Chapter 48: The Event Horizon
Three weeks into the void, the Sol-Invictus reached the edge of the Styx-7 System. It was a graveyard of celestial bodies. At the center sat a blue-giant star in the middle of a violent collapse, surrounded by a swirling accretion disk of molten iron and shattered planets. The gravity here was so intense that time itself was beginning to warp; for every hour Carson spent in the system, a day passed in the outside world.
"Warning: Hull stress at 85%," Aura's voice echoed through the ship, now distorted by the gravitational interference. "The Imperial fleet has stopped at the 'Safety-Limit.' Prince Valen is broadcasting a message. He is demanding the final 'Resonance-Key' before we cross the point of no return."
Carson stood up, his body feeling like it weighed a thousand tons. The 33rd Strand flared, its light pushing back the darkness of the void pressing against the viewscreen. He looked out at the collapsing star, seeing the shimmering distortion where the Library of the Second Blade was hidden—a spatial pocket locked in a permanent moment of temporal stasis.
"Ignore the transmission," Carson commanded. "Aura, divert all power from the weapons to the Aegis-Shield. We are going in."
The ship groaned as it crossed the Event Horizon. Outside, the universe turned into a kaleidoscope of screaming colors and stretching light. Inside, the crew screamed as they felt their own bodies being elongated by the tidal forces. Carson stood at the bow, his hands outstretched, his Qi flowing out of his pores and into the very metal of the ship.
He was using the Sovereign's Tithe again, but this time, he wasn't taxing his life-force for a strike; he was taxing it for "Existence." He was forcing the ship to remain "Solid" in a place where physics demanded it become "Spaghetti."
Suddenly, a massive shape appeared in the swirling fire of the accretion disk. It wasn't a ship. It was a structure of white, indestructible marble, floating amidst the chaos of the dying star. It was the Library. But as the Sol-Invictus drew closer, a beam of obsidian light shot out from the Library's spire, slamming into Carson's shield.
"The Library... is defending itself?" Hobs yelled over the alarms.
"No," Carson gasped, blood trickling from his eyes. "It's not defending. It's 'Scanning.' It's looking for the McCain signature. Aura, release the Hilt! Let the star see the King!"