The day began like just any other day in The Odyssey. The artificial lights in the crew quarters gradually brightened, signaling the start of the ship's cycle. I pulled myself out of bed and groaned as I stretched and tried to shake off the lingering haze of sleep. Joseph, predictably, was already complaining about the start of the day…
"Shin…" he groaned from his bunk while covering his face with a blanket. "Tell me again why we can't have a 'second-morning' policy!!! You know, sleep through the first one, wake up for the second…"
"You mean like a nap?" I replied, rolling my eyes as I grabbed my uniform. "Get up. You've got logistics, and I don't want to deal with Lena yelling at me because you decided to hibernate..."
Joseph got out from under the blanket, squinting at me. "You're lucky I like you…"
After a quick breakfast in the mess hall, Joseph headed straight to the logistics bay, where he spent the morning inspecting the latest inventory reports. Just like his usual self, he turned even this mundane task into an opportunity for entertainment.
"Shin," he called me over the comms as I worked in the navigation hub, "you know what we need to improve morale? A talent show…"
I frowned, scanning the holographic star charts in front of me. "On a spaceship? What's your talent? Annoying people?"
"Hey, I'd win gold for that…" he replied with a laugh. "No, seriously. I'll host it. You can juggle star charts or whatever you navigation nerds do..."
I sighed. "Joseph, focus. I don't want you causing another alarm to go off because you decided to 'improve morale…'"
"You're no fun," he quipped before disconnecting.
By the end of the work shift, the day had gone by without any problems. I grabbed dinner with Joseph in the mess hall, and we traded jokes with a few other crew members before calling it a night.
The day had been uneventful—routine tasks, a quick dinner with Joseph, and a brief chat with a few crew members.
After a long shift in the navigation hub, my body felt heavy with exhaustion, but my mind was unusually restless.
I returned to my quarter. Back in my quarters, the soft hum of the ship filled the silence. I changed into my sleepwear; the fabric was light and comfortable against my skin. The Odyssey's quarters were designed for comfort, with walls lined in calming shades of blue and gray and a bed that adjusted to gravity fluctuations.
I sat at my small desk and glanced at the holographic photo of Maki that floated above it. Her smile was warm, her eyes filled with the kind of light that could make even the darkest day seem brighter. I reached out to run my fingers through the projection. I felt a pang of longing tugging at my chest.
"Just a few more years…" I murmured to myself, my voice barely audible.
Finally, I climbed into bed and pulled the blanket over me as I adjusted the room's lighting. With a soft command, the lights dimmed, fading into a comforting twilight that mimicked Earth's dusk.
The glow of the stars through the viewport began to blur as my eyes grew heavy. My breathing slowed, and gradually, I slipped into unconsciousness.
That night I had a strange dream. At first, the dream felt like nothing…. a formless void that stretched endlessly. Then, suddenly, I was there, standing in a landscape that could only be described as hellish…
The ground beneath my feet was jagged and cracked. It was glowing with fiery red veins of molten lava that oozed and bubbled. The air was thick and acrid, each breath burning my lungs. The sky above was covered with black clouds. The endless swirls were illuminated by streaks of crimson lightning that cracked and sizzled with terrifying intensity.
All around me, volcanic eruptions erupted violently, spewing ash and fire into the oppressive sky. The heat was suffocating, the very air was alive with menace. I looked down at my hands and saw them trembling not from the heat but from the sheer weight of the terror that gripped me…
In the far distance, hovering ominously above a molten volcanic sea, was a black box. At first glance, it seemed small, almost insignificant against the chaos of the hellish landscape.
But as I stared, it grew larger in my vision, not because it was moving, but because something about it demanded my attention.
The box was unlike anything I had ever seen. Its surface was flawlessly smooth, a reflective black that seemed to shimmer faintly with an eerie, unnatural light. Strange, faintly glowing symbols crawled across its edges, their patterns shifting in ways that defied logic. It wasn't just an object… it was a presence, an entity that radiated power and dread…
And then I felt it.
I felt a sudden pull towards it. It wasn't physical, but it was undeniable. Something deep inside me stirred, as though a piece of my very being was tethered to the box, and it was reeling me in. It was like a whisper without sound, a call without words. Come closer, it seemed to urge…. the sensation bypassed my senses and spoke directly to my core.
My heartbeat quickened. I tried to resist, to stay where I was, but my feet began to move on their own. Each step felt heavier than the last as if I were walking through a thick, invisible force that simultaneously resisted and compelled me.
The closer I got, the stronger the pull became. It wasn't just a feeling anymore… It was a compulsion, an almost magnetic force that refused to let me turn away. My chest felt tight, my breath coming in shallow gasps as I waded deeper into the nightmarish landscape.
"What are you?" I murmured aloud, though I wasn't expecting an answer. The box didn't need to speak to be heard. Its presence was overwhelming. It filled every corner of my mind with a mix of awe and dread.
The volcanic sea loomed ahead, its molten surface bubbling and hissing with terrifying intensity. As I approached the edge, the pull grew so strong that it felt like invisible hands were reaching into my chest, dragging me forward.
I stepped into the molten sea. I was expecting the heat to consume me, but it didn't. Instead, the sensation was alien—neither hot nor cold, but a strange, numbing energy that buzzed against my skin. Each step brought me closer to the black box, its presence now dominating every thought, every sense.
My mind felt divided, one part screaming at me to turn back, while the other part was utterly consumed by the need to reach the box. It was as if the box was alive, aware of me, and it wanted me to come closer.
As I neared the box, the pull transformed into something deeper…. a resonance…. a vibration that seemed to hum in harmony with my very being. It wasn't speaking in the traditional sense, but I could feel its intent.
"Come…."
The word wasn't spoken, but it echoed inside me, reverberating through my thoughts. It wasn't a command, but it wasn't a request either. It was inevitable, like gravity, pulling me toward an inescapable truth.
Finally, I stood before it, the molten sea churning beneath me as waves of lava splashed against my legs. The box hovered inches above the surface, its edges pulsating faintly with energy. It radiated a kind of cosmic weight as if the entire universe could be folded into its impossibly small form.
My hand trembled as I reached out, the pull now so strong that it felt like the box was inside me, drawing me closer with every passing second.
As my fingertips brushed against its surface, the symbols seemed to flare brighter, their shifting patterns locked into place.
Just as I touched the box the world dissolved into chaos as an immense surge of energy coursed through my body, tearing through my nerves and shattering my every thought. Pain and power collided in a torrent, and the black box's presence consumed me completely.
It began with an agonizing pain. My body convulsed violently as the energy from the black box tore through me. I felt like my very soul was being ripped apart, my mind fragmented into shards that spiraled out into the chaotic void...
I woke up with a sudden, violent shock, my chest heaving as I shot upright in my bed. The moment I opened my eyes, a scream erupted from my lungs, raw and primal, as though it was being ripped from the depths of my very being.
"ARRRGHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"
The sound was deafening, an unnatural, guttural roar that shook the walls of my quarters and reverberated throughout the entire ship. It was more than a scream—it was a wave of power, laced with something unexplainable, something ancient and terrifying…
The scream was so loud and piercing that if anyone had been in my room, they would have been rendered instantly deaf. It was unlike anything a human voice should have been able to produce, as though it carried a resonance far beyond mortal understanding. The pitch rose and fell in horrifying waves:
"AAAAARRGGHHHHHHHHHHH!
GRAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
The walls seemed to vibrate with the force of it, loose items clattering off shelves and onto the floor. The lights in my quarters flickered wildly, as though the ship itself was reacting to the scream.
Throughout The Odyssey, the crew froze in place, their hearts pounding in terror. Some clutched their ears, others instinctively ducked as if they were under attack. The scream wasn't just loud—it carried an inexplicable weight, a presence that seemed to press down on everyone who heard it.
"What the hell was that?!" a crew member in the mess hall shouted, their voice trembling as they glanced around in panic.
In the command center, Commander Hayashi stood frozen, his hand hovering over a console.
"That... that didn't sound human…" he murmured, his face pale.
The ship's alarm system triggered; red lights flashed as a precautionary response to the unknown disturbance.
In my quarters, the scream finally stopped, leaving an eerie, suffocating silence in its wake. I collapsed back onto the bed, gasping for air, my body trembling uncontrollably. Blood trickled from my ears and eyes, staining my cheeks and the bed beneath me. My throat burned, raw from the sheer force of the scream, and my chest heaved as if I had just run a marathon.
My vision was blurred, but I could see faint trails of light dancing in the air around me, remnants of something... otherworldly. My hands trembled as I clutched at the blanket, trying to ground myself, but the fear lingered.
The corridors of the ship were chaotic as crew members scrambled to understand what had just happened.
"Did you hear that?" one technician whispered; their voice barely audible over the hum of the ship's systems.
"Hear it? I felt it!" another replied, clutching their chest. "It was like... like something was inside my head."
The scream echoed throughout The Odyssey, shaking the crew to their core. It wasn't just a sound…it was something primal, something that clawed at the deepest fears of everyone who heard it.
Captain Zhang was in the command center when the sound tore through the air, jolting her out of a routine status check. Her fingers froze over the console, her breath catching in her throat as the scream reverberated through the walls.
"Report!" she barked, her voice sharper than usual.
"No reports of damage, Captain," one of the crew members stammered, their faces pale. "But that... that noise—what was that?"
"It came from the crew quarters…" she said, already on her feet.
At the same time, Joseph, who had been in the logistics bay, nearly dropped a crate of supplies when the scream hit. His hands flew to his ears, but the sound pierced through even that. He felt an icy chill race down his spine, his instincts screaming that something was terribly wrong.
"Shin…" he muttered, his voice trembling.
Without waiting, he bolted from the bay, weaving through the corridors as red emergency lights flashed intermittently. He ran into Captain Zhang near the crew quarters, and the two exchanged a brief, tense glance before rushing toward my room together.
TO BE CONTINUED