The ship assigned to them was an old, refurbished Spectre-class corvette, barely larger than a shuttle, named the Wayfarer. It had seen better days, but Ryn's expert touch had its systems humming with quiet efficiency.
As they jumped toward the Gloom, leaving the bright, ordered lanes behind, a sense of… freedom settled over them. They were alone. Truly alone for the first time since Echo's arrival in the Beast World.
They gathered in the small common area. Echo produced the black rose from its box. It still glimmered with void-cold.
"The Shadow Court gave us this. They'll be watching, even here. Maybe especially here. We have three objectives in the Gloom," Echo said, laying out the plan. "One: complete the official mission—map Corrupted activity, clear any immediate threats. Two: find a secure location, a base, where we can train and grow without anyone watching. Three…" he tapped the rose, "…explore what this leads to. On our terms."
"We're playing all sides," Ryn observed.
"We're surviving," Echo corrected. "And to survive what's coming, we need power they can't control, and knowledge they don't have."
The Gloom, when they dropped out of slip-space, lived up to its name. It was a nebula of perpetual twilight, stained with the eerie green and violet of lingering corruption energy. Drifting within it were the carcasses of titanic starships from a hundred races, ancient and new, twisted together in a silent, frozen dance of death.
Their sensors lit up with life signs—warped, corrupted, and… other.
"I'm reading multiple Tier 4 and 5 signatures… and something else," Ryn said, frowning at her display. "Fluctuating energy readings that don't match Corrupted or Ordered patterns. It's… wild."
"Take us toward the largest wreck," Echo said. "The one the mission brief calls the Titan's Gravestone. We'll start there."
As the Wayfarer navigated the ghostly graveyard, a sense of profound isolation wrapped around them. But within the ship, bound together by their purpose and their bond, they felt a new kind of strength.
They were no longer pawns on someone else's board.
They were players.
And the Gloom was their opening move.