The light that had flooded the core room flickered and died, leaving behind only the dull hum of the ship's failing systems. Kaelen lay on the cold floor, his chest heaving, eyes struggling to stay open. The entity's presence had receded, but not entirely. It lingered, a shadow at the edge of his mind.
Slowly, he sat up, a dull ache creeping through his body. The pain was almost unbearable, but it wasn't the physical wounds that troubled him most. It was the gnawing emptiness, the void left behind by the entity. He had severed the core's influence over him, but the damage was done. The whispers, the alien consciousness that had twisted his thoughts, it was still there, lurking just beneath the surface.
Mira lay beside him, still as ever, but her chest rose and fell with shallow breaths. Kaelen could feel her presence through their connection, still struggling against the entity's grip. But it was clear: she wasn't herself. The battle had only just begun.
He staggered to his feet, his head spinning as he tried to focus. He needed to act quickly, to find a way to fully rid the ship of the entity. They couldn't let it get stronger. The ship was dying, and if the entity wasn't completely removed, it would return, more powerful than before.
Kaelen stumbled toward the med bay where Laz had been kept. He'd barely been conscious when they last saw him, but now, the space around him was silent. Too silent. The dull buzz of the ship's failing systems was the only noise in the stillness.
"Laz?" Kaelen called softly. His voice echoed down the dark hallway, but there was no answer.
With a growing sense of dread, he pushed the door open to find the med bay empty. The bed where Laz had been resting was now overturned, the medical equipment shattered on the floor.
A cold chill crept over him. It wasn't just the ship that had been affected by the entity—it was everyone. Laz had fallen prey to it too.
He was gone.
"Not again," Kaelen whispered, a wave of guilt crashing over him. He had failed. They had all failed.