"That's impossible," Valmor snapped. "Nothing comes out of a singularity."
Noctus finally turned. "Until now."
The data screamed confirmation. Every vector. Every timestamp. There was no inbound trajectory, no approach curve, no measurable acceleration from normal space. There was only one logical explanation: the ship hadn't arrived. It had exited.
My hands tightened on the edge of the console as something cold settled in my chest. If this was possible—if the Dark Abyss couldreturnwhat it had swallowed—then everything I understood about gravity, causality, and cosmic order was wrong. Worse, it meant the Abyss wasn't just a void. It was a door.
Valmor bristled. "Sir, with respect, the safest course is to eliminate it before it?—"
Before he could finish, the deck doors parted. The temperature seemed to rise with the arrival of Emperor Daryus. He moved with contained violence, golden armor catching the lights like a warning rather than ornamentation. His eyes swept the deck once, taking in the flickering displays, the tension, the anomaly hanging just outside the viewport.
"What," he demanded, "is all this noise about?"
Valmor snapped to attention. "A ship, Your Imperial Highness. Unknown origin. It breached?—"
"I can see the ship," Daryus snapped. "Why is it still there?"
Valmor swallowed. "Commander Noctus has ordered a weapons hold."
Daryus turned slowly. Noctus met his gaze without flinching. "The vessel is requesting permission to come aboard."
That got everyone's attention.
Daryus' jaw tightened. "Requesting."
"Yes," Noctus said. "Politely."
For a heartbeat, no one spoke. Then Daryus laughed, short, sharp, and humorless. "The universe grows bold." His eyes narrowed on the tactical display. "Who commands it?"
Noctus tilted his head slightly, listening to the incoming transmission. "He identifies himself as an Arkhevari."
The name of the elusive species landed like a dropped weapon. The Arkhevari had been assumed extinct, if they had ever even existed in the first place. That was until a few weeks ago, when one emerged and met with Emperor Daryus, which prompted him to seek me out and hire me.
To put it into context, the arrival of an Arkhevari to the Pandraxians was like a being from Atlantis emerging on Earth and requesting an audience.
Suddenly, I felt an inexplicable pressure build deep in my skull, subtle but undeniable, as if the space around us had leaned closer to listen.
Noctus continued, "He says his name is Dravok."
The silence that followed was absolute. Daryus' expression darkened with recognition and something dangerously close to irritation. "The Shadow Strategist," he muttered. He turned sharply. "What does he want?"
Noctus' mouth curved into something akin to amusement. "He requests an audience."
Valmor couldn't hold it in any longer. "Your Highness, this is reckless. If he means harm?—"
"If he meant harm," Daryus snapped, his temper finally cracking through, "he would not be asking."
He strode closer to the viewport, staring at the dark ship suspended against the impossible pull of the Abyss. "And if Dravok is here, then something far worse is already in motion."
Daryus turned on his heel. "Allow him aboard."
Valmor stiffened. "Your Highness?—"
"I said, allow him aboard," Daryus repeated in a voice that sounded like thunder wrapped in silk. "Escort him to Conference Hall Prime. I will meet him there."
Noctus inclined his head. "As you command."
The lights dimmed as docking protocols engaged. I exhaled slowly, only then realizing I'd been holding my breath. An Arkhevari. Here. On the Pandraxian flagship. This close to the Abyss. Whatever equations I had been chasing moments ago suddenly felt inadequate. Because the anomaly outside the viewport was no longer the most dangerous thing in the room. For reasons I could not yet explain, the closer that ship drew, the stronger the pressure in my head became, like gravity itself had found a new center. Far too close for comfort.
