Location: The Motherplace
The Valley of Silent Structures • Universe Wyverno
"That ability should not exist in a living mind."
Far behind the ruins
THHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOM. Something enormous roared beneath the valley. And this time the entire Motherplace shook with it.
The ground beneath Oblivion split The robed figure stepped back immediately, its distorted hands lowering. "You stayed too long." Oblivion barely heard it. His focus dropped toward the valley. The darkness below was no longer still. It was rising. Not a creature. Not something with shape. Something deeper. The massive entities that had been climbing before suddenly stopped. Every eye across their bodies turned downward. Fear. They were afraid of what was beneath them. Lazard's voice echoed from the distance. "OBLIVION!" Oblivion turned sharply. Through the broken ruins, Lazard ran toward him, blood still visible across his side. His breathing was uneven, but his eyes were locked forward. "We are leaving. Now." Oblivion didn't argue. Not this time. Behind them, the creatures began moving Away. Climbing across ruins, leaping between structures, fleeing the valley center. That Something worse was coming. The robed figure spoke one last time: "If it rises fully… this planet collapses." Then it stepped backward and vanished into folding space. Gone. No trace. Another tremor hit. BOOOOOOOOOOM
A massive crack tore across the valley floor. Light burst upward from the depth Oblivion felt it instantly. That same pressure from before. The same feeling he had when his power activated but far greater. Lazard reached him and grabbed his arm again. This time tighter. "We are not fighting this." Oblivion nodded. For once, he agreed completely. They ran. Across broken platforms. Through collapsing ruins. Above them, the sky fractured further. Golden rivers of light shattered into fragments. Black lines spread across the air like cracks in glass. Reality was destabilizing. Behind them something emerged. Slowly. A shape without edges. Without defined form.
The space around it bent inward unnaturally. The creatures that hadn't escaped in time collapsed. Their bodies folded into themselves without resistance. Silently erased. Oblivion looked back once.
His body froze. The thing didn't have eyes. But it was looking directly at him. Recognition. Again. But deeper this time.
Lazard yanked him forward. "Don't look at it!" Oblivion forced his eyes away. His arm started reacting again. Violently. Space around his hand fractured uncontrollably. Small distortions burst outward randomly. They weren't precise anymore. He was losing control. They reached the edge of the ruins
where the Chrono Slice Drive platform floated in place, partially damaged but still active. The machine flickered with unstable blue energy. Lazard rushed toward the control panel. "It's not calibrated we jump anyway." Oblivion staggered beside him.
Behind them the thing moved Everything else moved toward it. Oblivion clenched his jaw. "No time." He stepped forward. His hand lifted again. But this time he didn't try to control it perfectly. He forced it. KRRRRRRRRRRRRK. Space in front of the platform twisted violently. The collapsing distance between them and the machine snapped instantly. Both of them were pulled forward unnaturally SLAM
They hit the platform hard. Lazard didn't hesitate. He activated the drive. VMMMMMMMMMMMM. The machine screamed with unstable energy. Behind them the valley was gone
The white void expanded outward consuming everything. The last thing Oblivion saw was that presence watching him
FLASH
Location: Unknown Space Between Planetary Routes. The Chrono Slice Drive drifted slowly. Damaged. But stable. Oblivion lay on the ground, breathing heavily. Blood dried across his face. His arm finally stopped distorting. For now. Lazard stood near the control panel. Quiet
After a few seconds, Oblivion spoke. "…What was that?" Lazard didn't answer.
His eyes stayed on the empty space outside. Then he said quietly: "Something that should not be reachable, And it noticed you." Oblivion closed his eyes. The words stayed with him.
To be continue