--
"Nox?" I said aloud, my tone skeptical.
{'Internal thoughts can now be used for intercommunication, sir. The interference field is currently down.'}
Nox's voice calmly echoed in my head.
"Right..." I murmured before focusing on my thoughts
'So… we can talk like this?'
{'Correct.'}
'Ohh… that's... actually pretty cool.'
Even with all the questions still spinning in my head — and the lingering shock of everything that just happened — I couldn't deny it was kind of impressive.
Shaking my head, I stood up, my gaze drifting toward the closed door.
"I guess she didn't take it seriously, huh," I murmured.
I crouched down, unzipped my bag, and pulled out a chocolate bar.
"Damn, I'm hungry," I said under my breath as I tore open the wrapper and took a bite.
I was halfway through when Nox's voice echoed again.
{'Sir, I'm detecting a human presence approaching this location.'}
My gaze snapped to the door, my shoulders instinctively tensing.
A few seconds later, the faint click of the lock turning filled the room.
Then slowly, the door creaked open, revealing the fox lady in the doorway.
She stepped inside without a word and quietly closed the door behind her.
Her masked eyes lingered on me for a few seconds before she walked calmly to the bed and settled into a meditative position.
I watched her for a moment, the tension in my body slowly fading away.
When it was clear she wasn't planning on saying anything, I turned back to my chocolate bar and took another bite.
The room fell into a comfortable silence — broken only by the faint hum of the fan above.
{'Sir, two minutes left until impact.'}
I flinched, the words ringing in my head. Opening my eyes, I glanced at the meditating fox lady.
"Hey… you might want to prepare yourself a little," I said, my voice eerily calm.
--
ORBITAL CHAOS
--
A massive, diamond-shaped projectile blistered into the solar system at impossible speed, heading straight towards its intended target.
As it neared the blue sphere, four thrusters unfolded from its sides, glowing a brilliant orange-white before firing in a desperate attempt to reduce velocity. The sleek construct shimmered with heat, its surface glowing red-hot as it breached the upper atmosphere.
Across the planet, various observatories and military satellites locked onto the fast-approaching object.
Data streamed into command centers in frantic bursts — numbers spiking, calculations failing, alerts firing faster than operators could process.
Alarms shrieked in secret bases buried deep beneath mountains and deserts, sending ripples of panic through the highest levels of authority.
Cities across continents were thrown into panic as air raid sirens screamed through the night.
Television and radio broadcasts stuttered and went dark.
Then, the cold, robotic voice of an automated emergency system cut through every channel, every frequency:
"THIS IS AN EMERGENCY ACTION NOTIFICATION. THIS IS NOT A DRILL.
A NATIONAL CIVIL DANGER WARNING HAS BEEN ISSUED BY THE WGA.
AN IMMINENT, LIFE-THREATENING EVENT IS ABOUT TO OCCUR ACROSS ALL NATIONS.
ALL PERSONS ARE ORDERED TO SEEK IMMEDIATE AND PERMANENT SHELTER INDOORS.
MOVE TO THE LOWEST POSSIBLE FLOOR, AWAY FROM WINDOWS AND DOORS.
TURN ON LOCAL RADIO OR TELEVISION STATIONS FOR OFFICIAL INFORMATION AND FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS.
LIMIT PHONE USE TO EMERGENCIES ONLY.
STAY SHELTERED UNTIL AN OFFICIAL 'ALL CLEAR' MESSAGE IS BROADCAST.
THIS MESSAGE HAS BEEN CONCLUDED."
---
Far below the chaos, the fox woman stirred from her position, before slowly turning toward me.
"What do you mean?" she asked, her voice even, emotionless.
Bzzz… Bzzz…
The sharp vibration of a phone broke the tension. Her gaze shifted toward the pillow — where the sound came from — then back to me.
I pointed toward it with my chin.
"See for yourself," I said, my tone serious.
The fox lady kept her gaze on me for a moment before finally reaching for the phone.
She answered the call, slowly raising the device to her ear.
It didn't take long for her body to stiffen — the sudden rigidity in her posture giving away the shock from whatever she'd just heard.
{'one minute till impact, sir.'} Nox's calm voice resounded again.
---
The night sky above the Pacific ignited into blinding white as a burning inferno tore through the clouds, sending shock waves rippling in every direction.
A deafening roar followed as the projectile — now a streak of searing light — plummeted toward the ocean with unstoppable force.
BOOOOMMMMMMM!!!
A blinding flash erupted as it slammed into the ocean, vaporizing water, rock, and air in an instant.
A massive column of steam shot into the sky as the sea around the impact site vanished.
A split second later came the true blast — a shockwave so immense it shredded the air itself, tearing outward in all directions.
The ocean surged back with vengeance, rising into a towering wall of water that devoured everything in its path.
Every living and non-living thing caught within its radius was reduced to vapor.
At the epicenter of the destruction, where dense, hot steam occluded everything, something stirred as a deep violet glow pulsed from within.
Lodged in the ocean floor, runes etched along the surface of the diamond-shaped object flickered with a faint violet glow as it began to turn.
At first, it rotated slowly, but then it picked up speed until it became a blur of motion.
A sharp grinding sound pierced through the depths as the object drove downward, burrowing into the Earth's crust with impossible ease — like a hot knife slicing through butter.
The object plummeted.
Past the sediment and stone. Past layers untouched by man. It pierced through the crust, breached the mantle, and in under a minute, it reached the infernal depths of the outer core — a realm of molten fury where even the strongest metals would dissolve into nothing.
And yet, it remained unscathed.
From deep within its shifting surface, a cold mechanical female voice spoke:
[Sealed mana reserve located.]
[Now analyzing.]
Seconds passed.
[Analysis complete. Preparing for integration.]
The object came to a sudden halt.
Suspended in the rolling, molten outer core of the Earth, the vein-like runes on its body pulsed deep violet — then again, brighter, this time an eerie purple. Its form began to twist and shrink, reshaping itself into an orb.
The orb continued to contract until it was no larger than a ping-pong ball.
[Preparation complete.]
[Now integrating…]
The small orb pulsed bright purple — far too bright for its size — as its form swelled again, the alien sigils across its surface flickering in rapid rhythm.
[Integration – 15% complete.]
[Integration – 70% complete.]
[Integration – 99% complete.]
Then, with one final pulse, the eerie purple light faded into red. Its form morphed, camouflaging itself within the molten landscape.
…
Everything returned to a deceptive calm until the voice sounded again:
[Integration complete.]
[Nexus has fully integrated with Planet 42B's mana reserve.]
[Now preparing for the release of sealed core mana.]