Location: Unknown Void Route — Outside the Motherplace Sector
Something answered back from the void.
THHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOM
The vibration slammed through the Slice Drive hard enough to bend the walls inward for half a second.
Oblivion grabbed the nearest support rail as cracks spread beneath his feet. Loose panels crashed from the ceiling while sparks burst from exposed machinery across the chamber.
The Void Echo stepped backward immediately.
Not from them.
From whatever had answered.
Lazard noticed too.
His expression darkened.
"That's impossible…"
Another pulse rolled through the platform.
THOOOOOOOOM
Closer.
The remaining emergency lights flickered weakly, revealing the faceless shape of the Void Echo near the shattered observation section. The black cloth wrapped around its body drifted unnaturally upward like invisible gravity was pulling at it from outside.
Then Oblivion noticed something worse.
The stars outside were disappearing.
One after another.
Something enormous was moving through the void beyond the platform, covering entire sectors of light as it approached.
Oblivion narrowed his eyes, trying to focus
and instantly regretted it.
Pain exploded behind his eyes.
The shape outside refused to stay consistent. Its outline shifted every second
The Void Echo slowly lowered itself.
Kneeling.
Oblivion froze.
The thing that broke into their platform
was bowing.
Lazard grabbed his arm immediately.
"We leave now."
"You still haven't explained what that thing is."
"Because I don't know."
That answer hit harder than expected.
Lazard always knew something.
Another pulse shook the chamber violently.
THHHHHOOOOOOM
The darkness outside shifted again.
Then
an eye opened.
Oblivion stopped breathing for half a second.
It was massive
Rotating patterns moved beneath its surface Strange symbols drifted across the iris before dissolving again.
The moment the eye focused on the Slice Drive
KRRRRRRRRRK
Space around Oblivion distorted violently.
The floor beneath him cracked instantly.
Lazard grabbed him before the distortion spread further.
"Control it!"
"I'm not doing this!"
"Yes you are!"
Oblivion looked down.
The fractures spreading through the chamber were coming directly from his arm.
The eye outside continued staring at him silently.
Then images suddenly flashed through his mind.
A black ocean stretching forever beneath a dead sky.
Massive structures sinking endlessly into darkness.
A voice repeating words he could barely understand.
Then one phrase became clear.
"Return what was separated."
Oblivion stumbled backward breathing heavily.
Blood dripped from his nose onto the cracked floor.
The Void Echo slowly rose again.
"The fracture remembers."
Lazard turned sharply toward it.
"What fracture?"
The faceless entity pointed directly at Oblivion.
"The wound between layers."
Silence filled the chamber.
Then the eye blinked.
BOOOOOOOOOOM
The entire Slice Drive twisted violently sideways.
Oblivion crashed into the wall as parts of the chamber folded inward unnaturally before snapping back into place. Metal screamed across the platform while the damaged engine core flickered uncontrollably.
The pressure inside the chamber became unbearable.
The Void Echo stepped backward again.
Afraid.
Oblivion noticed immediately.
Whatever that thing outside was
even the Echo feared it.
Lazard rushed toward the damaged controls.
"We have one route jump left!"
"Then use it!"
"The engine can't stabilize under this pressure!"
Another violent pulse shook the platform.
THOOOOOOOOOOOM
Cracks spread through the air itself now.
Then something changed.
The fractures surrounding Oblivion stopped spreading outward.
Instead
they began collapsing inward.
Compressing.
Falling debris near him slowed unnaturally once it entered the distorted space surrounding his body. Even sparks from broken wires drifted sluggishly around him.
Lazard noticed instantly.
His eyes widened slightly.
"…You're changing the local field."
Oblivion barely heard him.
The pain in his arm intensified.
But this time
the distortion felt stable.
Controlled.
He slowly looked toward the damaged engine controls across the chamber.
But suddenly
the distance did not feel real anymore.
KRRRRRRRRRRK
The warped space surrounding Oblivion compressed violently inward
and he moved.
BOOM
He crossed the entire chamber instantly.
Not speed.
The distance itself had been shortened.
Lazard stared at him in shock.
Oblivion slammed both hands against the engine controls.
The Slice Drive roared back to life.
Blue energy exploded across the platform as reality twisted around the chamber violently.
"NOW!" Lazard shouted.
The emergency jump activated instantly.
The massive eye outside remained visible for one final second
still staring directly at Oblivion.
Then everything disappeared into blue light.
Silence returned.
Smoke drifted through the ruined chamber while weak emergency lights flickered overhead.
Oblivion collapsed against the floor breathing heavily.
His arm trembled uncontrollably.
Lazard stared at him for several seconds before speaking quietly.
"You didn't accelerate yourself."
Oblivion looked up weakly.
Lazard glanced toward the opposite side of the chamber.
"You compressed the distance between two points."
Far behind the fleeing Slice Drive
deep within the unseen void
the massive eye slowly closed.
But it had already recognized the fracture
To be continue.