The glow from The Monolith enveloped Nebu-9, casting an ethereal light across the bridge. As they approached, the massive structure seemed to pulse in time with the ship's movements, its bioluminescent surface shifting with every wave of energy that radiated from it. It was a living entity in every sense of the word—ancient, mysterious, and perhaps, in some unfathomable way, sentient.

  Elias stood at the forefront, his gaze locked on the unfolding spectacle. The crew remained still, each member lost in their thoughts, trying to make sense of what y before them. The questions they had been grappling with—"Do you remember?"—were no longer rhetorical. They had crossed into a new phase, one where the past and present collided, where forgotten histories beckoned them toward a precipice.

  "We're too close," Sienna muttered, her hands gripping the controls. "If we don’t slow down, we’re going to crash right into it."

  "Not a crash," Elias said, his voice firm. "This is not a collision. It's a passage."

  Sienna gave him a sidelong gnce. "A passage to where, exactly?"

  "I don’t know," Elias admitted, his voice low. "But whatever it is, it’s meant for us to find out."

  The Monolith’s light intensified, shimmering in rippling waves. The moment they entered its field of energy, the ship's systems began to behave erratically—readings became garbled, the sensors malfunctioned, and the once-stable holographic dispys flickered as if struggling to keep up with the shifting reality around them.

  Nova's voice rang through the bridge. "Commander, we are experiencing significant spatial distortions. The field is expanding in all directions. Our position is unstable."

  NO TURNING BACK

  "Maintain course," Elias ordered. "We're too close to turn back now. Brace for whatever comes next."

  Just as he spoke, the ship lurched, and the universe outside the ship twisted in impossible directions. The stars stretched and bent like taffy, and the fabric of space itself seemed to fold and unfold in a dizzying, kaleidoscopic dispy. For a brief moment, the crew felt as if they were being pulled in every direction at once, as though time and space were unravelling before their very eyes.

  "Report!" Elias barked, trying to keep his focus amidst the chaos.

  "We've entered a distortion," Nova said, her tone strained. "It's... it's like we're moving through a tunnel of sorts, but there’s no clear path. The sensors are not working correctly. I can't determine our location."

  "Impossible," Kieran muttered from his station. "This shouldn’t be possible. The gravitational forces are... are reversing. There's no way we should be able to move like this."

  "We don't need to understand it," Elias said firmly. "We need to survive it."

  The ship’s hull groaned under the pressure, the distortion pushing them further into the unknown. The crew gripped their seats, their bodies pressed against the straps holding them in pce as the sensation of movement intensified. The ship was no longer flying through space—it was traveling through space, as though it had left their universe altogether.

  "Commander," Sienna said, her voice a whisper of disbelief, "I think... I think we’ve crossed over."

  "Crossed over?" Elias repeated, brow furrowed. "Expin."

  "Look at the viewscreen," Sienna said, her eyes wide with confusion.

  Elias turned his gaze toward the front viewport, and for the first time, he felt his heart race with dread. The swirling chaos outside had given way to something altogether more unsettling.

  What y ahead of them was not the familiar expanse of the gaxy. Instead, there was a vast, swirling bckness—something alive. It wasn’t a void, not in the traditional sense. This was something far darker, far more oppressive. It was as if the universe itself had a heart, and they had just crossed into its shadow.

  THE LONG LOST

  In the midst of that infinite bckness, tiny lights glimmered. Distant stars, yes, but not stars they recognized. These lights were faint, flickering, like the dying embers of a fire that had long since burned out. There was a rhythm to them, as though they were pulsing in time with some cosmic heartbeat.

  "This isn’t space," Kieran said softly. "This is... something else. Something ancient."

  "I know," Elias said, his voice low, "but we need to find out what."

  As they drifted deeper into the darkness, the ship’s systems continued to fail, each one flickering out of existence one by one. The navigation system was dead. The communications array had been disabled. They were alone.

  Dr. Amara Vesquez stood at the edge of the bridge, her eyes fixed on the deep, endless bckness outside. "It feels like we're in a pce between worlds," she murmured. "A pce untouched by time... but also, a pce forgotten."

  "Not forgotten," Elias corrected. "Remembered. Whatever this pce is, it’s been waiting for us. And I think we’re about to find out why."

  The crew fell into an uneasy silence, each one contempting the unspoken truth that hung in the air—they were no longer the explorers. They were the ones being watched.

  Elias turned back to the front, his eyes narrowing. The glimmering lights ahead were becoming more defined now, more substantial. They were not stars; they were structures—ancient, colossal structures that rose like giant towers, stretching into the darkness, their outlines shrouded in a thick, impenetrable mist.

  "Is that... a city?" Sienna asked, her voice trembling.

  "It looks like it," Elias said, his breath catching in his throat. "But it’s nothing like we’ve ever seen before."

  A distant sound echoed across THE VOID —a low, rumbling vibration that seemed to resonate from the depths of the unknown city. It was an ancient hum, a melody that was both familiar and alien at the same time. And with it came the feeling of something stirring, something long dormant, finally waking from an eons-long slumber.

  "Should we go closer?" Aria asked, her voice quiet. "I mean, we could always... turn back."

  "We didn’t come this far to turn back," Elias said firmly. "We move forward. It’s the only choice we have."

  With a steady hand, he gestured to Sienna. "Take us in."

  Sienna hesitated for a brief moment, then nodded. Her fingers danced across the controls, and the ship began its slow, deliberate approach toward the dark city ahead. The unknown stretched before them like an open door, inviting them into a mystery that had been waiting for centuries, perhaps millennia.

  And as they drew closer, the lights of the city flickered to life, casting long, eerie shadows against the backdrop of THE VOID. It was as if the city had awakened, responding to their presence, preparing for their arrival.

  They were no longer just travellers in THE VOID. They were intruders in an ancient world, and whatever y ahead, they would have to face it together.

  CHAPTER’s NOTE:In this chapter, the crew of the Nebu-9 reaches the heart of the mysterious city they’ve discovered, where they encounter an ancient, living structure—an enigmatic sphere. As they approach it, the crew begins to experience strange energy disturbances that affect the ship’s systems. Despite the risk, Elias commands the crew to nd and investigate the sphere, leading them to a moment of revetion as the sphere opens, revealing a world within—a swirling, crystalline interior filled with entities of light and shadow. The crew is faced with a critical decision: to enter the sphere and explore what lies beyond. The chapter builds suspense and deepens the mystery of the Echo Project, with the promise of answers awaiting them inside the portal.