The Seraphine's Echo emerged from Foldspace into chaos.
Where there should have been a bustling trade corridor, there was only wreckage—hulks of warships drifting through dark mist, their hulls torn and twisted by forces no weapon could create. Energy storms flickered between them, painting the void in sickly green light.
Elyra tightened her grip on the controls. "By the stars… what happened here?"
The Marauder's gaze swept across the debris. "The Varyn fleet didn't just fall—they were consumed. This isn't destruction. It's infection."
The sensors screamed with distortion. Fragments of transmissions looped and repeated—voices whispering the same few words again and again.
> "—We see the light—"
"—The sky is opening—"
"—Kael… why did you leave us—"
Elyra's breath caught. "It's mimicking their memories."
The Marauder nodded grimly. "The Void feeds on consciousness. It doesn't just destroy—it rewrites what's left."
As they drifted closer to the remains of the largest ship, the Astra Dominion, Elyra noticed a faint beacon still active near its bridge. "Someone's alive," she said.
They latched onto the Dominion's airlock and boarded carefully. The corridors inside were eerily quiet—lit only by the pulsing glow of emergency lights. Strange black veins crawled along the walls, pulsing faintly like living tissue.
Elyra raised her plasma pistol. "Stay close. If something moves, we burn it."
"You lead," the Marauder said, shadows forming a protective veil around her.
They passed through broken control rooms and empty hallways until they reached the command bridge. There, among shattered consoles, stood a figure—cloaked in a pilot's coat, staring out at the void.
"Identify yourself!" Elyra shouted.
The figure turned slowly. His eyes glowed faint blue. "You're too late," he whispered. "The fleet's already dreaming."
Elyra hesitated. "Dreaming?"
He smiled, the movement unnervingly calm. "The Void showed us Kael. He promised peace. We just had to… stop resisting."
Before she could reply, his body convulsed—black veins spreading across his face as the glow in his eyes turned crimson. The Marauder reacted instantly, his shadow spearing through the creature's chest. It disintegrated into dark mist with a distorted scream.
Elyra exhaled shakily. "They're turning people into conduits."
"Yes," the Marauder said. "And if this infection reaches central command, the galaxy will fall in days."
Elyra approached the console and inserted her data core. A holographic map flickered to life, showing dozens of red zones across the star sector—each representing a ship infected or corrupted.
Her expression hardened. "Then we find the source—and burn it out."
The Marauder tilted his head. "You're thinking of baiting the Void?"
"Exactly," she said. "We give it what it wants—me. But on our terms."
He regarded her in silence for a long moment, then nodded. "Then prepare, Huntress. The next battle won't just decide this fleet's fate—it'll echo across every world Kael once saved."
Outside, the Void pulsed faintly, as if listening.