s structural integrity is failing. If this thing expands unchecked, it'll tear us apart. We need to eject the lab module into deep space before—" A pulse of violet light erupted from the Rift. The station trembled, the floor vibrating as unseen forces rippled through the metal infrastructure. Alina felt a pressure behind her eyes, a whisper in a voice not her own. Not sound, but an impression. A presence. She had spent years deciphering quantum signals, searching for proof that humanity wasn't alone in the universe. She hadn’t expected the answer to find her first. The Rift wasn’t just a gateway. It was an invitation. And something was already stepping through.