The Montana bunker had become a cathedral of silence and contemplation.
Michael stood at the entrance, staring out at the snow-covered peaks. The sun was setting, painting the sky in shades of crimson and violet. It was beautiful. Peaceful. But Michael felt anything but peaceful. The weight of Maria's words pressed down on him like a physical force: "You find another way. You find a way to stop the Void without destroying it. You find a way to balance the universe."
Clarice appeared beside him, her face pale, her eyes troubled. She'd been working non-stop, analyzing the data from the Annihilator, trying to find an alternative. So far, she'd found nothing.
"I've been through every file," she said, her voice hollow. "Every record. Every piece of data from the Architects. There's no mentio
