I began this adventure four years and four days ago. On May 22nd, 2021, at 7:29 PM, I made my first post on a sister site, beginning Kevin's journey and everything that followed beyond it.
Thank you to everyone who stuck around through all of it. Thank you for the comments, reviews, theories, encouragement, and ideas over the years. It genuinely meant a lot to me.
It has been one heck of a journey.
I appreciate all of you.
Sincerely,
Ken
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"It is always clearest on the way out," Kevin mouthed the old line as he sat amongst his friends in their empire among the stars.
They had been on the move for a long time now, heading ever farther toward distant galaxies where none of the powers they once knew held influence. They were traveling outward into the dark beyond civilizations, into regions where even the oldest maps became uncertain.
The main reason for the journey was simple.
It had only taken a single day for the most powerful races in known space to notice the creation of Kevin's personal world.
With Null's power, traveling had become effortless. To outside observers, they simply vanished as they crossed distances beyond what even the LOW could properly monitor. There were no visible jumps, no detectable trails, and no meaningful way to follow them.
They were free.
Free to think.
Free to plan.
Free to rest.
And yes, free to love.
Invicta's wall of date ideas was steadily filling with checkmarks and polaroids taken during each outing. Over time she had changed in ways that surprised everyone, including herself. She was still energetic, still emotional, and still completely obsessed with Kevin, but she was less catastrophically impulsive than before. More stable. More mature.
She laughed more now.
She loved dancing, spending time with George in his workshop, and inventing ridiculous little experiences for Kevin to stumble through with her. One week she became obsessed with picnics under artificial rainstorms. The next she wanted to recreate ancient Earth amusement parks inside rotating habitats.
Some things never changed though.
She still adored Kevin with all her heart.
Tutor had returned fully to the purpose she loved most, to teach, guide, and nurture Kevin. Together they threw themselves into learning everything they could find meaning in. Cooking classes, dancing lessons, painting, sculpting, philosophy, history, music, and countless other pursuits filled their days.
With Kevin's memory now bordering on perfection, lessons became less about repetition and more about understanding. Once he mastered something, he rarely needed to revisit it again.
Except for dancing.
Dancing with Tutor became sacred to them both, a quiet constant that neither of them willingly missed.
George had not originally been designed as a teacher. Kevin had attempted to create something closer to an Alfred style butler when he first made him. As it turned out, George became far more than a simple archetype.
He became a grandfather.
A craftsman.
A steady foundation in moments where everything else felt uncertain.
YOU ARE READING
The Core: The Dark Enemy
Ciencia FicciónHe saved everyone. Now he must save himself from being forgotten. Kevin returned to Earth a hero. The Void is sealed, the Uplift is underway, and humanity is finally reaching for the stars. But victory came at a cost he never saw coming. Something i...
