Tartarusios erupted into the Corridor, the ancient passage said to be the only path connecting reality and worlds to one another. The colossal vessel surged forward like a blade cast into infinity, its enormous frame trembling as streams of pale energy raced across its hull. Outside the great viewing glass of the control chamber, there was no sky, no stars, and no recognizable void. Instead, an endless current stretched ahead of them, a realm suspended between existence and oblivion. Rivers of silver mist coiled around impossible structures that appeared and vanished in the same instant, while distant fragments of worlds drifted through the haze like forgotten memories abandoned by creation itself.
Youri lay slumped upon the captain's chair at the center of the control room. His body felt heavy, not from injury alone but from exhaustion far deeper than flesh. His gaze remained fixed ahead on the Corridor's flowing horizon. Strange lights drifted across the glass, illuminating his face with pale reflections. A faint smile rested on his lips as he thought to himself, now this looks peaceful.
For the first time in what felt like centuries, there was silence.
No roaring monsters. No collapsing domains. No screams of battle. No burning skies.
Only stillness.
The massive control chamber around him remained mostly dormant. Rows of ancient consoles wrapped around the circular room, their surfaces etched with symbols from a language older than empires. High above, pillars curved inward toward a vaulted ceiling where faint currents of energy crawled through veins of crystal and dark metal.
Then the silence broke.
A voice suddenly echoed through the chamber.
It was deep, mechanical, yet oddly elegant.
But it was not Terran.
Nor any language Youri recognized.
The voice spoke in flowing tones that carried a strange rhythm,
Sacrosian.
Youri frowned.
The smile vanished from his face.
Slowly, he pushed himself upright from the captain's chair.
"What..." he muttered quietly. "What was that?"
The voice repeated itself.
The same alien language flowed through the chamber again.
Youri looked around cautiously. The room remained dark, though faint sparks of energy now flickered across several nearby consoles.
Then suddenly—
CLANK.
A metallic sound echoed overhead.
Youri looked up.
From the ceiling, a long mechanical antenna descended slowly toward him, suspended by articulated arms hidden inside the chamber itself. The device resembled an ancient instrument rather than modern machinery, its bronze-like shell covered with glowing inscriptions and rotating crystal lenses.
It lowered directly before him.
Youri instinctively stepped back.
"What now..." he muttered.
The antenna halted only inches from his face.
And then—
A brilliant beam of pale light burst from its core.
It scanned him instantly.
Youri flinched.
The light passed over his body from head to toe.
Immediately, the entire chamber awakened.
One by one, dormant systems surged to life.
Screens activated.
Ancient panels illuminated.
Holographic symbols appeared across the walls.
The floor itself vibrated softly beneath his feet.
The voice returned again.
Only this time—
It spoke in perfect Terran.
"System active. Language update completed. Identity scan completed. Command inheritance confirmed. Ownership transfer initiated. Changing registered ownership from ████████ to Youri Kronos."
Youri froze.
His eyes widened.
"Wait—wait!" he said, stepping toward the antenna. "What?"
The voice answered without hesitation.
"Requested system update completed successfully."
Youri stared at the machine.
"What requested update?"
"Ownership reassignment and command authorization transfer."
His confusion deepened.
"Who told you to do that?"
The AI answered instantly.
"You issued the command shortly before Corridor entry."
Youri frowned.
"I never—"
Then realization struck him.
His expression slowly changed.
Leonora.
Or rather—
Lea.
He suddenly remembered.
Her hands moving across the controls before she stepped away.
The strange commands.
The quiet determination in her eyes.
Youri exhaled slowly.
"So..." he whispered.
She did that.
The realization settled heavily inside him.
Even now... she had made sure he would survive.
He slowly lowered himself back into the captain's chair.
The antenna retracted silently into the ceiling.
Around him, Tartarusios continued awakening.
Ancient systems hummed with renewed life.
Entire sections of the chamber now glowed with flowing energy.
Massive holographic displays formed around the chair, surrounding him with navigation data and ancient symbols still translating themselves into Terran.
Youri leaned back.
His eyes drifted toward the Corridor once more.
The dreamlike current ahead stretched endlessly.
For several moments he simply watched.
Then he asked quietly,
"Where are we right now?"
The AI responded immediately.
"We are within the Corridor."
The words echoed calmly.
"The dreamscape of creation and ruin. The singular path connecting worlds, civilizations, and realms."
Youri looked toward the mist outside.
"Dreamscape..." he repeated.
The AI continued.
"The Corridor predates recorded history. It is not governed by conventional space or time. Passage through it permits transit between existential pillars."
Youri frowned.
"Existential pillars?"
"Affirmative."
He leaned forward slightly.
"And where exactly are we headed?"
The AI paused only briefly.
Then answered.
"Eternes."
The name meant nothing to him.
Youri narrowed his eyes.
"Eternes?"
"Affirmative. The third and final Pillar of Existence."
His confusion only grew.
He looked around at the glowing systems.
"What is Eternes?"
The AI answered instantly.
"It is your world."
Youri blinked.
"My world?"
"Affirmative."
Before he could ask another question—
The Corridor changed.
Without warning, the silver fog surrounding Tartarusios thickened violently.
The view beyond the glass vanished beneath layers of spiraling mist.
The ship lurched.
Hard.
Warning lights flashed across the chamber.
The floor trembled violently beneath him.
Youri grabbed the chair.
"What happened!?"
"Unstable Corridor fluctuation detected," said the AI.
The fog outside twisted unnaturally.
Great shadows moved within it.
For brief moments, Youri thought he saw entire landscapes buried in the haze—cities, oceans, stars, and impossible shapes drifting beyond comprehension.
The lights flickered again.
Then—
Silence.
The turbulence ceased.
The fog split apart.
And suddenly—
Space.
Real space.
Dark.
Cold.
Endless.
The Corridor vanished behind them as though it had never existed.
Before Tartarusios stretched a familiar universe filled with stars.
Youri stared.
For several moments he could not speak.
He was back.
Back in his world.
Back in reality.
Yet something inside him refused to celebrate.
He slowly rose from the captain's chair and stepped toward the viewing glass.
The stars reflected across his face.
But his expression remained hollow.
Tartarus had changed him.
Not merely his body.
Not merely his mind.
Something deeper.
Something quieter.
He thought of Leonora.
Of her mask falling away.
Of her words.
You are not my Youri.
The memory cut deeper than any blade.
All this time he had fought to return.
Fought monsters.
Crossed impossible realms.
Faced death again and again.
And yet the thing waiting at the end had not been reunion.
It had been loss.
He placed a hand against the glass.
The stars drifted silently ahead.
Somewhere out there lay home.
And yet—
Home no longer felt like home.
The AI spoke once more.
"Arrival within Eternes territory projected shortly."
Youri said nothing.
He simply watched the darkness.
A man had entered Tartarus searching for revenge, survival, and a path home.
But the one who returned aboard Tartarusios was not the same man.
Something had been left behind beneath the crimson skies.
Something he might never reclaim.
And though he stood once more beneath the stars of his own reality—
That emptiness would remain with him for a very long time.