Darkness.
Not the kind that came from the absence of light.
This… was different.
Levi opened his eyes.
The first thing he noticed—
was the silence.
No alarms.
No vibration.
No hum of the ship's engine.
Nothing.
His body felt light.
Too light.
As if gravity itself had forgotten him.
Levi forced himself up.
His hand reached for the floor—
but there was no cold metal beneath his fingers.
Instead…
something smooth.
Warm.
Almost… alive.
He froze.
This wasn't the ship.
Levi's eyes sharpened.
His mind moved faster than his body.
Analyzing. Comparing. Rejecting.
Everything around him—
made no sense.
The space stretched endlessly.
White… but not empty.
It felt vast, yet contained.
Like standing inside something that wasn't meant to have a shape.
"…"
Levi didn't speak.
There was no need.
He stood up slowly.
Every movement controlled.
Measured.
Then—
he noticed them.
Figures.
Far away at first.
Barely visible.
They didn't walk.
They didn't move.
And yet—
they were getting closer.
Levi's hand instinctively moved toward his side.
Weapon.
Gone.
A pause.
He adjusted his stance instead.
Lower. Balanced.
Ready.
The figures became clearer.
Tall.
Slender.
Their forms… wrong.
Not distorted—
but too perfect.
Light gathered around them.
Not shining.
Not glowing.
But existing.
Levi's gaze narrowed.
For the first time—
his thoughts hesitated.
"…What is this?"
No answer.
One of them stepped forward.
No sound.
No impact.
And yet—
Levi felt it.
A pressure.
Not on his body.
But on his mind.
Like something was looking through him.
Past him.
Into something deeper.
Levi clenched his fist.
His breathing slowed.
Control.
"Identify yourselves."
His voice was calm.
Cold.
Precise.
Silence.
Then—
a voice.
Not heard.
But understood.
"Foreign entity."
Levi's pupils contracted.
The figures stopped.
All at once.
Perfectly synchronized.
"Origin: Unknown."
The space shifted.
Slightly.
Almost unnoticeable—
but enough.
Levi felt it.
The change.
This place—
was reacting.
"Classification… pending."
Levi took a step forward.
Deliberate.
Unwavering.
"I asked a question."
For a brief moment—
everything stopped.
Then—
one of them moved.
Closer.
Closer than before.
Too close.
Levi didn't step back.
The light around it intensified.
Not blinding.
But overwhelming.
And then—
he saw it.
Not a face.
Not a body.
But something behind it.
Layers.
Countless layers of something he couldn't comprehend.
His vision blurred.
For the first time—
Levi felt it.
Not fear.
Something else.
"…What… are you?"
Silence.
Then—
an answer.
"Designation… unnecessary."
A pause.
"Observation required."
Levi's body locked.
Not by force.
But by something deeper.
Control—
was taken.
The space around him closed in.
Not physically.
But conceptually.
As if the very idea of movement—
was being denied.
Levi's thoughts raced.
Calculating.
Searching for an opening.
None.
"Subject displays high-level cognition."
Another voice.
Another presence.
More of them.
They were watching.
All of them.
"Potential classification: High."
Levi exhaled slowly.
Even now—
his mind remained steady.
So this is how it is.
Not an attack.
A capture.
He didn't resist.
Not yet.
Because resistance—
required understanding.
And right now—
he had none.
The light intensified.
The space shifted again.
And then—
Levi disappeared.