The Black Star flew in silence. It was not the normal technical kind, but a heavy silence, as if something had remained on the ship with them after their last encounter.
Kael sat at the console, but he wasn't looking at the data. His gaze kept returning to the capsule containing the artifact. Since leaving the Guardians' zone, he had been acting differently. Calmer. Too calm.
Lira was the first to notice. "He's leading us," she said. There was no question in her voice.
Taro confirmed it. "The course changes minimally every few minutes. If we weren't paying close attention, we'd think it was drifting."
Zara sat on an ammunition crate and cleaned her weapon. Her movements were slower than usual. "So we're going where he wants. Great."
Rex stood by the side screen. "This sector is dead. There are no active routes. There are no commercial signals. Even pirates avoid it."
Finally, Kael spoke up. "That's exactly why."
The space before them was strangely empty. The stars were there, but everything in between was missing. No traces of jumps. No disturbances. It was as if someone had cleared the area a long time ago.
Lira zoomed in on the map. "This used to be the main route. Before the war. It connected five systems."
Zara looked up. "And now?"
"Now it's erased."
The artifact glowed softly, as if in response to her words.
Taro frowned. "Kael, the readings are changing. It's not emptiness. It's system-wide masking."
Rex turned abruptly. "So someone is here."
"Or was," Lira added. "And they don't want anyone to remember."
The ship slowed down on its own. The engines were running, but the speed was dropping. As if something in space was resisting.
Zara stood up. "Okay. I don't like this place. Too clean."
Kael activated the front scanner. The image was blank for a long time. Then a line appeared. Thin. Perfectly straight.
"It's the border," Taro said quietly. "The dead trail ends here."
"What's on the other side?" Rex asked.
Before anyone could answer, the line disappeared. And the space in front of them cracked.
It didn't explode. It didn't tear apart violently. It simply revealed something that had been there all along.
A wreck. Huge. Old. The structure was broken into segments, drifting in perfect stillness. The hull was black, as if it absorbed light.
Lira held her breath. "It's not a wreck."
"It's a graveyard," Rex corrected.
The artifact pulsed harder.
Kael felt a familiar tension in his head. "It was one of the first nodes. Before the Guardians revealed themselves."
Zara smiled crookedly. "So something's about to wake up."
As if to confirm this, a single light came on deep within the wreck. Red. And it began to approach.
The red light moved slowly, almost lazily, as if exploring the space in front of it. It sent no signals. It emitted no energy that could be clearly classified.
Kael reduced the power of the engines. The Black Star was now drifting at the edge of the wreck, too close to be considered a coincidence.
"It sees us," said Lira. "But it's not reacting like a combat unit."
Rex leaned against the console. "The worst possible combination."
Zara moved closer to the viewfinder. Her smile disappeared completely. "It's not a drone. It's... an eye."
Taro nervously scrolled through the data. "The wreck's structure is absurdly old. The dating indicates a period before the Guardians' war. That's impossible."
The artifact in the capsule glowed in response to the light. The pulse was synchronized. Like two hearts beating in the same rhythm.
Kael felt a tingling in his hands. "This is no coincidence. The artifact knows this place."
The red light stopped. Then it went out.
For a split second, everything was black. The Black Star's systems suddenly came back to life. Alarms blared. Screens flashed with warning messages.
"Physical contact," Lira shouted. "Something is attached to the hull."
Rex was already on the move. "Zara, with me."
"With pleasure."
The airlock opened with a hiss. The emptiness of space greeted them with an icy silence. The light from the lamps reflected off the black metal of the wreckage.
The object attached to the hull looked like a piece of the wreckage itself. Only when it moved did it become clear that it was not dead matter.
"It's alive," said Rex.
Zara approached first. "It's not breathing. It's not emitting heat. But it's responding."
The object suddenly opened like a flower. A red light flared inside it.
Zara fired without hesitation. The projectile struck, but the energy spilled across the surface, doing no visible damage.
"I don't like this," she said.
At that moment, hundreds of similar lights lit up deep inside the wreck.
Lira shouted through the communicator. "Kael. The wreck is activating. The entire structure."
The interior of the ship graveyard began to move. Segments that had appeared destroyed began to shift position. Lines of energy ignited in the crevices.
Taro stared at the data in disbelief. "This isn't a wreck. It's an organism. Made up of thousands of ships."
The artifact pulsed violently.
Kael clenched his teeth. "Zara, Rex. Return. Immediately."
The red light on the object flashed blindingly. And then the wreck sent a signal. Not into the ether. Directly into their minds.
Images flooded them simultaneously. Fleets dying in silence. Guardians looking away. Something enormous, left to die in a dead lane.
Zara clutched her head. "This is fucked up."
Rex pulled her back into the airlock at the last moment. The door closed as a piece of the wreckage struck the hull.
The Black Star shook.
Kael looked at the artifact. "It's not an enemy."
"It's a memory," Taro said quietly. And that memory had just awakened.
The Black Star shook as if the entire wreck was trying to pull them toward it. Kael pressed himself against the console, feeling an invisible force vibrating in the air. All systems were acting on their own. Sensors were going haywire, screens were flashing chaotically, and the engines seemed to be pulsing in time with the artifact.
Zara grabbed the railing and looked toward the wreckage. "It's not dead. We can't just fly through it. It's like... a living maze."
Rex nodded. "And there's no telling what will happen if we run into one of its segments."
Kael felt a cold shiver run down his spine. Images began to pulse in his mind—the wreck's energy lines, conducting information like nerves. The object's consciousness emerged from the chaos of metal segments, and the artifact in the capsule responded to every impulse. It was an interaction on a level none of them understood, not even Taro.
"This thing is older than the Guardians," he said quietly. "Older than any map we know. And... I think it knows we're here."
Lira leaned over the console. "The data shows that the wreck only activates its structures when it detects the presence of intelligence. As if... it's testing what will happen to us."
Zara rubbed her eyes. "Great. Just what I want, something examining me in the dark, in a state I don't understand."
Rex moved toward the airlock to watch the hull on the external cameras. "We can't risk physical contact. Whatever is moving isn't acting like a normal wreck. It's responding to our thoughts... or to the artifact."
The artifact pulsed more and more intensely. The entire capsule seemed to resonate with the wreck's energy, sending subtle impulses that penetrated the metal segments. Kael felt the artifact "speak" to him subtly—images, feelings, information that could not be fully described in words.
"We have to decide," Kael said. "We go inside, or we leave now."
"We can't escape," Lira replied. "The way back has been erased. This place... has its lines and traps. The artifact won't let us leave."
Zara raised her weapon, looking toward the segments of the wreckage that were beginning to form strange, swirling corridors of metal and energy. "So, option A: survive. Option B: die trying."
Rex sighed. "Option C: take a chance. Always."
Kael looked at the artifact. It pulsed more and more strongly, as if pointing the way. "All right. We're going in. But everyone watches each other. This isn't a wreck. It's a conscious being. And it may not want to let us go."
The Black Star slowly began to approach the wreck. Metal segments arranged themselves into mazes, moving smoothly like living tissue. Red and purple lights appeared in the crevices, illuminating a path that seemed to lead deep into the heart of the object.
Zara approached Kael. "Ready for some adrenaline?"
Kael nodded. "As always."
Taro entered the final data into the console, trying to determine the trajectory. "This isn't science. It's instinct. The wreck responds to our every move."
Lira held her breath as the Black Star slipped into the first crevice. Lights flickered around them, segments shifted, creating corridors that changed in real time. The feeling that the space was "alive" was overwhelming.
Kael felt the artifact leading them deeper. They didn't know what awaited them at the center. They might encounter the history of lost civilizations, the Guardians, or something indescribable. But the way back was closed. There was only one direction to go: forward.
Zara looked at the rest of the crew. "Time to get our asses kicked. Who knows what we'll find in there?"
Rex smiled briefly. "Let's hope we don't end up like one of the segments."
Lira raised her hand. "Hang on. This is going to be a long one."
The Black Star entered another segment of the wreck, and the metal around them began to shift in rhythm with the artifact. Each movement was predictable and unpredictable at the same time. The feeling that each corridor was both a maze and a map was overwhelming.
The artifact's light pulsed more and more intensely, as if the wreck's heartbeat was matching the rhythm of their own pulses.
The segments of the wreck began to move even faster. The Black Star drifted between metal strands that looked like living walls of a maze. Kael felt the artifact in his hand emitting stronger pulses. It wasn't just energy; it was communication, subtle, almost telepathic.
"It's like a map," Lira said. "We can't see it with our eyes, but the artifact knows the way."
Zara snorted. "A map? This looks like a fucking cosmic horror movie."
Rex gripped his weapon. "We have no choice. Kael, lead the way."
Kael nodded. "Stay on course. Don't stray from the artifact."
The Black Star slipped into a deeper segment. The metal around them began to pulsate in rhythm with the artifact. Lines of energy spread through the air, forming passages that opened and closed depending on their movements.
"It... responds to our decisions," Lira whispered.
"Great," Zara snorted. "This place is less friendly than any gang I've ever dealt with."
Taro pressed his fingers to the terminal. "The system data is going haywire. I can't predict what will happen if we change our trajectory."
Kael took a deep breath. "Then we're flying blind. The artifact knows what it's doing."
The segments began to accelerate, spinning and changing shape. The metal became transparent in places, revealing the impenetrable darkness inside the wreck. From that darkness, red lights slowly emerged, pulsing in time with the artifact.
"Something's coming," Rex said. "I can feel it."
Zara took a deep breath. "I can't tell if this excites me or terrifies me."
The artifact finally glowed brightly, as if to draw them to the center of the wreck. Kael felt pressure in his head—images of fleets, battles, losses, and power concentrated in one place. Everything was mixed up in chaos, but at the same time, it made sense that couldn't be explained in words.
"Kael... this is leading us straight to the core," Lira said.
"I understand," Kael replied briefly. "Prepare for contact. We don't know what we'll find there."
The Black Star crossed the last layer of segments. The interior of the wreck revealed a huge chamber whose walls pulsed with the light of the artifact. It was quiet, almost mesmerizing.
Zara slowly moved toward the front screen. "Okay... this looks like the heart of this place."
Rex pulled her back. "Don't do anything stupid."
Kael watched the artifact. It pulsed and glowed more intensely than ever. Lines of energy radiated from it throughout the chamber. It looked as if the entire wreck was one giant organism, and the artifact was its central neuron.
"It's not a wreck," Taro whispered. "It's consciousness."
Zara snorted. "Great. As if we didn't have enough problems."
Suddenly, the artifact fired a beam of energy into space. The lines around them flashed and formed a symbolic pattern. Kael felt a wave of information, images of fleets, battles, secret passages between sectors, all at once.
"We understand... now," said the artifact, or perhaps Kael simply received its message.
The wreck's consciousness reacted. The segments trembled, pulsed, as if preparing for something bigger. And then, from the darkness of the chamber, a new, unknown silhouette emerged—huge, unearthly, composed of metal and energy.
"Contact... inevitable," said Kael. "Prepare your weapons... and your minds."
The artifact pulsed in time with the wreck's heartbeat. And they knew that this moment would change everything.