⭐ CHAPTER 9 — “THE DESCENT”

Chapter 9 is where the story stops chasing signals and steps into the anomaly’s memory. The descent isn’t meant to frighten; it’s meant to feel prepared, almost ceremonial — as if the station shaped this space for them, not against them.The hatch, the phosphor glow, the reconstructed stairwell… none of these are real structures. They’re echoes, fragments of a moment the anomaly is trying to rebuild. Chapter 9 clarifies the rule: it doesn’t recreate places — it recreates events. And Riven, Calyx, and Idris walk straight into one.Riven’s role sharpens here. He isn’t chosen by destiny — he’s noticed because he notices. Calyx keeps the logic grounded. Idris carries the cost of seeing too much. Together, they become the anomaly’s unwilling witnesses.And now the question shifts. Not “What is it?” But “What happened at 00:17:43 — and why won’t the station let that moment die?”Chapter 9 is the doorway. The real memory starts on the other side.