Darkness.
Not complete.
Just enough to make breathing feel heavier.
Vinh slowly opened his eyes.
Metal.
Cold walls surrounded him on all sides.
A narrow space.
Too narrow.
He tried moving his arm—
his elbow immediately hit steel.
"…Awake?"
Apoloziro's voice came from somewhere beside him.
Close.
Too close.
Vinh exhaled slowly.
"…Yeah."
The container shook violently.
A loud metallic sound echoed outside.
Something was dragging them.
No—
transporting them.
Vinh leaned toward one of the small slits carved into the metal wall.
Outside—
rows.
Hundreds of metal containers.
Stacked.
Moved.
Locked into position one after another.
Each identical.
Each carrying someone.
Or something.
The floor beneath them trembled again.
Heavy machinery.
Mechanical arms shifted entire rows of containers into a massive transport bay.
The air outside was filled with noise.
Not screams.
Not panic.
Only operation.
Cold.
Precise.
Calculated.
Vinh narrowed his eyes.
Far outside the loading platform—
he finally saw it.
A ship.
No—
a fortress.
Its size swallowed the entire docking area beneath it.
Black metal covered its outer hull.
No symbols.
No decoration.
Only structure.
Weapons lined the sides in perfect order.
Layers upon layers of armor plating reflected the pale artificial light above.
Smaller ships moved around it continuously like insects surrounding a corpse.
Apoloziro spoke quietly.
"…That's not a transport ship."
HE78 answered immediately.
"…It's a deployment carrier."
The container shook again.
Hongco cursed under his breath somewhere nearby.
"So we're really going."
No one answered him.
Because everyone already knew.
Vinh kept staring outside.
The Dejteo moved in organized formations.
No wasted movement.
No shouting.
No hesitation.
One group secured weapons.
Another inspected vessels.
A third loaded containers like theirs into deeper sections of the ship.
Like cargo.
Like inventory.
Vinh slowly lowered his head.
"…We're not prisoners."
Apoloziro looked toward him.
"…Then what are we?"
Vinh stayed silent for a few seconds.
Then—
"…transported assets."
The silence afterward felt heavier than the metal walls around them.
A loud sound echoed outside.
The loading gate was closing.
Massive layers of steel began sealing the docking area.
Light disappeared section by section.
Darkness consumed the bay.
Then—
a deep vibration spread through the floor.
The ship had started moving.
Vinh tightened his fist.
Somewhere inside him—
that strange feeling returned.
The arrow.
Still there.
Still pointing forward.
As if something was waiting.
Watching.
Choosing.
Meanwhile—
far above another sector of space—
a completely different ship prepared for departure.
White light reflected across polished metal corridors.
Axians moved calmly through the station.
No chaos.
No fear.
Only preparation.
Levi walked beside Velkar, Kraith, and Nyxara.
Unlike Vinh's group—
they were not restrained.
Axians stepped aside as they passed.
Some saluted.
Others simply observed them silently.
To many of them—
this was honor.
Future warriors.
Chosen survivors.
Kraith looked around with visible excitement.
"…Now this looks insane."
The corridor stretched endlessly ahead.
Transparent walls revealed enormous hangars outside.
Rows of ships floated silently in massive docking chambers.
Some were shaped like spears.
Others resembled moving fortresses.
Energy lines glowed beneath their hulls like veins.
Velkar quietly watched the fleet.
"…I used to dream about this."
Nyxara remained silent.
But her eyes moved constantly.
Analyzing.
Watching.
Processing.
Levi, however—
wasn't looking at the ships.
He was studying exits.
Security patterns.
Guard rotations.
Distances between doors.
Velkar noticed immediately.
"You're thinking about escaping again."
Levi didn't deny it.
"…I still don't trust them."
Ahead of them—
a massive gate slowly opened.
Cold air rushed outward.
Beyond it—
the interior of an Axian battleship.
Bright.
Wide.
Structured.
Thousands of personnel moved simultaneously across multiple levels.
Pilots.
Engineers.
Restoration units.
Combat divisions.
Everything operated together like a single organism.
Levi stepped inside slowly.
Then paused.
At the far end of the chamber—
a gigantic screen illuminated the room.
A star map.
Multiple sectors blinked red.
Warnings.
Movement.
Signals.
Something was approaching.
An Axian officer walked past them quickly.
"Final preparation phase has begun."
Another voice followed.
"All fleets prepare for transition."
The atmosphere shifted instantly.
Not panic.
Focus.
Levi slowly looked toward the massive window beside the chamber.
Outside—
space stretched endlessly.
Dark.
Silent.
Beautiful.
And somewhere within that darkness—
something else was moving too.
Another ship.
Another force.
Another side of the war.
The floor beneath them vibrated softly.
The battleship had started moving.
Far away—
inside a metal container buried within the darkness of a Dejteo carrier—
Vinh felt the exact same vibration.
Two ships departed.
One carried warriors.
One carried prisoners.
But both—
were heading toward the same destination.
And somewhere between those endless stars—
their paths were already beginning to collide.