Outside the bridge, the light emanating from the CME grew increasingly intense. Even though most of it was obscured by the planet, the radiant light still bathed the Nightingale's hull in a ghastly white light, casting shadows with edges as sharp as knives. Sensors continuously transmitted warnings of the premature arrival of high-energy particle streams. Although far less intense than in the core region, it was already causing the ship's hull temperature to rise rapidly, with some external equipment issuing overheating alarms.
**CME Main Body Arrival Countdown: 3 minutes 02 seconds… 01 seconds… 60 seconds…**
Time seemed compressed to its absolute limit, each second feeling like an eternity.
"Angle deviation: 0.1 degrees… Stable!" Leah reported. "Maintain current course, estimated entry into optimal shadow cover position in 1 minute 47 seconds!"
Just then, Rex's hoarse roar came through the communicator, accompanied by the deafening roar of the engine room and the groan of something being stretched to its limit: "Ready! Plasma injector overloaded to critical point! This thing is a cauldron about to explode! Ready to ignite at any moment! But only for a maximum of one minute! After one minute, the engine core will melt!"
One minute. Leah's calculated 47 seconds to escape the window was slightly longer, but equally tense.
"Roger that. On my orders." Kane's voice was unusually calm, as if he weren't directing a life-or-death escape, but rather a routine landing.
The ship continued gliding deeper into the planet's shadow. The surrounding light rapidly dimmed, with only the glow of the instrument panel and the increasingly approaching, hellish white light from behind the planet illuminating Kane and Leah's faces. The temperature seemed to have dropped, but it was the calm before the storm, a sense of oppression born of being sheltered by a massive celestial body, yet knowing full well that the shelter was about to be destroyed.
**Countdown: 45 seconds…44 seconds…**
They had fully entered the shadow cone of the planet. The massive planet stood like a shield between them and the CME. However, through the porthole, they could see the planet's atmosphere (though thin) beginning to be ionized by the CME's vanguard, emitting eerie, aurora-like flickering lights—a harbinger of impending destruction.
**Countdown: 30 seconds…29 seconds…**
Kane could feel his heart pounding heavily in his chest (simulated). His palms were sweating cold (simulated), but his grip on the control stick was as steady as a rock.
**Countdown: 15 seconds…14 seconds…**
"Rex! Prepare!" Kane whispered.
"Ready!" Rex roared back.
**Countdown: 10…9…8…**
Kane's pupils contracted to their maximum, his eyes fixed on the navigation data and a special sensor reading—an instrument monitoring the effects of the CME's main body reaching the planet's edge.
**7…6…5…**
The aurora-like light at the planet's edge suddenly became incredibly blinding! It was as if the entire ring system had been ignited!
**4…3…**
Now!
"**Ignition!" Kane roared with all his might!
Almost simultaneously with his command—
BOOM!!!
An unimaginable, soul-tearing **bright light** and **energy fluctuation** swept in like a tsunami from the side, even across the massive planet!