When the Obscura, a sentient force consuming entire systems, begins encroaching on human colonies, the crew of the Erebus embarks on a desperate mission to halt its advance. What they find, however, is not a simple enemy but a relic of an ancient civilization—an entity struggling to fulfill its broken purpose of preservation. As the crew delves deeper into the Obscura’s mysteries, they must confront its creators’ lost knowledge, their own psychological fractures, and a galaxy-spanning threat that makes the Obscura’s destruction feel like the least dangerous choice.