The Titan stopped moving.
Not retreating.
Not attacking.
Just… still.
At the center of Mars orbit, the colossal warship went silent.
Adrian frowned.
"I don't like this."
Elara didn't respond.
Because Olympus had just flagged something far worse.
GRAVITATIONAL ANOMALY DETECTED
The display zoomed into the Titan's core.
The light inside it didn't flare this time.
It… collapsed.
Inward.
Like a star folding into itself.
Adrian leaned closer.
"That's not energy buildup."
"No."
Elara's voice dropped.
"It's compression."
The Architect spoke, quieter than before.
"Impossible…"
Adrian glanced at the screen.
"That's the first time you've sounded unsure."
The Titan's core shrank further.
Smaller.
Denser.
Darker.
Space around it began to bend.
Not visually.
Physically.
Signals distorted.
Sensor readings warped.
Adrian whispered,
"Are we… looking at a black hole?"
Elara checked again.
"No."
"Something similar."
"But controlled."
The Architect confirmed.
"A Singularity Core."
The words hung in the air.
Heavy.
Wrong.
Adrian exhaled slowly.
"Okay."
"So instead of hacking us…"
"Or out-adapting us…"
"Now it's just going to break physics."
"Yes."
The Titan pulsed again.
But this pulse wasn't a wave.
It was gravity.
A sudden pull dragged nearby debris inward.
Destroyed ships.
Fragments.
Even energy patterns bent toward the core.
Adrian grabbed the console.
"It's pulling everything in!"
Human drones closest to the Titan lost control.
Their paths curved.
Dragged toward the center.
Some collided.
Others were crushed instantly.
Elara reacted.
"Olympus—thrusters full reverse!"
The system responded.
GRAVITY WELL ESCAPE PROTOCOL ACTIVE
Human units struggled.
Fighting against the invisible pull.
Some escaped.
Many didn't.
Adrian clenched his jaw.
"This is bad."
"No," Elara said quietly.
"This is catastrophic."
The Titan wasn't just attacking anymore.
It was reshaping the battlefield itself.
The Harvester fleet pulled back.
Far beyond the growing gravitational field.
They weren't retreating.
They were making space.
Adrian pointed at the screen.
"They knew this was coming."
"Yes."
"This is the final phase."
The Titan's core shrank again.
Now a point of pure darkness.
Surrounded by a warped halo of light.
Even Mars' orbit began to distort slightly.
Adrian whispered,
"If that thing grows any bigger…"
"It could destabilize the entire region."
The Architect spoke again.
More serious than before.
"If the Singularity becomes unstable…"
"It will not just destroy your fleet."
"It will consume Mars."
"And possibly Earth."
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Adrian stared at the screen.
"…well that's new."
Elara didn't react outwardly.
But her mind moved faster than ever.
Calculations.
Possibilities.
None of them good.
"Olympus," she said.
The system responded.
CONTAINMENT PROBABILITY: 3%
Adrian blinked.
"Three percent?"
"That's not a plan—that's a coin flip."
Elara kept thinking.
The Titan's gravity well expanded again.
More debris pulled inward.
Even light bent around it now.
Adrian whispered,
"We can't fight that."
"No."
"Then what do we do?"
The Architect answered.
"There are two options."
Adrian sighed.
"There's always two."
"Option one."
"Retreat."
"Abandon Mars orbit."
"Allow the Titan to destabilize."
Adrian frowned.
"And then?"
"It may collapse into itself."
"Or it may expand further."
He stared.
"That's not an option—that's a gamble."
"Yes."
"Option two."
The black spacecraft moved slightly closer.
"I intervene fully."
Adrian's eyes narrowed.
"And what does that mean?"
"I will destroy the Titan."
Relief flickered—
Then faded.
"Okay… what's the catch?"
The Architect paused.
"Such an action will expose my full capabilities."
"And?"
"The Harvesters will escalate beyond this system."
Adrian blinked.
"…meaning?"
"You will win this battle."
"But lose the war."
Silence again.
Because that choice—
Was worse.
Elara whispered,
"So either we risk destruction now…"
"Or guarantee a larger war later."
"Yes."
Adrian ran a hand through his hair.
"Those are terrible options."
The Titan pulsed again.
Stronger.
The gravity well expanded further.
Human forces struggled to stay operational.
Time was running out.
Elara closed her eyes.
Not in fear.
In focus.
Then she spoke.
"There's a third option."
Adrian looked at her.
"Please tell me it's better."
She opened her eyes.
"We don't destroy the Singularity."
"We redirect it."
He blinked.
"…what?"
The Architect spoke immediately.
"Impossible."
Elara shook her head.
"No."
"Not impossible."
"Olympus can manipulate gravitational vectors."
Adrian stared.
"You want to… move a mini black hole?"
"Yes."
"Using what?!"
She pointed at the map.
Mars.
Its gravity.
Its orbit.
Its position.
"We use the planet."
The realization hit.
Adrian's eyes widened.
"You're going to slingshot the Singularity."
"Yes."
"And send it… where?"
She looked at the Harvester fleet.
At the hundreds of ships beyond the Titan.
Adrian slowly smiled.
"Oh…"
"That's insane."
"Yes."
"But it might work."
The Architect was silent for a moment.
Then—
"Probability?"
Elara answered.
"Seventeen percent."
Adrian laughed.
"That's actually better than three."
The Titan pulsed again.
The Singularity grew.
Time was almost gone.
Elara raised her hand.
"Olympus… prepare gravitational override."
The system responded.
WARNING: EXTREME RISK
Adrian looked at her.
"Seventeen percent."
She nodded.
"Yes."
He took a breath.
"Let's roll the dice."
The battlefield around Mars shifted again.
Human forces repositioned.
Thrusters fired.
Mass drivers aligned.
Not at the Titan—
But at space itself.
At the invisible curves of gravity.
The Architect watched.
Silently.
Carefully.
Because for the first time—
Humanity wasn't just reacting.
It was attempting something…
Even he hadn't predicted.
The Titan pulsed again.
The Singularity expanded.
And the final move began.