The Unwinnable Game by Gregory Parrott

The mission of the Odin has transcended the boundaries of a scientific expedition. As the crew drifts deeper into the cosmic rift, they discover the terrifying truth: the temporal anomaly is not a natural phenomenon, but a sentient being with its own inscrutable agenda. This entity is not merely observing them; it is testing them, forcing them into a series of psychological trials designed to strip away their pasts.

Ayla, Theo, and Jax realize they are trapped in an "Unwinnable Game" against the Great Forgetting. Every attempt to preserve their history only feeds the entity's hunger. To survive, the crew must confront the raw nature of their existence and accept a radical, terrifying truth: the only way to defeat a predator that feeds on the past is to let go of everything they have ever known and embrace an unrecognizable future.