Chereads / Echoes of Starlight / Chapter 4 - Chapter 4: Whispers in the Void

Chapter 4 - Chapter 4: Whispers in the Void

The voice that echoed through the station was unlike anything Iris had ever heard. It was rich and deep, vibrating in the very core of her being, a sound that seemed to pull at something inside her—a memory, a distant connection she couldn't quite grasp. For a long moment, everything was still, the air thick with the weight of the words. 

"Welcome, daughter of the stars." 

The words lingered in the air, filling the silence, almost like an invitation—and a warning. 

Iris's breath caught in her throat. Her heart was hammering in her chest, each beat reverberating through her body as she tried to make sense of what had just happened. Her fingers still hovered over the glowing symbol she had touched, and she could feel a faint warmth radiating from it, as if it were alive. 

"Kian..." Iris whispered, her voice barely audible. 

Kian, who had been standing just behind her, eyes darting nervously around the room, stepped forward. His expression was unreadable, but Iris could see the tension in the set of his jaw, the way his muscles were coiled in readiness. 

"What was that?" he asked, his voice tight with a mixture of concern and disbelief. 

"I—" Iris struggled to find the words. "I don't know. It felt like—like it was speaking to me." 

Captain Rhea stepped forward then, her calm presence cutting through the uncertainty. "Could this be some kind of recording? A pre-programmed message?" she asked, though her voice carried a note of doubt. 

"Maybe," Mira chimed in, her eyes wide. "But how could it know—" 

Iris shook her head. "It wasn't a recording. It… it felt too real. Too personal." She turned slowly, meeting each of their gazes, but her eyes lingered on Kian a moment longer. "It knew me. It called me 'daughter of the stars.'" 

The silence that followed was heavy. 

"Daughter of the stars…" Captain Rhea repeated, her voice distant, as if turning the phrase over in her mind. "That's not a phrase I've heard before. But it sounds… familiar. I think it's important." 

"I don't think we're alone here," Kian muttered, his eyes scanning the darkened corridors beyond. The walls seemed to pulse with a strange energy, and the glow of the symbols grew brighter, shifting in rhythm with the station's eerie hum. 

The air around them seemed to grow colder, and Iris pulled her jacket tighter around her shoulders. There was something undeniably unsettling about the station, the way it seemed to be alive in ways that couldn't be explained by mere technology. 

"Let's proceed carefully," Captain Rhea said, her voice firm, but there was a caution in it now that hadn't been there before. "We don't know what's inside. Mira, stay with the shuttle. Iris, Kian, with me." 

The team moved forward into the darkened hallway, the sound of their footsteps echoing eerily in the vastness of the station. The walls were lined with strange panels, covered in more of those glowing symbols. It felt as though the station itself was watching them, listening, waiting for something. 

Iris's mind raced as she walked, her thoughts tangled in the mystery of the voice. What did it mean? How did it know her? She had never heard those words before, not in any training manual, not in any history book. And yet… something about it felt right. 

"Do you feel that?" Kian's voice broke through her thoughts. 

Iris stopped, looking around. There was a subtle vibration in the air, an energy that seemed to surge through the floor and up her spine. It wasn't just in her head; the others felt it too. The whole station seemed to pulse with life, as if it were somehow attuned to their presence. 

"It's like it's… alive," Iris whispered, more to herself than anyone else. 

"I don't like this," Kian said, his hand resting on the handle of his weapon, eyes darting from side to side. "We need to get out of here." 

But Iris shook her head, a determination settling over her like a cloak. "We can't leave now. Not when we're so close to uncovering the truth. The signal led us here for a reason." 

"Don't be reckless," Kian warned, though there was something softer in his tone now, a hint of concern hidden beneath the edges of his skepticism. 

Before Iris could respond, the lights flickered and dimmed, plunging them into a murky half-light. The station seemed to groan, a low, eerie sound that reverberated through the metal walls. 

Iris's breath hitched. 

From the depths of the station, there came a sound—a whisper, faint at first, but unmistakable. 

**"I am waiting..."** 

The voice was softer now, but it still had that same otherworldly resonance. It felt as though it was coming from all around them, weaving through the air, touching every surface, every shadow. Iris felt the weight of it pressing down on her, as though the very fabric of space and time was bending in response. 

"We need to go," Kian said, his voice tight. He moved to turn, but something stopped him. Something intangible. 

Iris reached out, her hand brushing against the wall. The energy seemed to surge at her touch, crackling through her fingers. She could feel it now, the pulse of the station, the heartbeat of something ancient and powerful. She closed her eyes for a moment, letting the sensation wash over her. 

"I can't leave," she said quietly, her voice steady but resolute. "Not until I understand." 

Captain Rhea's gaze softened slightly, but she didn't argue. "Then we move forward—together." 

They continued down the narrow hallway, the air growing colder with each step. The whispers became louder, clearer, and Iris found herself drawn to them as if they were calling her by name. 

And when they reached the heart of the station, they would find that the answers they sought were both more terrifying and more wondrous than they could ever have imagined. 

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