CHAPTER 484: VOID MOTHERSHIP. {12}

And so the journey passed, a blend of silent vigilance and lighthearted, distant chatter. Two weeks of drifting through the unnatural silence of the wormhole. Then, it ended.

The fleet shuddered back into real space, the star-dusted void of the galactic rim stretching before them. And there, hanging in the black like a cursed tombstone, was the Void Mothership.

But Rex felt it before he truly saw it. A sensation that was not sight or sound but a vibration that resonated deep within his very soul. It was a cold, ancient malevolence that traced an icy finger down his spine, a whisper of something profoundly wrong.

Yet, intertwined with that chill was a sudden, volcanic surge of rage. It boiled his blood, like a primal and inexplicable fury that clenched his jaw and tightened his fists.

The world had narrowed to a single, horrifying point in the void. Rex was lost in it, his consciousness drowning in a tide of icy dread and scalding rage. He didn’t feel the ship around him and didn’t hear the ambient hum of its systems. He was adrift in a vision only he could see.

Then, he felt a warmth cupping his cheeks. "Rex?" Cleo’s voice was a lifeline, pulling him from the depths. "Are you okay? My sensors detected a massive spike in your blood pressure and a dangerous surge of adrenaline. What is happening?"

Her gaze searched his, but his eyes were distant, unfocused, staring through her at something light-years away. He was trapped in a deep and unsettling trance.

"Please forgive me for this," she whispered, her voice laced with resolve and a touch of sorrow. Before he could react, a controlled, sharp electric discharge snapped from her palms against his temples.

"Ha! What the fuck was that for?!" Rex gasped while stumbling back a step as if physically struck. A single bead of cold sweat traced a path down his temple and splattered onto the cool metal floor, the sound unnaturally loud in the sudden silence.

"Was I wrong?" Cleo pressed her hands, already glowing with a diagnostic scan, running them over his body. "Is there something malfunctioning?"

"I... I don’t think it’s a malfunction," he rasped, his mind still scrambling to catch up. "I can’t remember the details... it’s all a blur. But I’m certain I saw something the moment we exited the wormhole. There’s something on that Void Mothership, Cleo. Something truly dangerous. I have to see what it is!"

Driven by an impulse he couldn’t control, he didn’t wait for a response. The air around him twisted, and he vanished, using spatial movement to teleport directly outside the hull of the flagship. In his frantic state, he forgot the most basic necessity... the vacuum of space cannot be breathed.

A flash of panic, then instinct, or perhaps it was Cleo’s will acting through their bond. The living metal woven into his body reacted, flowing over his skin in a shimmering wave. In an instant, it formed a sleek, powerful suit of armor, pure white with intricate golden decoration, sealing him safely within.

"My Lord!" an officer on the bridge cried out. "The external scanners have detected a person standing outside the ship!"

"Put it on the main screen," the Planetary Champion ordered, his curiosity piqued but not yet alarmed.

The image resolved, and a collective, silent awe fell over the command center. There, silhouetted against the infinite starfield and the hulking menace of the Void Mothership, was a winged figure in resplendent white armor. A large, golden halo, etched with glowing, bluish tech marks, rotated slowly and majestically behind his helmeted head.

"Do we have any identification on that... being?" the Champion asked, his voice hushed.

A shimmer of light announced Cleo’s arrival in the command center. "Fear not," she stated calmly, her eyes fixed on the magnificent figure on the screen. "That is Rex. He said he sensed something dangerous emanating from the Mothership."

"Oh, if it’s just Rex, then there’s no cause for concern. Everyone, return to your posts," the Champion declared, the tension dissipating as his crew obeyed.

But not everyone was so easily reassured. The noble champion from the Tier 1 world had not moved. He stood frozen, his gaze locked on the screen, on the angelic, armored form of Rex standing defiantly against the darkness. A single word escaped his lips, a breath so quiet it was meant for no one but himself.

"Conqueror..."

It was inaudible to human ears. But Cleo’s auditory sensors, refined to perceive the slightest disturbance in the air, captured it perfectly.

The word echoed in her mind, cold and heavy with implication. Without a moment’s hesitation, her consciousness split.

While her physical form remained still, a part of her mind became a digital ghost, silently and immediately beginning its intrusion into the noble champion’s personal arm device, seeking the truth behind that whispered name.

A soft chime echoed in the private channel only he could hear.

[Cleo: Rex, you should come back; we’re getting near the other fleets. It would be bad if someone out there can recognize you.]

Rex let out a deep, resonant sigh that was swallowed by the void. The magnificent, armored figure, haloed in gold against the stars, dissolved in a ripple of spatial energy.

He reappeared in the heart of the command center, the air cooling around him. With a thought, the brilliant white armor retracted, flowing back into his body like liquid light. His great wings, now free, folded gracefully around his shoulders, settling into the appearance of a regal, feathered cape.

"And? What is the situation with the different factions?" he asked, his voice calm as he strode to the main reinforced window, gazing out at the armada of rival ships gathering like scavengers around a celestial corpse.

"As you can see," the Planetary Champion began, highlighting the data on a central holoscreen, "there are at least two hundred different factions attempting to breach the mothership. But observe here." He zoomed the display onto one of the meteorite’s dark, gaping entrances.

The small frigate was desperately trying to reverse its course, fleeing the interior. Suddenly, without warning, massive shards of solidified black energy erupted from the darkness within, impaling the vessel and dragging its wreckage back into the abyss. A moment later, a silent, horrific bloom of blue fire marked its final destruction.

"Mmm," the noble champion hummed, his tentacles twitching as he replayed the gruesome scene. "That would be the defenses you mentioned. A question, though... would our own ship’s shields be strong enough to withstand an attack of that magnitude?"

Cleo, who had immediately returned to Rex’s side, answered without looking up from her internal scans.

"According to my sensor readings, there is not a single vessel in this entire sector whose shields could survive a direct impact. The energy signature is comparable to a concentrated Tier 5 attack, fueled by planetary-level powe

r."

"That’s a sensible option I would like to follow," the noble champion declared, his voice dripping with its usual grandeur, as if he were bestowing his approval upon a particularly clever servant.

"Very well," the Planetary Champion nodded, a wave of relief washing over him at the consensus.

"Seeing that everyone agrees, we will proceed. My officers will redirect all our elite forces and essential supplies to just four ships. It should take no more than three or four hours." With a series of sharp gestures, he set his crew into a flurry of organized activity.

As the logistical ballet unfolded, the four chosen vessels, now brimming with their most powerful warriors and critical gear, began their slow, deliberate incursion into the mouth of the colossal meteorite.

At the helm of each ship, standing defiantly upon the hull, was a Tier 5 powerhouse, a living bastion against the darkness within.

The assault began almost immediately. A hail of black, unidentifiable projectiles slammed against the ship’s reinforced shields, which flared brightly but held firm.

"It seems this level of attack is useless against heavy destroyer shielding," the Planetary Champion’s voice crackled over the comms, a note of confidence returning. "Let’s speed up a little bit."

The engines of the four ships roared to life, their thrusters glowing with intense power as they accelerated deeper into the cavernous entrance. But the Void Mothership was merely testing them. As they crossed the halfway point, the true defense system activated.

The first attack was a single, massive black spike, longer than the ships themselves, materializing from the shadows to spear directly toward Rex’s vessel. Without a moment’s hesitation, Rex vanished from the hull and reappeared directly in the projectile’s path.

He met it not with a flashy energy blast, but with raw, physical power, his hand snapping out to arrest the spike’s tip. The impact was colossal, the force of it pushing him backward through the void, his boots scraping against the ship’s energy shields as he resisted.

"Be careful, everyone," Rex’s voice was a low growl over the comms, strained but controlled. "These things are really heavy. The attack power is similar to a full-force strike from a low-tier Tier 5."

With a guttural roar that echoed in the minds of his companions, he tightened his grip. Muscles corded and energy flared around him as he wrestled with the unnatural weapon.

For two full seconds, he strained against it, a titan holding back a mountain, until a sound like shattering crystal echoed through the vacuum. He had broken the spike in two.

"Take it back! I don’t like your gift!" he shouted out, and with a mighty shokcwave, he hurled the broken shard back toward the meteorite’s interior wall.

But the Mothership was adaptive, its defenses more cunning than mere projectile fire. The moment the black spike touched the wall, it did not shatter or explode. Instead, it was absorbed, melting into the surface as if it were liquid.

A heartbeat later, the wall convulsed and shot back not one, but three identical spikes, now moving with even greater speed and malice, all aimed directly at Rex.