Sarah felt the stillness before she saw it.
It was a cold spot in the song, a place where the notes faltered and died. The warmth of the Cradle was behind them, the light of the multiverse stretched before them, but somewhere in the distance, there was nothing. No song. No warmth. No change.
Julian felt it too. He stopped walking, his eyes scanning the horizon. "Something's wrong. The song is fading. Like it's being held back."
Sarah nodded slowly. "It's not being held back. It's being stopped. Something is preventing the song from reaching a part of the multiverse."
The First Ones appeared before them, their forms dim, their light flickering with concern. The lead First One stepped forward, its voice heavy with ancient worry.
"The Unchanging has awakened. The being that exists beyond
