Falling into the Abyss

Black Gate, which was on the border of the Third Empire, was not a suitable planet for survival because it had a thin atmosphere, too much sulfur dioxide, and no liquid water. Due to the distance from its sun, the climate there was extremely cold, so one had to wear a spacesuit just to move around there.

When the Ophiuchus Alliance spacecraft landed, there were two other Third Empire spacecraft moored in orbit near the planet. Those were the search and rescue teams sent by the Third Empire’s government. At the same time, an Eve spacecraft had also entered orbit to participate in the search and rescue operation.

Obviously, the Ophiuchus Alliance did not tell the Third Empire that Ethan was also on board. Fortunately, with the spacesuit’s helmet, it was difficult to see one’s features from the exterior. Ethan and Samuel landed on Black Gate in a small spaceship with several other Ophiuchus Alliance soldiers. The aircraft skimmed over the thin iron blue sky, and ravines crisscrossed the desolate and barren earth that appeared like deep wrinkles carved out over the years.

In a deep valley lay the largest part of the wreckage from the Eve spaceship. The elliptical shape of the steel remaining was obliquely inserted into the cliff, and the exposed steel skeleton pointed towards the sky, so it was impossible to distinguish which part of the spacecraft it was originally. The valley was littered with pieces of metal and charred cloth, chairs, and other things, creating an extremely shocking looking long trail.

Some Third Empire rescuers were still searching the largest wreckage for fragments of the mainframe, hoping to recover some pre-crash information. There was a temporary search and rescue base on the edge of the area of the wreckage, where most of the analysis would be completed.

“No body was found, but with this degree of disintegration……even the body may have been burned……” The search and rescue personnel shook his head regretfully.

“However, we’re trying to restore some of the mainframe’s information we found recently. Maybe we can get more information,” another Third Empire technician told Roland, “It seems that the central intelligence program of the mainframe had been turned off. According to the video record, a person entered warp drive flight mode while awake.”

A burst of uproar sounded, and many soldiers looked at each other, whispering, “God, how could someone do such a crazy thing.” Samuel looked anxiously at Ethan, who was in front of him. Ethan was standing still quietly, and he couldn’t read his expression.

Roland asked, “So what happened to this man?”

“The image records from the middle of the flight are missing and seem to be disturbed. From what we have found until now, we seem to have heard someone screaming, and there are a lot of fuzzy……inexplicable images…… If you want to see them, you can have a general look, but they are very fuzzy because they were restored posthumously.”

Then, Ethan saw the video.

It was a shaking, blurry image. He could only vaguely see that it was taken in the cockpit of the spaceship. There seemed to be a blond person trying to get up from the ground, but shortly after…… Shortly after that, Ethan was not sure what he was looking at……

A lot of black shadows popped out from the walls and the ground…… They seemed to be in the shape of a person, yet they also didn’t seem that way…… There were many insect-like arms and tentacles, constantly changing shapes……

Ethan sped up on the way, disregarding the search and rescue personnel of the Third Empire passing by, and went straight to the wreckage stuck in the rock wall. He could hear his own heavy breathing and felt the cold sweat oozing from his palms. He remembered how Tanisiel had touched his heart gently in his last moments, remembered the kiss that Tanisiel had finally planted on his forehead, and remembered that Tanisiel said to him: I heard that the Moania’s sunset is beautiful. Live well, and go and have a look for me.

And the scream that could make one’s bones tremble……

He had never heard the priest utter such a painful cry, even when he was suffering from the battle between the forces of Order and Disorder in his body and when he was suffering from the aftereffects of being pulled out of his pupa……

Those black shadows……were not things from this universe…… What happened during the course of the warp drive?

Ethan placed his hand on the horribly melted metal wall, and his other hand pulled off his helmet. The rescuers who saw him committing this suicidal act all took a breath of cold air. In such a horrible atmospheric environment, people who were exposed to the air for less than three minutes would be poisoned by sulfur dioxide, which would lead to renal failure and even death. Not to mention the poisonous atmosphere, even just the cold caused the planet to be unsuitable for survival. In an instant, one would get frostbitten.

Some rescuers rushed up to save him, but Ethan made a gesture of refusal towards them. The cold wind lifted his dark brown hair, and his green eyes twinkled in the dark. He closed his eyes and raised his head, sniffing in the air like an animal. He tried to settle down and find a trace of Tanisiel in the planet’s pungent atmosphere. At the same time, he was also searching for the broken soul bond in his mind, hysterically allowing himself to feel, to find his lost other half.

But he couldn’t smell it. There was nothing. There was no sense of anything in his mind either.

Previously, in his pupa state, he could clearly perceive some distant and ancient memories and some souls that did not belong to the universe. But now, none of those extraordinary senses could help him. Tanisiel seemed to have evaporated and left no trace, not even a body.

“This was the price of betraying his faith. You let him deviate from his contract with the Crawling Chaos. He already knew what his end would be.”

Ethan turned around and saw an Eve man wearing a light spacesuit and a transparent helmet. He was handsome and elegant, with long brown hair tied behind his head. The third eye on his forehead was open. He was obviously trying to have direct spiritual communication with Ethan through that eye.

It was Theonile.

Ethan was about ten steps away from him, and the sharp cold wind was blowing between them.

“The group of you killed him,” Ethan said coldly.

Theonile was probably the only one who had not shown fear of him so far. The head priest looked at him with a pair of half-sorrowful and half-resentful eyes and replied, “No, you killed him. You confused his mind and made him forget his duty.”

“I bewitched him?” Ethan suddenly laughed, the laughter increasing in pitch until at last, it sounded a little creepy. It was clearly Tanisiel who bewitched him with his charming gray eyes, gentle voice, and clean and slender hands of salvation? Why was it all suddenly his fault in the mouths of these people?

Should he have lain on their altar and waited for the core of the universe to burn his soul to ashes?

Did he deserve to be sacrificed?

Didn’t he work hard to live as an ordinary person?

Would it be the best outcome for him to disappear completely?

But on second thought, did he care what these people thought? These people were not worth mentioning.

Now, he didn’t have to have to care about irrelevant people. He had promised himself that he only needed one person.

Therefore, Ethan stopped laughing and suddenly extended his hand. From the tips of his five fingers, five barbed tentacles burst out simultaneously, which immediately wrapped tightly around the joint between Theonile’s head and neck on his spacesuit. At this moment, as long as he lightly tightened his grip, the spacesuit would be shredded, and this hateful Eve man would die of sulfur dioxide poisoning.

Screams of fear rang out from all directions. Not far away, the Eve soldiers immediately took out their weapons and aimed them at him.

However, Theonile was still calm and even motioned to the Eve soldiers behind him not to fight him. This made Ethan very dissatisfied.

“I remember I heard Tanisiel say that in the extreme chaos, time and space will be disordered, and the dead can be reborn. That was why he signed the contract with Nyarlathotep, wasn’t it? ”

Theonile slightly nodded. “Yes”.

”As long as Azathoth descends, this would be accomplished……right? ”

“Correct.”

“What kind of ritual to allow the descent of the gods were you going to perform to request for his descension?”

“It was to open the spiritual channel between you and him, so that he could manipulate your body from another universe.”

“But I wouldn’t die?”

“No. I just don’t know if your consciousness will exist. After all, no soul can bear the consciousness of the core of the universe.” Theonile added, “But you are the son of the Crawling Chaos and a Heavenbounder. Maybe your consciousness will not disappear.”

Ethan pursed his lips and finally asked, “How would this ritual work?”

This time, however, Theonile sneered mockingly, but his smile was a little bleak. “It’s too late. That ceremony should be held within 72 hours before you enter adulthood, but you are now already an adult.”

“……That’s it?”

“That’s it.”

“I don’t believe it!” As Ethan’s fingertips exerted some force, Theonile heard a crack come from the bottom of his helmet. In front of him, the angry son of Disorder was exuding a kind of terrifying black gas that was invisible to human eyes. Those black gases blocked out the sky, covered the sun, and almost caused him to be unable to control his inner fears. But on the surface, he seemed calm. “Why don’t you go look for your father?”

Ethan was stunned.

“I’m not talking about the poor Earthling who raised you.” Theonile’s calculating line of sight darted over from ten steps away. He said, “I’m talking about your real father.”