Silence remained across the hall, across every home and every screen scattered throughout the Federation.
Nobody moved or spoke, the weight of what they'd heard pressing down with force that made breathing difficult.
The Sage's recording continued, his masked face filling billions of screens simultaneously.
His voice emerged quieter than before, stripped of the earlier formality.
"That was the night when I saw it."
A pause, letting the words settle.
"The only future where our world survived."
His posture shifted slightly, his hands coming from behind his back to settle at his sides.
"A future that was passed down through prophecies to all the other Sages of humanity across every world we call home."
Another pause, heavier than the first.
"A future that all of us, every single one, have been walking towards for the past two hundred years."
Silence stretched impossibly long, becoming unbearable.
Then his voice returned, gaining edges that hadn't been there before.
