Novaheim was a place beyond imagination. A city in space, floating serenely in the void, its towering spires of shimmering metal and glass gleaming like stars in the infinite dark. The station was vast. Far beyond any Earth-made structure and encompassing entire cities, ecosystems, and technologies that made Earth's best efforts look like child's play. Sleek transportation systems snaked through the vast expanse, and artificial landscapes were carefully curated, resembling everything from lush forests to pristine oceans. All of this contained within the perfect, sterile bubble of Novaheim's design.
Every surface was smooth, flawless and polished to perfection. There were no imperfections here. No cracks in the facade. Every person lived with purpose, moving with calculated precision, their lives guided by systems designed to maintain peace and prosperity. Yet, despite its grandeur, something about the place felt… too perfect. It was as if the very air of Novaheim was filtered to remove all doubt and all uncertainty. Leaving behind only certainty…and the certainty was starting to feel suffocating.
Sawl moved through the halls, his boots clicking softly against the immaculate floors. He was aware of the people around him, each one moving with purpose, their faces calm, unbothered. It was a place where emotions were suppressed, where logic and order ruled. He had lived here his whole life, and yet, today, everything felt off. His mind wandered back to the scroll, the words of the Living Fragment that seemed to echo endlessly in his mind.
"Seek not in others what you must find in yourself. The truth you seek is not in the stars or in the things you can hold, but in the silence between breaths."
The phrase had become an obsession. It haunted him. He couldn't shake the feeling that it was calling to him, pulling at something deep inside him. Something that he couldn't explain or understand.
The Living Fragment, tucked safely in his jacket, felt heavier now. The weight of its presence was no longer just physical. Sawl's chest tightened as he turned a corner and caught sight of the flawless city through the transparent walls. The stars beyond glistened, like distant beacons, but they seemed farther away now and somehow unreachable.
He had been on missions before, had seen parts of Novaheim that few others had. But today, it felt like the walls themselves were closing in on him.
The words of the fragment did not belong here. They did not belong in Novaheim, in a world built on structure and perfection. And yet, the more he thought about them, the more they made sense. The more the idea of finding truth within instead of relying on the systems that governed his life grew compelling.
He took a deep breath and adjusted his jacket, feeling the scroll's weight shift against his side. Was it possible that the life he had been living, the perfect life, wasn't everything it seemed?
As Sawl walked down the corridor, a familiar figure approached. One of the higher-ranking officers, her uniform sharp and precise. She smiled warmly as she passed him, but Sawl couldn't bring himself to smile back. The usual mechanical politeness of the exchange felt hollow now, like a script he had memorized and could no longer perform with conviction. There was nothing real about it. Nothing alive.
The deeper Sawl ventured into the heart of Novaheim, the more the walls seemed to close in on him. He passed the sprawling Central Spire, Novaheim's most revered district, where the finest minds of the station resided. It was pristine, everything in perfect order, but it lacked the vitality he had once believed in. He had always admired its quiet majesty, its order. Now, it felt like a place where life was happening without life. The perfect streets, the stunning architecture, all designed to maintain an illusion.
He walked into the Market District next, one of the few places that was alive with movement. Holographic advertisements flashed on every wall, promising the newest tech upgrades or streamlined lifestyle enhancements. People moved in perfectly choreographed steps, purchasing exactly what they needed, with no room for uncertainty. The air was synthetic, as always, but now even that felt foreign, like it was draining him.
Sawl's mind wandered back to the fragment again. The scroll's words echoed in the depths of his thoughts, reverberating off the clean walls of Novaheim, mingling with the sterile hum of the city's systems. He felt, for the first time, like an outsider in his own home.
Sawl passed the Central Hub, a massive gathering point for all of Novaheim's leadership. His thoughts were a whirlpool of confusion. He couldn't reconcile his duty, his loyalty to the mission and to Novaheim's ideals, with what the fragment was telling him.
The shuttle loomed ahead, its engines thrumming in the air. Sawl approached, the hum of the shuttle filling the space around him. His next trip to Earth was ahead, and as the doors opened, he stepped inside, trying to clear his mind. The words from the fragment still lingered, echoing through his thoughts. The truth wasn't in the systems he had always trusted, nor in the flawless structure of Novaheim. It was somewhere else, somewhere within him.
As the shuttle lifted off, Sawl's gaze shifted from the pristine spires of Novaheim to the distant stars. Something real, something raw, awaited him out there. As Novaheim grew smaller behind him, Sawl knew he had crossed a threshold. For the first time, he saw the cracks in the perfect world he had always trusted.