Chapter 84: Navigating the Void
The moment the "Odyssey" passed through the shimmering gateway, reality as they knew it hit the brakes, swerved into a ditch, and burst into flames.
The calm, predictable space of Sector Gamma was gone. Outside their viewscreen was a swirling, endless soup of color and chaos.
There was no up or down, no left or right. Giant, ribbon-like clouds of purple and green energy drifted past them like lazy cosmic whales. Strange, geometric shapes made of pure light would form out of the nothingness, spin around for a moment, and then pop like soap bubbles.
"Okay," Emma said, her knuckles white as she gripped the console. "My sensors are officially having a nervous breakdown. I’m reading temperatures that are both absolute zero and hotter than a sun, at the same time, in the same place. That shouldn’t be possible."
"Forget the sensors," Zara muttered, her eyes glued to her own navigation screen, which was mostly just displaying a series of frantic question marks. "My navigation charts just tried to divide by zero and are now sulking in a corner. The Beacon’s signal is like a needle in a universe-sized haystack made of other needles."
The ship lurched violently, throwing them against their safety harnesses.
"What was that?" Ryan asked, his heart jumping into his throat.
"Void Wyrm," Scarlett answered, her voice alarmingly calm as she wrestled with the controls. "Big one. Looks like a giant, angry monster made of electricity. Just flew past us."
On the main screen, they saw a colossal, serpent-like creature made of crackling blue energy swim through the chaos. It was miles long, and it didn’t seem to have a head or a tail, just an endless, writhing body. It paid them no attention, disappearing back into the swirling mists of color.