The steady rhythm of the ship's radar terminal filled the Nightjarr's interior, soft and constant, as Rhaul continued his geological survey. '
Across several smaller terminals alongside the radar, lines of data flickered across the displays as Rhaul continued to map every ridge, slope and eidric signals present around them.
Rox meanwhile, clearly bored, paced idly through the narrow interior.
She walked from one side of the ship to the other as she continued to check for damaged and disarrayed tools and such…
She then reached another set of data terminals, which were unlike the first and had a different use.
"Energy cores… stabilized… no damage detected, mhm.. Would you look at that…," she tilted her head as she muttered to herself, checking the status of the energy cores powering her ship.
She then swiped with one finger as the display of the terminal she was reading upon switched into a new set of diagnostics—
Which was the weapon systems.
"Hmm… blasters okay… auto turret a little damaged… railgun…okay…" she exhaled before pressing another button that completely turned off the terminal.
"Mhm, not bad," she spoke as she went on over to a different location of the ship.
While Rox wandered around her ship, fiddling with random tools and switches just to kill her boredom, Gelhyne remained seated quietly at the side.
Her head subtly swayed gently back and forth as her eyelids grew heavier with each passing moment… until she began to drift into a doze.
The stagnant air within the interior continued for a few more moments as both minded their own businesses.
Until, as if on cue, a beeping sound echoed that shook both Rox and Gelhyne into focus.
*beep! *beep! *beep!
"Anomaly detected! Anomaly detected! Anomaly detected!" Rhaul's synthetic voice filled the cabin as warning blue lights slightly glowed from the ship's main panel.
*beep! *beep!
"Anomaly level readings… rampant eidric signatures have been detected due west 7.83334 kilometers!"
Wasting no time, Rox hurriedly sprinted towards the main data panel, pressing one button before finally sitting at the main seat.
"I'll handle the ship now Celer, deactivate automatic flight," Rox swiftly buckled herself ready before grasping the handle bars as she assumed control of the ship.
"Show the directions on my data panel Rhaul, I'll follow it,"
"As commanded", Rhaul's synthetic voice echoed as the data panel beside Rox whirred to life, displaying the direction and location of the anomaly which was highlighted in a pulsing red dot.
*Whirrrr!!!
"Hold on tight!" Rox shouted before her voice was drowned by the sounds of the ship roaring as she steered the handles towards the left, making the ship do a sharp turn.
"U-Urgh…!" Gelhyne grunted as she gripped her buckles tight, her body thrown off by the sudden turn, yet was held secured by the buckles.
"T-Thread carefully Rox!" she raised her voice through the drowning sound of the engines of Rox's ship, her hands gripping the buckles tight.
"This planet… albeit slightly, is still corrupted by the dark veil—whatever is causing those anomaly readings… will not treat us kindly!"
"I Know!" Rox shouted as she prodded the handles forward, the nightjarr roaring with power as it pierced through the air with great speed.
"I ain't no rookie"
The Nightjarr soared forward, cutting through the sky like a dark streak of metal and light.
The ship roared past ridges and valleys, gliding over jagged mountain peaks before the landscape below began to shift.
Ahead stretched an expanse of forest, vast and ancient, the trees so dense their shadows seemed to swallow the ground beneath them.
But what caught Rox's eye wasn't the forest itself—it was what surrounded it.
A wall of mist, thick and unmoving, cloaked the trees like a shroud.
It wasn't the usual pale haze of morning fog, nor the dust of storm clouds.
This mist was dark—so dark that even the ship's headlights barely pierced through it.
"The Veil Mist…" Gelhyne whispered, her tone dropping to something between awe and realization.
Her eyes flickered with recognition as she leaned forward, the faint glow of the monitors reflecting off her face.
"Our last exploration team reported traces of it near the southern sectors—but it wasn't like this. It wasn't this dense…"
Rox didn't reply.
Her jaw tightened as she adjusted the ship's controls, slowing the thrusters to a low hum as the Nightjarr approached the edge of the mist.
The air outside shimmered faintly, as if reality itself wavered before the swirling darkness.
"Rhaul and Celer, maintain current altitude. Begin perimeter scan."
"Acknowledged, Captain," the AI responded, its tone steady as data streams appeared across Rox's panels.
The ship glided along the border of the Veil Mist, circling slowly.
Rox's eyes stayed locked on the radar feed, watching as Rhaul highlighted a faint pulsing signal ahead—the same location it had been marking for the last hour.
But no matter how far they traced the edge, there was no opening, no gap—just a vast curtain of black mist swallowing everything.
…
Minutes stretched into an hour.
The soft hum of the ship's systems filled the silence, broken only by Rox's occasional muttering as she adjusted flight vectors.
Finally, she stopped the ship, the engines holding them in a quiet hover above the treetops.
"Should I pierce through the mist and head straight to the signal?" she asked, glancing toward Gelhyne.
There was hesitation in her tone—she had traveled through the dark mist before, and she had fought in it.
The Veil Mists were no stranger even to Rox.
"No," Gelhyne answered sharply, her voice suddenly firm.
*click!
She unbuckled her seatbelt and stepped forward beside Rox, her light violet hair falling over her shoulders as her eyes focused on the mist below.
"I have a plan."
Reaching into her cloak, she pulled out a small pendant—silver in frame, holding a faintly glowing green crystal at its center.
It shook faintly in her hand, vibrating as if responding to something unseen.
Rox's eyes narrowed. "What's that supposed to be?"
Gelhyne didn't answer immediately.
Her gaze stayed locked on the swirling darkness ahead.
"A relic. It reacts to eidric distortions… to power that doesn't belong… to mortal hands"
The pendant pulsed brighter for a moment, the glow reflecting off Gelhyne's face.
Her voice lowered as she finally spoke again.
"There's no mistaking it. That signal your AI is tracking—the one buried inside that mist…" she paused, gripping the pendant tighter.
"That's where the ruin is. Or at least… what's left of it."