Foldspace unfolded like a curtain of glass, and for the first time, Elyra felt reality bend not through motion—but through thought. The Seraphine's Echo drifted into a place that defied description: a vast, luminous expanse where stars pulsed like neurons, and rivers of light flowed between them like synapses firing in a cosmic brain.
"This… is the Lattice Mind," Elyra whispered. "We're inside it."
The Marauder hovered beside her, its shadow form more solid here, its edges rippling with energy. "Not inside, exactly. We're anchored in its cognitive layer—a realm of connection and intention. What you see is thought given form."
Elyra stared through the viewport. Currents of data and energy swirled in impossible directions, each pulse echoing through her mind. Voices whispered—some clear, others broken, fragments of conversations from every corner of the galaxy.
"It's… everyone," Elyra said softly. "Every transmission, every dream, every signal—echoing through this place."
The Marauder's tone was grave. "And beneath it all, the Void is whispering, too."
Elyra turned sharply. "You hear it?"
The light around them dimmed. The shimmering data streams slowed, darkened, and began to twist upon themselves. A low hum built in the distance, resonating deep in Elyra's chest. The stars flickered—some vanishing entirely.
The Void's presence was subtle at first, a distortion in the rhythm of the Lattice Mind. Then came the patterns—geometric fractures of shadow moving through the neural light like infection spreading through veins.
Elyra activated the fragment's field, but the distortion rippled away from her light, adapting instantly. "It's learning," she said. "It's mimicking the Mind's structure to hide."
"Then we must think faster," the Marauder replied. "Here, thought shapes reality. Your will defines your strength."
Elyra closed her eyes, focusing on the image of clarity—Kael's lessons, her purpose, the stars she swore to protect. The fragment responded, radiating light that merged with her heartbeat. Around her, the void-touched currents recoiled, retreating briefly.
For a fleeting moment, she felt the Lattice Mind respond. A surge of awareness touched her thoughts—a vast, ancient intelligence awakening, curious and uncertain.
"You are not of the darkness," the voice said inside her mind, vast and echoing. "Why do you enter my dreaming?"
Elyra steadied her breathing. "Because the darkness has already entered you. We're here to stop it before it consumes everything you are."
There was silence, then a trembling vibration that resonated through the ship's hull. "Then hurry… before it becomes me."
The Mind's light flickered again—one half glowing with purity, the other darkening into shadow. The corruption was spreading faster now, turning entire thought streams black.
Elyra opened her eyes. "We need to find the infection's core. The longer we stay, the more it'll learn from us."
The Marauder's form brightened. "Agreed. But if we're to cleanse it, we'll have to enter the very heart of its consciousness—and that means facing what even the Mind fears."
Elyra's gaze was steady. "Then that's exactly where we're going."
The Seraphine's Echo accelerated into the luminous depths, diving toward the heart of the galaxy's consciousness—where thought, fear, and darkness collided in a battle for existence itself.
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