Chapter 108: Episode 108: Core of the Shadow Tide

Episode 108: Core of the Shadow Tide

Carrying the unfinished warning and obsession of the "Drifting Ark," the "Voyager" drifts onward like a lone soul burdened with even more missions, advancing toward the dark depths at the edge of the galaxy as guided by the algorithm. The phenomenon named "Shadow Tide," a shadow‑devouring occurrence, presses on everyone's heart like a massive stone. Known terror suffocates far more than the unknown.

The voyage grows increasingly oppressive. Outside the window lies unchanging darkness, the interstellar dust thin to a pitiful degree, as if even matter itself avoids this region. Inside the ship, Heartlight Resonance meditation has become a daily compulsory lesson; that faint warm field, gathered from collective belief, is the crew's sole shield against external dead silence and inner fear. Even the most skeptical Zhang Yang has begun to attend meditation earnestly, saying, "Whether it works or not, it's better than idly daydreaming!"

Su Yu's True Knowledge Vision is severely limited in this pure void, as if thick ink has soaked the canvas, making penetration impossible. Yet she does not give up; instead she focuses even more on sensing the tiniest energy ripples and spatial fluctuations. She believes that the closer one gets to the core, the more traces will appear.

That day, during a deep meditation, Su Yu suddenly opened her eyes, her complexion unusually grim.

"Chen Mo," she said, her voice trembling slightly, "I… felt… ahead, something… enormous… it is… 'breathing.'"

It was not visual, nor auditory, but a tremor emanating from the soul level. It seemed as if the entire void ahead were the chest of a sleeping giant beast, beating slowly and heavily.

Chen Mo stepped beside her, gently placing his hand on her shoulder, offering silent support. He could feel a slight tension in her body. His own spiritual sense also warned him, a predator‑like fear arising from a primal instinct quietly growing, yet being crushed by a stronger will.

"Adjust course, follow the direction Su Yu senses, and approach slowly," Chen Mo ordered, his voice steady. "All units, battle readiness level one. Shield energy to prioritize detection and concealment systems."

The "Voyager" moved like a submarine slipping into the deep sea, lowering its presence to the minimum, carefully steering toward the darkness that pulsed with a "heartbeat."

As they drew nearer, the "heartbeat" sensation grew clearer, and even crew members without special perception began to feel inexplicable palpitations and suffocation, as if the surrounding void itself had gained weight, pressing on each person's chest.

Finally, at the edge of the observation window's limit, the "thing" revealed a snarling fragment.

It was not a solid planet or structure, but a… "existence" that defies precise human description. It resembled a colossal, slowly rotating dark vortex, its scale surpassing any star or construct previously seen. At the vortex's center lay an abyssal point of absolute darkness that could swallow starlight, like the eye of a chasm. Countless shadow energies, viscous like tar, extended like tentacles from the vortex and retracted slowly, forming the semblance of its "breathing." This is the core of the Shadow Tide! Or rather, a source of the Shadow Tide!

Even from a distance, the pure "void" it emitted and its devouring will nearly froze the soul. The recently stabilized Heartlight field aboard the ship fluctuated violently, its light flickering erratically; some crew with weaker minds even began to vomit and feel dizzy.

"Detecting ultra‑high‑intensity shadow energy radiation! Shield energy is being rapidly eroded! Thirty percent… forty percent…" Kaiwen's voice sounded desperate. "At this rate, we won't last ten minutes!"

"All engines reverse to maximum power! Retreat!" Han Qing immediately made the tactical decision.

However, it was already too late.

The "Abyssal Eye" seemed to sense the approach of this tiny "anomaly." It emitted no sound, but an indescribable wave of absolute malicious intent surged like a tsunami! This was not data flow, but pure Negation of existence crushing force!

The Heartlight field cracked instantly like fragile glass! More crew screamed, clutching their heads as they fell, blood spilling from seven orifices. Even Chen Mo felt a violent vertigo, his internal order force and Starlight Crystal radiance dimming sharply!

The massive hull of the "Voyager" shuddered violently under the psychic onslaught, and shield values plummeted like an avalanche!

"Damn it! Let's go all out!" Zhang Yang's eyes turned blood‑red as he rushed toward the gun turret.

"Don't be reckless!" Chen Mo, stifling a soul‑level sting, grabbed him. He looked at Su Yu, who was biting her lower lip hard, blood seeping from the corner, yet she stubbornly maintained a sliver of True Knowledge Vision, trying to find a thread of hope.

"It… it does have a weakness…" Su Yu's voice was broken and extremely weak, "Its core… that dark eye… the energy isn't completely uniform… there are extremely fine… fluctuations… like… like the gaps between heartbeats…"

The gaps between heartbeats!

Chen Mo's eyes suddenly flashed with brilliance! No matter how powerful the existence, as long as its energy flow follows a pattern, there is a chance to be disrupted or even shattered!

He recalled the battle against the Harvester's Nest, recalling how they closed spatial rifts—each time winning by exploiting a fleeting opening. Though the enemy before them was despair‑inducing in strength, its essence remained a "existence" form, not true, absolute "nothing."

"Kaiwen! Concentrate all Heartflame Resonator energy, tune to the fluctuation frequency Su Yu indicated, and prepare for directed psychic interference!" Chen Mo's voice cut like a drawn sword. "Han Qing, calculate the interval period of its energy fluctuations! Zhang Yang, Wang Hu, charge all ship‑borne weapons, target the Dark Eye core! Hear my command: fire simultaneously the moment interference takes effect!"

"Understood!"

"Leave it to me!"

Without hesitation, everyone moved like precise gears, acting instantly. This was the only chance to strike back from the abyss!

"Fluctuation interval calculation complete! The period is extremely short; the next interval is in… fifteen seconds!" Han Qing's voice was quick and clear.

"Resonator energy routing complete! Frequency locked!" Kaiwen's hands became afterimages on the console.

"All weapons charged! Target locked!" Zhang Yang and Wang Hu's voices rang together.

In the bridge, only the hum of instruments and each person's heavy breathing remained. Outside, the "Shadow Tide Core" pulsed like a cosmic tumor, its psychic pressure nearly crushing human reason.

Chen Mo inhaled deeply, placed his hand on the main console, and closed his eyes. He was not fleeing; he was gathering. He gathered all his will, his comrades' trust, the departed's obsession, and the deep‑seated, never‑yielding yearning for "life."

"Ten seconds!"

"Five seconds!"

"Three, two, one… now!"

"Heartflame Resonance—maximum power, release!" Chen Mo shouted, eyes snapping open!

Buzz—!!!

A unprecedented, condensed golden light burst from the bow of the "Voyager"! It was not an energy attack but a torrent of Heartlight forged from every defender's belief! It was like a match ignited in endless darkness—weak, yet resolutely piercing all gloom!

The golden Heartlight precisely struck the minute fluctuation gap in the Abyssal Eye's energy flow!

There was no explosion, no shockwave.

Only a… sudden, regulated "boiling" as if ice dropped into boiling oil!

The once‑steady rotating dark vortex suddenly stalled! The absolute darkness point at its core twisted and churned for the first time! The extending shadow tentacles danced wildly as if scorched! That terrifying psychic pressure created an instant vacuum!

"Now! Fire!!!" Chen Mo's voice tore the brief silence!

All main guns, secondary guns, missile launch tubes… every weapon capable of firing poured the accumulated fury into the briefly disordered Abyssal Eye!

Boom—Boom—Boom—!!!

This time, matter and energy exploded in a cataclysmic blast!

The dark core was ripped apart by countless scorching beams and explosions; its internal shadow energy lost stability, colliding and annihilating wildly! The massive vortex structure began to collapse and disintegrate!

"We did it! We succeeded!" Kaiwen, looking at the sharply dropping energy readings on the sensor, exclaimed with a voice that warped with excitement.

The huge explosion's shockwave pushed the "Voyager" backward, the hull shuddered violently, but shield pressure rapidly decreased.

Chen Mo steadied himself on the console, watching the expanding explosion of light beyond the observation window that eventually turned into a chaotic energy afterglow, and let out a long sigh. He felt an unprecedented weakness, the result of both mental and physical exhaustion.

Su Yu leaned weakly against him, her face bearing a post‑apocalyptic smile and a hint of incredulous joy. They had done it, seizing a fleeting chance in absolute disadvantage, dealing a heavy blow to the seemingly invincible enemy!

"Report battle damage and evacuate this sector immediately," Chen Mo ordered, his voice weary yet filled with new hope.

They had destroyed a Shadow Tide Core, proving that "void" is not unbeatable!

The Heartlight ignited at the edge of the abyss finally illuminated a sliver of dawn for them.

The true expedition now truly begins!