Great! I'll continue right away.
Kaelen woke to silence.
No hum of the engines. No blinking lights on the control panel. Just the slow, steady sound of his own breathing inside the helmet of his flight suit.
For a moment, he thought he might still be dreaming.
But then the cold reality settled in — the Vera Dawn was dead.
He blinked, clearing the grogginess from his mind. The cockpit was intact, though dark. Outside the viewport, there was... nothing.
No stars.
No planets.
Just a deep, endless blue mist swirling across a black sea.
"Where am I?" he whispered.
His hands moved to the console out of habit, searching for any signs of life. The emergency systems flickered dimly as the backup power kicked in. A shaky relief passed through him — at least he wasn't completely stranded.
Kaelen checked the navigation systems.
No coordinates found.
The computer couldn't recognize his location.
He leaned back, feeling the small weight of fear settle in his chest. This wasn't normal space. This wasn't anywhere he knew.
Then the console beeped again.
A new signal.
But this time, it wasn't broken or distorted. It was clear, strong, and oddly rhythmic — like a pulse.
Kaelen hesitated, then opened the communication channel.
The cockpit speakers filled with a low hum, and then... a voice.
"You are not alone. Follow the beacon."
Kaelen swallowed hard.
The beacon?
On the cracked monitor, a tiny blinking dot appeared, leading away from his current position — deeper into the blue mist.
He gripped the steering controls tightly. Every instinct screamed at him to turn back, to fight the Rift's pull. But deep down, he knew there was no turning back. The Rift had taken him, and now the only way forward was through.
"Alright," he muttered. "Let's see where you want me to go."
He coaxed the emergency thrusters to life. The ship lurched forward slowly, following the beacon's faint signal into the unknown.
As he moved through the mist, strange shapes flickered at the edges of his vision — towering structures, dark silhouettes, things that seemed half-formed and drifting.
was the Rift itself alive?
Kaelen pressed on, heart pounding.
Whatever lay ahead, he had made his choice.
He would follow the signal.
He would find the source.
He would survive.
Or he would vanish, just like the others.