For the first time after transmigrating to another world, Lev finally had time to sleep since there was nothing to be done until they reach the Main Earth in order to regroup. Tiredness finally hit him and he was out like a log as soon as his head touched the springy pillow on his bed. For once, he totally forgot everything that happened a few hours ago. The fact that he was alive is more than enough for him and the fact that he could luxuriously sleep right now is nothing short of a miracle.
Lev couldn't tell how much time has passed but he woke up a little later due to the rumbling of the Upsilon-Chi— the space cruiser where they were right now. The first thing that he noticed when he opened his eyes wasn't the light on the ceiling, nor the vibrating bed under him, but rather, the fact that he was still alive; and everything that happened to him prior to his slumber wasn't a dream.
He was very much alive.
"Mhmm~~~ " He suddenly heard someone mutter underneath his blanket. With pupils dilating, Lev removed the blanket, hoping that what he was expecting wouldn't be there. Alas, his expectations betrayed him a split second later.
Titania was on top of her, sleeping like a cat snuggling on her owner. Although Lev's body was as chiseled as a sculpture, Titania was having a comfortable time sleeping on it. She literally used him as a huge body pillow.
At first, Lev was flustered, he didn't know what to say and he pursed his lips. Multiple thoughts ran through his head as if he was entering overdrive. "Should I wake her up? No, she seems tired and she needs all the rest she could get so she could recuperate. Her wounds are pretty deep after all. But what if we're in a state of emergency and we acted a bit too late? The shaking is probably a sign of something. Are we under attack? Should I just slip under her and leave her here?"
Those thoughts were overridden though after he heard the door to his room open. By then, there was nothing he could do.
"Lev, we're entering a— " Once again, Benedict entered a state of speechlessness when he saw another scenario that he never thought his friend would experience. With mouth agape with incredulity, he slowly closed the door so he won't disturb the tranquility in his mind. He didn't want to pry into his childhood friend's private life but he couldn't help but get curious. That's why he decided to turn a blind eye to it since staying for a long time looking at him would tempt him to ask some pretty sensitive things.
In short, he misunderstood a couple of things for the second time.
"Wait! Benedict, what's going on?!" Lev hissed. He didn't want to cause a commotion that would wake Titania up even though Benedict's thinking was misplaced.
"We're entering a wormhole. You were always fascinated about it ever since we were kids, right? I thought you'd want to witness it again." Benedict continued.
"We're entering a wormhole?!" Lev's face suddenly lit up.
In the past, as a sci-fi enthusiast, he was always fascinated with physics and everything in between sciences such as the theory of relativity and the space-time continuum. That's why, when he heard about the epitome of those three— the wormhole— he couldn't help but get excited.
After slowly pushing Titania away, he finally got away from her grasp and he followed Benedict to the main deck. There, everyone was working a wee bit harder than before, probably because entering a wormhole is as dangerous as sky-diving without a chute.
"May I ask something?" Lev brought up, causing Benedict to slow his pace so they could walk side by side and have a proper conversation. "Was it... you know, was it already proven that wormholes don't disappear in the universe?"
"What do you mean? Of course, they don't disappear. You know how it is with wormholes, they're like a permanent warping system of the universe. Of course, they only appear in certain places where conditions are met but they're not as rare as they were previously assumed."
"And also, with the latest technology of warping, we've finally developed a machine that could temporarily create a wormhole. It's not that stable yet though so we only use it in cases of emergency. I don't get why you're so fascinated with wormholes but they're not that interesting. After all, mankind could create a quasi-wormhole with the latest technology."
"I see," Lev seemed to respond indifferently but in his mind, he was more hyped than usual. 'To think that such a thing exists! What a great era to be in!' He screamed inwardly.
When they got to the main deck, Lev and Benedict saw the Captain standing in the middle of it while looking straight ahead towards the front windows of the space cruiser. He has a satisfied smile on his face. Lev briefly remembered how he hit Captain Zed on the head and wondered if his expression would change if he hit him for the second time. He shook his head though since doing so would just attract unnecessary animosity.
Lev's eyes then wandered towards the windows and there, he saw something straight out of a sci-fi novel.
There was...
...
... nothing!
"Wait, where's the wormhole?!" Lev asked with a betrayed look on his face.
"What do you mean? It's right there." Benedict said, pointing at the windows which just showed nothingness.
"There's nothing the— " When Lev was about to finish his comment, he realized something. Of course, it was obvious that nothing would be there. If there aren't any wormholes there, then he would've seen the universe with its speckles of light from stars and galaxies. The mere fact that there was nothing in his sight was proof enough that a wormhole is right in front of them.
Stupid! He wanted to punch himself.
The tremor experienced in the space cruise grew even more violent as the void of nothingness swallowed them. Lev could imagine the space cruise entering the wormhole and a wave of nervousness hit him. Right now, one small margin of error could take the space cruise somewhere unknown. Worst-case scenario, they would crash into an asteroid or crash land on a planet as soon as they got to the other side.
"I mean... that wouldn't happen right?" He asked, clearly underestimating the unfortunate events that the 25th Voyage bestow.