The ship was in full alert mode. Red lights flashed intermittently, bathing the cabin in unsettling glows while elongated shadows danced over the control panels. A metallic roar reverberated through the hull of the Astraea-7, as if the structure itself protested against an invisible force crushing it. Explosions rocked different sections, sending shards of metal into the void. The air was filled with smoke and electrical sparks, and the metal groaned as if the ship itself were crying out in pain. The gravity system fluctuated erratically, flinging the crew against walls and panels with uncontrollable force.
In the main cabin, Captain Tobias frantically coordinated emergency protocols, his firm voice trying to maintain order amidst the chaos. Kael, his brow furrowed and muscles tense, struggled to activate the manual controls, as the digital systems had ceased to respond. Despite his carefree attitude in other circumstances, in moments like this, he revealed his true resilience. His protective instinct drove him to act without hesitation. Elara, her face shadowed by the glow of data screens, analyzed the computer's readings, but nothing made sense; the readings were abnormal. She pursed her lips in frustration, her calculating mind trying to find logic in the impossible. She disliked the unknown, and this planet was the greatest mystery of her life.
While the team desperately tried to regain control, Haruto remained motionless. Chaos surrounded him, but his mind was trapped elsewhere. Through the window, his gaze was fixed on the vast darkness of the wandering planet. A shiver ran down his spine; there was something in that abyss without light that unsettled him in a way he couldn't comprehend. It wasn't fear or awe, but a strange feeling of recognition, as if that lightless world were somehow familiar. He couldn't take his eyes off it. A voice—deep, distant, like an echo in his mind—called to him.
"Don't just stand there, do something!" Kael's voice broke the trance.
But there was nothing more to do.
The ship began to plummet, dragged helplessly toward the planet's surface. With one final effort, Kael managed to activate the emergency protocols, automatically sealing off the damaged areas. But it was too late.
"To the escape pods, now!" Tobias ordered, his grave voice cutting through the roar of destruction.
Elara reacted immediately, running toward the evacuation section. Kael also hurried, but when he looked beside him, Haruto was still motionless, lost in his own mind, oblivious to the catastrophe around him.
"Damn it!" Kael growled before grabbing him forcefully and shoving him into an escape pod.
Before closing the hatch, he looked at him seriously and said:
"Wait for me, brother."
Without giving him time to respond, he activated the pod. Haruto felt a sharp pull in his stomach as the pod detached from the ship. For the first time, silence surrounded him completely. His own breathing was the only sound inside his helmet. He clenched his fists, trying to process what had just happened. Everything was falling apart before his eyes, and there was nothing he could do to stop it. The void consumed him.
There was no light, no sound.
Total darkness. Then… a flash of light.
The sun shone brightly over the most advanced space base humanity had ever built, a complex constructed exclusively for the most ambitious mission ever undertaken. It was midsummer, and among hangars and state-of-the-art laboratories, preparations continued without rest.
Twenty years earlier, observational telescopes had detected an anomaly in deep space. The Eón-3 telescope identified an anomaly in deep space, initially mistaken for a black hole due to its irregular optical behavior. Early observations indicated an absolute void, without thermal or spectral signals that would allow conventional classification.
However, the analysis of subsequently deployed probes confirmed that the anomaly did not correspond to a traditional astronomical phenomenon but rather to a celestial body of uncertain origin. It is a highly reflective planet, whose detection was hindered due to the way it distorts the light of surrounding stars, generating an anomalous optical effect.
But the most disturbing fact was not its opaque nature nor its unexplained appearance. It was its movement. Initially, astronomers thought it was stationary, but as the months passed, calculations revealed that the planet was approaching. It wouldn't happen immediately, but in twenty-eight years, it would be close enough to affect their home planet's gravitational force.
Thus, the Astraea-7 project was conceived. Designed with the most advanced technology, the ship was a marvel of engineering. Its structure combined radiation-resistant materials with next-generation life-support systems. Its research modules were equipped with sensors capable of analyzing unknown environments, and its maneuverability allowed for real-time trajectory adjustments. But the most important aspect was not the ship itself—it was the crew that would board it.
Through the hallways of the military base, a young man with white hair and light blue eyes walked past the reception desk. His posture was rigid, his gaze unwavering, as if each step had been meticulously planned. He stopped in front of the reception counter and, in a quiet, timid voice, introduced himself:
"Good morning, I'm Haruto, a crew member of the Astraea-7."
The receptionist frowned and looked up from her terminal.
"Excuse me, speak louder. I can't hear you."
Haruto took a deep breath and, after a brief pause, repeated in a slightly louder tone:
"Haruto, member of the Astraea-7 crew."
He calmly pulled out his credentials, as if performing a mechanical action. The receptionist examined them before instructing him to follow her. As they walked down the corridor, workers' gazes settled on him.
"Is that the one with white hair and blue eyes? He doesn't seem like the kind of person I'd send on a mission like this."
"Is he really as special as they say? He doesn't seem any different from anyone else, except for that hair."
Haruto didn't react. He didn't look away, clench his fists, or change his expression. His inner world was a sea of calm, where the waves of external judgment dissipated before reaching the shore. To him, the comments were just background noise, irrelevant compared to what truly mattered: the mission and the enigma waiting for them in the abyss. He wasn't ignoring them; he simply didn't process them the same way others did. He was aware of them, but they stirred no emotion within him.
Upon entering the meeting room, he saw two people waiting for him. One of them, a tall man about one meter ninety, with a robust build and a warm gaze, couldn't contain his excitement.
"You're finally here!" he exclaimed with a sincere smile. "I thought you got lost. Was it hard catching the transport?"
The questions came one after another, reflecting genuine concern but also a deep familiarity with Haruto. They were not strangers.
"I was brought in an armored vehicle," Haruto answered his robust friend in a low voice, avoiding eye contact.
On the other side of the room, a woman with her hair tied in a high ponytail was drinking coffee from a machine. Hearing them, she turned her head and looked at them with slight arrogance.
"I'm Elara, nice to meet you," she said indifferently.
Kael, the robust man, quickly added with a mischievous smile:
"She's the genius who created the system that will allow us to complete our mission. Isn't that amazing? Plus, she's young and pretty."
Elara sighed in exasperation and replied dryly:
"Can you be quiet for just one moment? You haven't stopped talking since we arrived."
"He's also grumpy," Kael added with a chuckle.
Their exchange was interrupted by the entrance of an older man with a graying mustache and a commanding uniform. Tobias walked in with unshakable confidence, the kind of leader who had seen countless missions teeter on the brink of disaster and lived to tell the tale.
"Alright, alright," he interjected in a relaxed tone. "You all need to get along—we'll be together for six months before the launch. My name is Tobias, and I'll be in charge of taking you to the wandering planet."
The atmosphere in the room shifted. They all knew that what lay ahead would change their lives forever.
That black planet, that unfathomable mystery, awaited them in the abyss of space.