On the ice covered plains of the north pole, the Great Ring, far larger than the others on the planet, completed. It crackled with energy and burst with light and then, as it had thousands of times before, it failed. A portion of the Great Ring exploded, showering the plains with giant black stones. The missing section was nearly half a degree wide and would take months or longer to repair itself, as it had thousands of times before.

Elsewhere, very far away, the Sentinel watched its Ring open briefly and then close, as it had thousands of times before.

Chapter 46

Chapter 48