Tom and Rachel had been fortunate enough to materialize close together. They found each other quickly and began searching the ship for the teleportation controls.

  Rachel felt herself drawn in specific directions. She didn’t know if it was just intuition, or something more, but she listened to it all the same. She and Tom moved carefully through the Obsidian Dreadnought, careful not to alert anyone to their presence. But largely, they found they could move in an unencumbered manner.

  “How do you know we’re going the right way?” Tom finally asked.

  She gave her honest reply: “I don’t. It’s just a…kind of sense, I guess.”

  “That’s not very reassuring.”

  “If it makes you feel better, I’m pretty wigged out by it myself.”

  “It doesn’t.”

  Their path eventually ended at a closed door. No visible switches or handles to open it. Rachel generated her Thunderbow and stepped as far back as the corridor would allow. She drew the string back, and channeled her energies into a massive, electric arrow that nocked itself in the bow. Her arm quivered from the restrained power in the arrow, as it yearned to fly. Once she was convinced she’d loaded enough power into it, Rachel released the string.

  The arrow flew from her belt and struck the door, sending electric currents in different directions. And then, nothing happened. At first, Rachel assumed her gambit had failed. But after another moment, the door parted, revealing a simple staircase descending.

  Rachel went down first, with Tom following behind. They found themselves in a large, spherical chamber of some sort. But it was almost completely empty, save for a pedestal in the center of the chamber. Floating above the pedestal was a large crystal humming with otherworldly energies.

  “That looks like what we found in Brazil,” said Tom. “Just a lot bigger.”

  “Guessing this is where that shard came from,” said Rachel as she slowly approached.

  “And you were drawn to it?” asked Tom, alternating between staring at the crystal and at Rachel.

  “I…guess I was,” she said. “Making contact with it the way I did must’ve…linked us in some way.”

  “Isn’t that a fascinating turn of events?”

  The voice that echoed in the chamber echoed all around them. It had an almost sing-song quality to it, albeit in a very disconcerting way. Both Tom and Rachel readied their weapons, looking around for the source.

  “Whoever you are, come out and show yourselves,” said Tom.

  A sinister laugh came next. “Ah, the Red Knight. Such a fiery temper he has. Isn’t that always the way?”

  “Who the hell are you?” asked Rachel. “We don’t have time for games.”

  Rachel felt something slam right into her chest. She didn’t know what it was—she couldn’t see anything, but she felt it. Powerful enough to throw her on her back, leaving her with the wind knocked right out of her body. She managed to sit up just in time to watch Tom being whipped around from wall to wall, before being left to fall on his face.

  A figure slowly took form, hovering right before them. He was tall and extremely thin, almost emaciated. The robes he wore looked too heavy for his body to support the weight, but he moved freely. His long, silver hair flowed around his body, and his pale skin and dark eyes carefully took in both Tom and Rachel.

  “Welcome, to the Obsidian Dreadnought,” the man said. “I am called Lord Draven, and I’ll be your executioner tonight.”

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  Draven extended a long, bony finger in Rachel’s direction. The dark caverns that represented his eyes fixated on her, and his eerily high-pitched voice said, “The Nexus Shard has a connection to you? I find that very intriguing. I look forward to your evisceration.”

  “Think I’ll pass.” Rachel raised her Thunderbow and drew back the string, a trio of electric arrows quickly notching. She released, and the arrows flew at Draven.

  Draven’s form became semi-translucent as the arrows passed harmlessly through his body. Tom watched from nearby and forged the Flameblade in his hand. He rushed at Draven and thrust the sword into him. But even as it went into Draven’s form, it hit nothing of substance.

  The strange creature held up his hand, his fingers tensing and curling as if he were grasping something. Tom’s arms snapped to his sides, and he felt the strain of something closing in around him. Draven had some sort of telekinetic ability, that much seemed obvious. He raised Tom off the ground, then threw him right into Rachel.

  “Such a shame this is the best the Quantum Group could produce,” said Draven. “I’d been led to believe you were the fiercest warriors in the cosmos. How did Malakai ever fall to the likes of you?”

  “Any bright ideas?” Tom asked Rachel, as the two recovered from the impact.

  “Aren’t you the leader?” she retorted.

  “Maybe, but you’re the smart one,” said Tom.

  Draven hovered closer to them, then lowered to the ground and held his hands with his palms facing each other. Lines of energy started to form in the space between his hands, linking them together. It started to build up larger, forging into a ball of energy. Draven separated his hands and hurled the energy spheres at the pair.

  Tom tried to meet the sphere with his sword, but it struck his body and caused him to convulse. Rachel ducked under the sphere meant for her, and then it changed direction and continued for her. She tried to outrun it, but the sphere proved swifter and struck her as well. Just like Tom, her body convulsed as she fell to the ground.

  Draven’s laughter sounded like nails across a chalkboard. “Your reputations far outpace the reality. Once I strip the Omega Force from your bones, I’m curious to see what secrets I’ll learn.”

  As Draven’s feet touched the ground once more, he started to channel the energy into his orbs. Tom noticed a shift in his translucence, then looked at Rachel. She nodded, indicated she’d noticed the same thing. When he channeled energy, he became solid.

  Tom slammed the Flameblade against the ground, fire stretching out around Draven. The intense heat appeared to have an effect on him—his breathing became heavier, his movements sluggish. Rachel took advantage of his brief disorientation, firing several lightning arrows directly into his chest.

  Draven fell back against the pedestal holding the shard. He looked almost terrified by it, and tried to pull himself away. Tom decided to prevent that from happening. He raised his sword up, then hurled it like a javelin. The blade impaled Draven right in the chest, forcing him against the shard. Some sort of backlash occurred next, with Draven’s screams echoing as his body started to fracture right in front of their eyes. It was as if he were segmenting. No blood, but the end result still seemed even more painful—tearing apart his very form on a molecular level.

  As Draven’s body continued segmenting, the shard unleashed a wave of energy that rocked through the entire chamber. It threw both Tom and Rachel onto the ground. The entire ship began shaking, as if it were a plane going through extreme turbulence.

  Rachel went to the crystal, trying to see if she could gain some insight.

  “Don’t get too close!” Tom warned. “You saw what it did to Draven.”

  “I know, but…I feel a connection to it…” Rachel moved closer, holding out a hand, but not quite touching it. Just moving close enough so she could experience its aura. She closed her eyes, images flashing in her mind.

  “The Nexus Shard calls to you, Knight.”

  A new voice entered the arena, booming through the chamber. The new entrant stood tall, with a lean, yet muscled physique. His head bore no hair, but his pale skin was lined with glowing runes, and his eyes burned like melted gold.

  “It called to me once as well,” he said.

  “Something tells me you’re the big bad,” said Tom, his hand tightening around his sword’s hilt.

  “Perhaps to you, but a hero to the people I’ve rescued,” he said. “I am Xerath. And you’re trespassing.”

  “Your people did the same to our home, we’re just returning the favor,” said Tom.

  “You have no concept of what you meddle in. No understanding of how many worlds your masters have ravaged,” said Xerath.

  “We know,” said Rachel. “But we can’t let you do the same thing to our world. None of the people you’re going to kill had anything to do with what was done to you.”

  “Sacrifices must be made,” said Xerath.

  “Not today.” Rachel took a few steps back from the Nexus Shard. She raised up her Thunderbow and drew back the string, aiming the lighting arrow that formed right at the crystal.

  “What are you doing?” asked Xerath.

  Rachel didn’t answer, just let the arrow fly. The lightning bolt struck the Nexus Shard, and it immediately reacted to the attack. Crackling with newfound power, the shard caused the Obsidian Dreadnought to shake from top to bottom once more. As the shard’s light grew more intense, it became blinding, throwing everyone onboard into a state of internal chaos.