Nova's footsteps slowed as the corridor narrowed into a chamber ahead. His eyes narrowed as the aether around him shifted—just slightly. The vibrations in the walls changed.
"Incoming."
He muttered.
Anna, a few steps ahead, turned back to look at him.
"What—"
He grabbed her wrist and yanked her behind him.
A beat later, three red beams of light crisscrossed the air in front of them—silent, sharp, and deadly. The lasers fired, slicing into the space Anna would have stepped into.
The smell of scorched air filled the corridor.
Anna's back slammed into Nova's chest. Her breath hitched, eyes wide, stunned at how close it had been.
"Th-thank you."
She whispered.
She didn't dare move. His arm was still around her waist, steady, firm—and cold.
Too cold.
She blinked, suddenly aware of it. Her back pressed to him, but she felt no warmth, no heartbeat. Just silence. Too steady. Too still.
Nova stepped forward, releasing her gently.
"It'll be safer if I go first."
Anna shook off the chill and nodded.
"Right."
"I'll cast an aether shield around myself. Be ready. If I miss any, shoot them."
Nova said.
Anna raised her gun and tightened her grip.
"Got it."
A low pulse echoed from Nova's core as aether flared around him in a translucent sphere. It hummed faintly, the energy weaving in layers across his body. He stepped into the room.
The moment his foot landed, lasers ignited across the ceiling, firing down at him in relentless succession.
Nova's movements were fast—too fast to track with the naked eye.
He sidestepped two beams, ducked under another, and redirected a fourth with a casual flick of his hand, the aether shield absorbing and bouncing it against the wall.
He raised his hand, releasing precise, controlled blasts of raw aether at each turret as they revealed themselves.
One.
Two.
Three.
The fourth one—right behind his shoulder—charged.
Anna spotted it.
"Nova!"
She raised her gun, took a shaky breath, and fired. The recoil hit her hard and she stumbled backward, nearly falling.
But before she hit the ground, Nova reached back and caught her arm, stabilizing her like it was nothing. His hand gripped hers tight for just a second before he pulled her upright.
"You okay?"
Anna swallowed her embarrassment. Her cheeks flushed.
"I'm fine. Gun's a little stronger than I expected."
"You handled it."
The room fell quiet. Smoke curled from the scorched remains of the laser emitters. The only light came from the dull glow of Nova's shield as it dissipated into the air.
Anna glanced around and lowered her gun.
"Is it over?"
Nova scanned the walls.
"For now."
Anna let out a breath and leaned back slightly, lowering herself to sit for a moment.
"That was intense."
Nova turned toward the hallway ahead, eyes narrowed.
"They're not trying to kill us. Just keep us out."
"That makes this better?"
"It means there's something they don't want us to see."
She stared at the clean scorch marks still glowing on the floor and muttered.
"Well, that's reassuring."
Nova glanced over his shoulder.
"You still in?"
Anna straightened up and nodded.
"Yeah. Let's find out what they're hiding."
They moved carefully through the open chamber.
Now that the immediate threat had passed, Anna's thoughts returned to that moment—when her back had hit Nova's chest. The coldness. The lack of a heartbeat.
He looks so human.
But he wasn't. Not really. Not under that skin.
Nova glanced at her again.
"You're being quiet."
"Just thinking."
"About?"
Anna hesitated.
"About what you are."
Nova didn't answer for a moment. Then:
"I'll tell you when it matters."
They reached another corridor. This one had no defenses, only flickering lights leading them deeper into the vessel. The tension in the air was less hostile now—more…watchful.
Anna rubbed her arms despite the insulation of her suit.
"This place gives me the creeps."
The silence inside the ship was absolute.
Every step Nova and Anna took echoed against the cold, metallic walls. Room after room stretched open before them—some filled with dust, others empty but ominously intact.
There were no lights. No signs of life. Only the hum of past functions now long dead.
Anna glanced into one of the open rooms—a row of containment pods, each one shattered from the inside out.
"Do you think these were escape pods?"
She asked, her voice soft.
"Don't touch anything."
Nova said, not looking at her.
She quickly pulled her hand back from the edge of the control panel she had almost leaned on.
"Right. No touching. Got it."
She said, brushing nonexistent dust off her gloves.
They kept moving. Every corridor looked the same—dark, narrow, and lined with sealed doors or exposed wiring.
Some sections looked like they had suffered internal damage, with chunks of the wall missing or hanging in sharp slivers. The further they went, the colder it felt.
"How long are we staying here?"
Anna asked, her voice breaking the silence.
Nova didn't answer.
She turned to look at him. His eyes were fixed straight ahead, narrowed, expression unreadable.
His shoulders were tense, his head tilted slightly as if he were listening for something.
"Nova?"
"I don't like this."
He muttered.
Anna blinked.
"What is it?"
His voice was low and deliberate.
"I can feel them. Watching."
Anna stopped walking.
"Who?"
"I don't know. But whatever it is… it hasn't left us alone since we boarded. It's careful. Testing boundaries. Staying just out of reach."
Nova said.
Anna instinctively looked over her shoulder, even though she knew she wouldn't see anything.
"What should we do?"
"We keep moving. But stay sharp. Don't fall behind me."
She nodded and moved closer, fingers tightening around her gun.
They pressed deeper into the ship. The corridor bent at a strange angle, like something had crushed part of the wall from the outside.
Pipes hissed in the ceiling above them, releasing thin jets of something gaseous. It smelled like rust and ozone. The air felt heavier the further they went.
Anna's nerves burned under her skin. Every few steps, she swore she heard footsteps—quiet, soft, always a second behind their own.
She wanted to ask Nova again if he felt it too, but when she looked at him, the way his jaw was clenched already told her everything she needed to know.
The darkness ahead of them stretched long and deep. There were no more branching doors now—just a single corridor that kept going.
Halfway down it, Anna felt it.
A shiver—not from cold, but from instinct. Something was behind them. Close.
She stopped walking.
Nova stopped too.
"You feel that?"
She whispered.
"I do."
He turned slowly, facing the darkness behind them. The air was still.
Nothing moved. No sounds.
But Anna could feel it in her chest. A third presence. Breathing with them. Following them. Watching.
"Keep walking. Don't look back again. If it wanted to strike, it would've already.""
Nova said, voice clipped.
Anna didn't argue. She stayed right at Nova's side as they continued down the corridor.
It felt like hours before the hallway opened up into another chamber. A control room, or what remained of one.
Terminals lined the walls, most broken, with shattered glass screens. A few flickered faintly, showing signs of dormant power.
The floor was cracked near the center, metal twisted like something had tried to claw its way up from underneath.
Nova walked to one of the terminals and placed a hand over it. Aether flickered along his fingers, but the machine rejected the connection with a dull hiss.
"No aether. Just echoes."
He said, stepping back.
Anna didn't say anything. She was still staring back at the corridor, her hand resting nervously on the butt of her gun.