First Beacon

The night Shurgadh's sky burned green, physicist Ved Sharma realized he'd opened something that was never meant to be opened.Two years ago, he made a promise to a dying man. Keeping it costs more than he imagined.Now the city whispers. A message appears on a wall where no message should be. Children draw geometries they've never learned. Ved's dreams teach him mathematics that work too perfectly-and he doesn't know who's teaching him.There are warnings carved in forgotten temples. Stories of civilizations that tried this before. None of them survived to tell what they found.A journalist asks questions no one will answer. Intelligence agencies watch Ved's every move. Time fractures in corners of the city where no one's looking.And something vast is waiting on the other side of the holes Ved made-patient, curious, and far too interested in what humanity does next.What did he let in? And can he close the door before it's too late?