POV: Riley (25 years after Theo's sacrifice)

I stood at the front of my classroom at Unity Academy, watching sixteen-year-olds from across Prime Existence barely pay attention to my lecture on the Void War.

"The Void consumed thirty percent of Earth before we stopped it," I said, pulling up holographic images of the devastation. "Billions died. Reality itself nearly ended."

A student from Earth-Machina, their cybernetic enhancements gleaming, raised their hand. "But that was like ancient history, Professor Morris. Why do we need to learn this?"

"Ancient history?" I repeated, trying to keep frustration from my voice. "It was twenty-five years ago."

"Exactly," my daughter Theodora said from the back...