In front of them stood a structure so colossal that none of them could see where it ended.
Thousands of metal fragments drifted around it like an artificial ring. Some still glowed with a crimson light, as if they had only recently been torn from a battleship. Massive armor plates, destroyed cannons, and countless wreckage fragments silently rotated through the void, forming an endless graveyard of metal.
Lights flickered continuously across the dark surface of the structure. Under the distant glow of surrounding star systems, it resembled an ancient creature silently observing those who had just entered its territory.
At that moment, a strange voice echoed through the control system.
There was no warning. No incoming signal. It simply appeared as if it had always existed there.
"Confirmation. Two vessels have been returned from the frontline."
"Returned?! Returned where?"
Apoloziro immediately turned toward HE78.
For the first time, even HE78 had no answer.
The voice quickly vanished, leaving behind an uncomfortable silence.
Only HE78, Vinh, Levi, and Hongco could understand the strange language that had echoed through the ship. On the vessel behind them, Nyxara, Velkar, and Kraith appeared to have received no signal at all. They continued following the ship ahead, unaware of what had just happened.
HE78 remained motionless for several seconds.
Streams of data flashed across his mechanical eyes.
Finally, he spoke.
"I'm not certain."
"Leaving the battlefield may have activated something."
He paused before continuing.
"Or perhaps destroying our connection to the Axian mothership caused some system to classify us as independent targets."
"That is only a hypothesis."
Nobody argued.
Everyone knew he was being honest.
No one understood what this place was.
No one knew what awaited them ahead.
Danger.
Or safety.
Nobody had an answer.
Just then, Hongco noticed a small corner of the control panel.
A line of symbols was blinking repeatedly.
She immediately activated her translation system.
A few seconds later, her expression changed.
"Hey."
"Are we running out of fuel?"
Everyone turned toward the display.
A yellow energy bar appeared on the screen.
It had dropped much lower than any of them expected.
Less than half remained.
"Why now of all times?!"
Vinh blurted out.
The atmosphere inside the ship instantly became tense.
HE78 looked toward the colossal structure ahead.
Then at the remaining fuel.
Finally, he made a decision.
"We're going in."
Levi didn't object.
Perhaps because he understood they had no other choice.
If they continued drifting through endless space, they would run out of fuel long before finding another refuge.
The ship immediately changed course.
Heading straight into the colossal maze of metal before them.
---
Behind them, Nyxara observed everything.
"They're going inside."
Kraith immediately clenched his fist.
"Then we're going in too."
Velkar turned toward him.
"Have you lost your mind?"
"We don't even know what that place is."
Kraith gritted his teeth.
"So what?"
"At least we can still see them."
Velkar sighed.
"What if it's a trap?"
"What if they're deliberately leading us in there?"
This time, Kraith didn't answer.
Because even he understood.
This could be an opportunity.
Or the greatest mistake they would ever make.
---
The deeper they ventured inside, the more chaotic the scenery became.
Enormous pieces of metal drifted everywhere. Some rotated slowly through the darkness. Others collided with one another, producing deep echoes that resonated through the hull.
HE78 constantly adjusted their trajectory.
One small mistake.
One tiny miscalculation.
And the ship would become another piece of scrap metal in this cosmic graveyard.
Vinh stared through the front window.
The sight was magnificent.
And terrifying.
"So what do we do now?"
he asked.
Only silence answered him.
Levi continued staring ahead.
A long time passed before he finally spoke.
"Maybe this is where I lose them."
A brief silence followed.
Then he continued.
"Or maybe this is where our escape ends."
"Interpret that however you want."
Nobody objected.
Because everyone knew.
Levi wasn't joking.
---
Behind them, Nyxara suddenly noticed something.
Among the drifting wreckage outside, she had seen something.
It moved incredibly fast.
Thin.
Unnaturally long.
Unlike any lifeform she had ever seen.
For a brief moment, it appeared between two enormous masses of metal before vanishing back into the darkness.
Nyxara narrowed her eyes.
"Hey..."
She unconsciously stepped closer to the glass.
"Is there something out there?"
The entire cabin immediately fell silent.
Velkar looked up.
"What?"
"I don't know."
Nyxara continued staring into the void.
"I thought I saw a shadow."
Kraith frowned.
"Out here?"
Velkar shook his head.
"How could there be a living creature in a place without atmosphere?"
Nyxara said nothing.
Maybe he was right.
Maybe it was only a drifting piece of metal.
Maybe distant starlight had deceived her eyes.
But just before she looked away, she swore she saw it again.
A thin dark figure clinging to the outer surface of a wrecked ship.
Completely motionless.
And in that brief instant...
Nyxara felt as though it was staring back at her.
Then it vanished.
Not a single scanning device detected anything unusual.
In that endless void, the only thing they could rely on was their ship.
Whatever had made that sound... none of them knew whether it was a mechanical creature or merely a drifting piece of wreckage.
Another voice suddenly echoed through the communication channel.
"There's a way out."
At that moment, Nyxara was recalibrating the atmosphere converter, adjusting its exhaust ports so compressed gas could be released to propel or redirect her movement in zero gravity.
Velkar slowly swept her flashlight across the darkness.
A strange feeling settled deep inside her.
"Why aren't they attacking anymore?"
Fragments of countless destroyed starships drifted silently around them.
They floated through the endless void with no destination... no purpose... as if they had been abandoned there since the beginning of time.
Nyxara's voice broke the silence.
"Let's move. Gather everything. We need to get out of here."
Velkar reached up and pressed the communication switch on the side of her helmet.
"Alright... but where are we supposed to go?"
No one answered.
After a brief silence, Kraith finally spoke.
"We can't go back."
"If there's no way out..."
"...then we go deeper."
Velkar immediately turned toward him.
"Do you even hear yourself?"
Kraith looked back without hesitation.
"Do you have a better idea?"
Velkar fell silent.
She slowly pushed herself toward Nyxara and Kraith.
"What did you manage to collect?"
Nyxara caught another drifting ration pack before answering.
"Twenty-eight plasma magazines."
"Twenty-eight laser power cells."
"Four laser rifles."
"Twelve flash grenades."
"Sixteen smoke grenades."
"And twenty-four plasma bombs."
She divided the supplies equally among the three of them.
"This should keep us alive... for quite a while."
Velkar nodded quietly.
Then something caught her eye.
At the far end of a narrow metallic tunnel...
A faint light flickered.
Just once.
Then it disappeared.
The tunnel fell into darkness again.
As though...
someone inside had noticed them...
...and turned their light off.