Preparations moved at lightning speed across the base. Every division, from engineers to tactical officers, worked tirelessly to ready the fleet for what was to come. Nam and Lan, meanwhile, pored over every piece of data recovered from G-Delta 7 and the surrounding systems.
The Shards were reacting—no, they were calling. Emitting strange, synchronized signals across time and space, they were like beacons to something ancient, something patient.
In the command center, a new briefing was underway.
"Based on the data," Dr. Nguyễn Vân, the lead physicist, explained, "the Shards are converging at specific points. Nexus Points. Places where dimensions intersect and reality is thinnest. If whoever—or whatever—is behind the Fracture gets control of those Nexus Points first, it could be catastrophic."
Nam leaned over the map displayed in front of him. Red dots flickered on the hologram, each one representing a Nexus Point. There were hundreds scattered across the multiverse, but only a handful within reachable distance.
"We'll never cover them all," Lan said, frowning. "We have to prioritize."
General Hoàng stepped forward. "We focus on the critical ones first. The biggest distortions are happening at these coordinates." He tapped the console, highlighting several locations: a dying star system, an abandoned Earth colony, and a place simply labeled The Abyss.
Nam's heart skipped a beat. The Abyss was a forbidden zone—no recorded expeditions had ever returned.
"We start with the star system," Nam said. "It's closest, and if there's a Shard there, we can't let it fall into enemy hands."
Hoàng nodded. "Take Squad Alpha and Beta. Full stealth mode. Engage only if necessary. The element of surprise is our greatest weapon now."
Hours later, the fleet launched into the unknown.
Nam stood aboard the TFS Ardent, a sleek battleship equipped with experimental drive systems capable of short-range dimensional shifts. Lan was at his side, suited in tactical armor, her gaze calm but alert.
"Ready?" she asked.
Nam smirked. "Not even close."
She chuckled under her breath. "Good. If you ever said you were ready for this, I'd know you were lying."
As the ships entered the void between realities, a strange, oppressive sensation settled over the crew. The stars themselves seemed distorted, wavering like mirages. Time didn't feel linear anymore—it pulsed, stretched, and twisted around them.
Suddenly, alarms blared.
"Contact!" shouted a voice from the comms.
Nam spun toward the monitors. Shadows moved in the darkness—massive shapes without clear form, shifting and coalescing like smoke given life.
"What the hell are those?" Lan muttered.
"Dimensional entities," Dr. Vân's voice crackled through. "They exist where the laws of physics are weak. They'll tear us apart if we're not careful."
Nam clenched his fists. "Divert power to shields. Steady course. No weapons unless they attack first."
The fleet glided cautiously forward, threading between the monstrous entities. For a few tense minutes, it seemed they might pass safely.
Then, with a shriek that rattled the hull, one of the shadows lunged.
"Brace for impact!"
The Ardent shuddered violently as the creature's tendrils scraped across the shields. Sparks flew from overloaded systems. Panels exploded in showers of light. The ship groaned like a wounded beast.
"Return fire!" Nam barked.
Turrets whirred to life, firing concentrated energy blasts at the entity. The beams pierced its amorphous body, and it recoiled, screeching.
"All ships, evasive maneuvers!" Lan ordered.
Amid the chaos, the path to the star system finally appeared ahead—a swirling vortex of dying suns and shattered planets.
Nam gritted his teeth. "We're almost there. Push through!"
Fighting both the entities and the disintegrating reality around them, the fleet made a desperate run for the Nexus Point.
As the Ardent breached the last dimensional barrier, a blinding light enveloped them. For a moment, everything—sound, sight, even thought—seemed to stop.
When it cleared, they were hovering above a massive, broken world.
And at its heart, floating above the ruins, was a Shard—pulsing with dark, chaotic energy.
Nam exhaled slowly. "There it is…"
Lan tightened her grip on her weapon. "And we're not alone."
Below, shapes were moving—figures armored in black, bearing insignias not of their world, but of some other, darker faction.
"They found it first," Nam said grimly. "But they're not leaving with it."
He turned to his team, the weight of a thousand timelines pressing down on him.
"This is it. No retreat, no surrender. We take that Shard—no matter what."
With a final nod, they descended into the battle for the fate of reality itself.