Location: Unknown Space Between Planetary Routes
The Chrono Slice Drive drifted silently through the dark.
Its outer shell was damaged in multiple places. Small sparks moved across exposed machinery while the blue energy surrounding the platform flickered inconsistently. Every few seconds, the entire structure vibrated as if something inside the engine was struggling to remain stable.
Oblivion sat against one of the fractured walls near the center of the platform.
His breathing had finally slowed.
But his arm still hurt.
It felt deeper than muscle or bone. Every time he looked at his hand, he remembered what happened inside the Motherplace. That thing beneath the valley.
The way it looked at him.
Oblivion clenched his fist tightly.
The space around his fingers distorted for half a second.
He immediately relaxed his hand again.
Lazard noticed.
"You need to stop forcing it."
Oblivion looked toward him. Lazard stood near the control system, adjusting broken mechanisms while reading unstable streams of symbols across a floating screen.
"You say that every time," Oblivion replied quietly.
"Because every time you ignore it."
The platform shook again.
A warning signal echoed through the chamber.
Lazard cursed under his breath.
"That thing damaged the Slice Drive more than I thought."
Oblivion slowly stood up. "Can it still move?"
"For now."
Lazard pressed another sequence into the controls. The blue screen shifted instantly, revealing a fractured map filled with countless moving lights.
Most of them were gone.
Entire route-lines had disappeared.
Oblivion stared at it. "What happened?"
"The collapse spread further than expected."
Lazard stayed silent for a moment.
Then he answered
"The Motherplace wasn't isolated."
Oblivion frowned.
"When that thing woke up, the surrounding planetary routes destabilized with it. Entire transit sectors are disappearing."
Oblivion looked back toward the darkness outside the platform.
"So one creature destroyed multiple systems?"
Lazard's expression darkened slightly.
"I never said it was a creature."
Silence filled the chamber again.
Oblivion hated when Lazard did that.
Every answer only created larger questions.
Before he could speak again
KRRRRRRRRRRT
The lights above them flickered violently.
Then the platform stopped moving.
Completely.
Lazard immediately turned toward the engine core.
"No…"
The entire structure went quiet.
No vibrations.
No engine noise.
Nothing.
Oblivion felt it instantly.
Lazard slowly stepped backward from the controls.
"We lost the route current."
"What does that mean?"
"It means we are stranded."
Oblivion's eyes narrowed. "Can't you restart it?"
"Not without external energy."
Another silence.
Then
tap
Oblivion looked up instantly.
A sound.
From outside.
tap
Again.
Something touched the outer shell of the platform.
Slowly.
Lazard's face changed immediately.
"That's impossible…"
tap
tap
tap
The sounds began moving across the metal surface.
Like something was walking around them.
Oblivion stepped closer to the broken observation panel near the side of the chamber.
Outside was darkness.
Nothing else.
Then
a figure appeared.
Standing motionless in empty space.
Humanoid.
Tall.
Its body looked thin enough to snap apart, covered in layered black cloth moving without wind. Its face was hidden behind a smooth surface with no eyes, no mouth, no features.
But the worst part—
it was standing there without any support.
No ship.
No platform.
Nothing.
Oblivion felt pressure build in his chest.
Something inside him was warning him to stay still.
The figure raised one hand slowly
and touched the outer barrier of the Slice Drive.
The entire platform distorted inward.
Metal bent instantly.
ALARMS erupted across the chamber.
Lazard moved immediately.
"Get back!"
The figure outside tilted its head slightly.
Then
the barrier shattered.
BOOOOOOOOM
The force launched Oblivion across the chamber wall.
Pain exploded through his shoulder as he crashed into exposed machinery.
The unknown figure entered slowly through the broken barrier.
No sound.
No footsteps.
It simply moved forward.
The temperature inside the platform dropped instantly.
Oblivion tried to stand
then froze.
The space around the figure was bending unnaturally.
Not like his distortion.
This was cleaner.
Lazard stared directly at the entity.
"…A Void Echo."
The figure turned toward him immediately.
For the first time
it reacted.
Oblivion noticed Lazard's hand slowly move toward the weapon hidden beneath his coat.
But Lazard didn't attack.
Which meant one thing.
He knew attacking would fail.
The Void Echo raised its hand again.
Then pointed directly at Oblivion.
A distorted sound escaped from beneath its smooth face.
Then suddenly
Oblivion's arm reacted violently.
KRRRRRRRRRK
Space exploded outward around him.
The chamber warped.
Metal twisted.
The Void Echo stopped moving.
Its head tilted slightly again.
Oblivion grabbed his arm in pain as distortions spread uncontrollably across the floor.
Lazard's eyes widened slightly.
"That shouldn't affect them…"
The Void Echo took another step forward.
This time faster.
Oblivion felt pure danger hit him instantly.
Without thinking
he moved his hand forward.
The distortion burst outward violently.
Space between them collapsed for half a second.
BOOM
The Void Echo's body suddenly disappeared
then reappeared smashed against the far side of the chamber.
The entire platform shook violently.
Oblivion stared forward breathing heavily.
The Void Echo slowly stood back up.
Not injured
But different
Its head remained turned toward Oblivion.
Completely focused on him now.
Then
for the first time
it spoke clearly.
"You carry the fracture."
The lights died instantly.
Darkness swallowed the chamber.
And somewhere beyond the broken platform
something answered back from the void
To be continue.