A few minutes before…
Eryndor and the rest kept moving in the space in a single direction.
As far as his sight went, he couldn’t see any heavenly bodies nearby, just a few twinkling dots.
Just as he was getting bored, Liliana made a sign on her hand.
It ant they had reached the vicinity of the Forbidden Void.
Eryndor had read in the reports that one would feel inexplicable pressure weighing down on their very existence as they got closer to the entity.
So for a mont, he was confused when Liliana displayed the sign. Because that’s when the pressure should start mounting, but he wasn’t feeling anything yet.
Is it because of my Eldritch Origin?
He couldn’t help but muse. Maybe it was because of that indeed, as he couldn’t co up with any other reason.
As they kept approaching the Forbidden Domain though, he couldn’t help but feel that sothing was wrong.
It was already wrong if he didn’t feel pressured, but the emotion which was welling up inside him was even more wrong.
It was hunger.
As the distance narrowed, the intensity of hunger only increased.
What is happening?
Eryndor had zero idea what was going on. This hunger definitely wasn’t his. It felt like sothing deep within him was craving for whatever it was that was out there.
Don’t tell …hunger for Shx’Trelith?
Eryndor didn’t dare continue this line of thought. Enduring the growing hunger, he kept moving.
Finally, two minutes later, they reached the place.
They could now bear witness to the spectacle before them.
In the endless expanse of space, the Forbidden Void lood like a great abyss, an unnatural rupture in the fabric of existence.
It was not rely empty—it was a presence, a wound in reality itself.
Its edges blurred and shimred, as though the universe recoiled from touching it, leaving a jagged, chaotic boundary where laws of reality seed to wane.
It felt like it wasn’t a part of the universe.
Encasing this unfathomable chasm was the Forbidden Film, an imperceptible barrier.
To the naked eye, it was a shifting veil, translucent yet impenetrable, writhing with faint pulses of sothing that was neither light nor shadow.
It exuded an eerie stillness, a silence so absolute it pressed against the mind, snuffing out any attempt to perceive what lay beyond.
It was the final safeguard—the last restraint keeping what lurked within from reaching out.
And yet, through this cursed shroud, sothing watched.
From deep within the void, an enormous eye pressed against the inside of the seal, its form barely discernible through the distortions of the shimring film.
Yes, it was an eye.
It was too vast to comprehend in its entirety, its sclera an abyssal black that blended seamlessly into the void, while its iris—an ever-shifting vortex of deep purples, burning golds, and abyssal blues—swirled with unknowable intent.
The slit-like pupil, impossibly long and thin, seed to pierce through the soul of any who dared look upon it.
It did not blink. It did not waver. It simply watched.
Even without direct contact, its gaze was felt—a pressure sinking into the very bones of those who stood before it, a gnawing awareness that sothing ancient, patient, and all-seeing lay beyond, studying them as though they were nothing more than fleeting specks of dust in the vast expanse of ti.
The giant eye moved, and a voice was heard directly in the minds of everyone.
"People!!!! So many!!!"
Before they could make sense of it, they saw a giant robot floating in space moving its mouth.
It was the AI left behind to have a talk with Shx’Trelith. Since sound can’t travel in space, it was clearly using so other ans of communication.
Liliana made a hand sign which signified that they should rember the mission details.
None of them were to attempt to communicate with the Eldritch Entity. They were also to not gaze at its form.
All three of them should just assist the team leader in collecting the existing data logs of the AI and install a new one.
The three of them were already having difficulty doing the work, due to the compelled belief in Shx’Trelith.
All they could think about was how magnificent the eye looked, how beautiful it was, the multicolored iris, the sharp straight pupil.
Their mind was consud with thoughts of worship, glorifying each and every small detail of the entity before them.
It was already so difficult despite their suits being modified with ntal defense equipnt.
Liliana, the strongest of them, was the only one possessing the slightest hint of rationality.
She gazed at the three of her teammates who stood rooted on their spot, paralyzed. The weakest of them, Eryndor, was literally shaking.
Little did she know he wasn’t shaking because he was resisting the effects of forced belief, but hunger.
His hunger had grown too intense.
It was like he just needed to stop resisting and his body would do the rest, what it had been itching to do.
Apart from the basic reasoning, there was another reason which kept his mind intact and helped him resist the intense craving.
Danger. His senses were tingling, informing him of the upcoming danger if he acted on impulse. It was fear of demise.
This feeling felt like it originated from him. It was like a counterforce to keep his hunger in check.
To keep him from acting rashly. That it was a bad idea to release restraint on himself in front of an Eldritch Entity.
His rationality was in place purely through sheer force of will, basic sense of logic, and danger acting together to keep the primordial force of hunger in check.
If Eryndor could take a look at his Mind Palace, he would’ve been even more surprised.
The entire Palace was shaking intensely, its main doors were closed shut, with wisps of black smoke leaking out of it.
Threads of black smoke could be seen wafting out from various places of the palace.
If one could see inside the palace, they would find that all the smoke was erging from the fifth door.
The door was opened completely, no one could see what was situated inside, it was just endless black smoke exiting the room which clouded one’s vision.
A deep guttural roar escaped Eryndor’s mouth.
Fortunately, they were in space, so no one could hear it. With Ken and Hellen resisting the effects and Liliana doing the job alone, no one could see him screaming either.
Eryndor knew it couldn’t go on like this anymore. He feared he would lose control. He feared sothing terrible might happen.
With what little was left of his rationality, Eryndor switched on the propellers of his spacesuit and moved backwards.
He began distancing himself from the Forbidden Void. His propellers worked in full force as the distance between him and the Eldritch Entity increased.
Just then, the Shx’Trelith, which might have been conversing with the AI all along, spoke into their minds again.
Although everyone heard it, it was clearly ant for Eryndor alone.
"Why are you shaking? Is it fear? What was that human phrase again, bestie?"
The AI moved its mouth again, and nodded its head, before Shx’Trelith’s voice was heard once again.
"Ah yes. I don’t bite."
Eryndor could only think of a single response to it, although he didn’t dare say it out loud.
You don’t, but I might take a bite out of you.
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