Fandom: 恋与深空|Love and Deepspace
Relationships: Main Character/Xia Yizhou|Caleb
Date of writing: [29.01.2025]
Words: 2,207
Tags: Angst, Drama, Missing Scene, Drabble, First Person Narrative
Warnings: Deviations from canon
Black veins sprawl across my body, a mysterious Aether Core pulses in my heart, and my memory is increasingly blank.
Setting out on a new assignment from the Hunter's Association, I try to find answers, but instead come face to face with a man whose death was mourned long ago, and who seems to be resting in his grave. Should have been resting... Yet a painfully familiar voice sounds very close by. It can't be a hallucination, no. He's alive, alive.
Wait...He?
Who is he?
★・゜・。・゜✧・゜・。・゜☆
📌 Author's Notes/Disclaimer: [Please note: The work is NOT canon. It is based on the plot branches of the original with my personal headcanons.]
“śūnya” translates from Sanskrit ‘empty’, ‘filled with nothing’, ‘uninhabited’, ‘lonely’, ‘devoid of anything’; also, the word ‘śūnya’ corresponds to the numeral ‘zero’ in Devanagari.
Eng ver Ao3 | Ru ver ficbook.net
A metaphysical concept that goes beyond the traditional explanations associated with the physical world. It is not simply the absence of objects; emptiness implies a deeper concept. A state in which any substance or form is absent, which leads to reflections on the very nature of existence. In this context, it is not just a physical space free of matter, but also a metaphor for the lack of meaning or significance in life.
It seems that my whole life has been an emptiness.
The Hunter's Association is always swamped with work.
Wanderers have been plaguing the citizens of Lincoln for about 14 years. But lately, everything's changed.
New protocols have the whole base on edge. Behavioral changes, new forms and, unfortunately, an increasing number of victims.
– There's no end of them!
The UNICORNS have been working hard. The wounded are forced to get out of their bunks faster. Vacationers are coming out of their personal leaves. Work is boiling over. It's not just opportunity at stake, but survival.
– We're in trouble. – The conference room filled with hunters immediately tenses at the sound of their Captain's voice. Jenna walks to the command console, turning on the broadcast of the last report. – The analysis of the last shard has been transmitted. It's been confirmed that we've contacted one of the Aether Core species. Code name: Spatium Core. And unfortunately, it is incomplete.
At least three types of Aether Core were already known to exist. If it continues like this, it will be only a matter of time before the public learns about this unusual source of energy.
– The next task of the special operation is clear: we must find this fragment before new complications arise.
A new headache didn't seem to be far behind.
After discussing the plan of action, it was decided that starting tomorrow, half of the UNICORNS team would be assigned to different groups to patrol or infiltrate several types of organizations that might have a connection to this case.
I sigh and make my way down to the Association's reception box when Simone called out my name. She seemed to be just as stressed by the news as I was, but treated it more... Easily? If I may say so.
Yeah, well, she doesn't have that damn Aether Core in her heart.
I turn around and wait only a couple seconds when she runs up to me and holds out a small craft package.
– The mail came today. You know I ordered so many new things for my research. But along with it they handed over this package. It's got your name on it.
– Yes, thank you. I guess someone just couldn't reach me at home. – The package in my hands was sent from Akso Hospital. Zayne been worrying about me a little too much lately. The modified protocore in my heart is making itself noticeable more and more often, as I told him the last time, I saw my primary care physician.
– Of course. How long have you been sitting here? Four days, maybe. You've already got dark circles under the eyes. Maybe you should get some rest.
– No time, Simone. I promise I'll do what I can today. But you know what I mean.
– Try to go straight to bed. I'll send you a white noise playlist at home, check it out. It might help.
I nodded and turned to leave. Taking a break was a really good idea. There was too much on my plate. I can't deal with wanderers, protocols, EVER sneakiness and investigating at the same time... What's investigating? I don't really know...
My head hurt and the buzzing in my ears was so confusing. What the hell?
The emptiness in my chest again.
What was I investigating? I remember it was some kind of personal matter, but what it was – I don't know.
I look up and goosebumps run down my spine. So far away in the clouds, and seemingly quite close, a bright violet eye appears. It resonates with my heart. Its call grows louder, clearer each time, and the world around me is swallowed up by the force. Everything disappears like in the center of a black hole.
Only dust rising to the sky.
– The new colonel arrives today. We must give him the best welcome. Come on.
The recruits have been running errands, and I'm with them.
The Association's assignment was a covert operation called the Ethereal Trial. Over the course of a few days, we quickly and discreetly dealt with some anomalies, and documented new data on the Spatium Core.
Sylus's brief absence provided the impetus for new attacks in the N109 Zone. Xavier's former comrades, with advanced technology, had goals far greater than the ship commander's life. The black crystals that have become Zayne's nightmare in reality are deeply connected to some kind of power and may be part of the tragedy that has consumed our world. And the God of the Seas' power must be unsealed by Rafayel after all these years.
All of these questions are connected by threads into just one entity. And unfortunately, I find myself involved in this chaos.
My mission is to sneak into an organization that may have information on the remaining shard. Farspace Fleet. The action is supposed to be secret, and I'm lucky enough to be on a team of rookies who just graduated from the Air Force Academy.
The story of the explosion at the twins' house made my heart clench, but I didn't understand why. Everything seemed so familiar, yet distant at the same time. But when I tried to put the puzzle together, it fell into the void again and again.
I adjusted my headscarf, part of the uniform that hid the almost black veins that stretched across my chest and neck. I didn't remember how they'd appeared. And especially when they came. I just woke up one morning with no memory of coming home, and the marks were already on my body.
Zayne says it's an Aether Core reaction to some kind of trigger. The pains in my heart were becoming more frequent, and in the week I'd spent in the Fleet barracks, I'd resorted more than once to the medication he'd sent me from Akso.
The energy in the air seemed to have something to do with the Spatium Core. Or at least some other Aether Core, because right now my whole gut was humming like it wanted to burst out.
– Let's wrap it up. It's gonna rain soon. If we don't find more evidence, it'll wash away and we won't be able to continue this investigation.
That commander was in such a hurry. I felt sorry for the girl who ended up in the hospital with a lot of burns. I felt sorry for her brother who went missing in the explosion. That pity echoed in my chest and again caused a hollow feeling in my head as I tried to analyze the situation.
– The colonel's spaceship arrives at the HQ runway in ten minutes. A possible suspect has also come forward. We need to deal with him before the higher–ups arrive.
The Farspace Fleet Command Center was located at the very top of Skyhaven's guard station. So many officers and soldiers were gathered here at the moment that it seemed to be not just a meeting of the new Colonel, but a general revelry in the form of a medieval massacre of a criminal.
“…iam pridem, ex quo suffragia nulli
vendimus, effudit curas; nam qui dabat olim
imperium, fasces, legiones, omnia, nunc se
continet atque duas tantum res anxius optat,
(... Already long ago, from when we sold our vote to no man, the People have abdicated our duties; for the People who once upon a time handed out military command, high civil office, legions — everything, now restrains itself and anxiously hopes for just two things: bread and circuses.)[1]
– Seal off all entrances and exits. Make sure no one steps off the runway.
Following the captain's order, the entire runway was quickly surrounded by an impenetrable net of soldiers. When somewhere in the distance a rumbling sound was heard.
Under the light of the searchlights, the new fleet colonel that had been talked about so much was coming out of the starship.
He looks so much like someone...
His voice... So familiar.
The crowd blocks my view, and I can only catch a glimpse of the figure through the gaps. But the squeak in my head comes again and knocks me out of it. It makes me want to plug my ears. I don't want to hear that voice, because that's what's causing this reaction.
– Seal off the entire HQ. We have another rat lost in our ranks. – The quiet voice of this unknown colonel came out like a thunderclap. My palms were sweating. How? How did he know? We have to move. Move. Run away. But before I could take a step, I felt like thousands of pounds of some kind of material had descended on my shoulders.
“You're not going anywhere. It's raining outside. Remember when you came home wounded? You went out for candy then, too.”
Gravity. His power is Gravity.
My blood ran cold with the realization.
There's no sound around me. It's like a vacuum. Everything disappears into a black hole. And an intense pain in my chest accompanies my fall.
I wake up in a dark room, tied to a chair. I've been caught. They found the traitor. Damn it.
– The colonel will interrogate you. Good luck.
Colonel? Oh, yeah... Right. That obscure one
Too many questions. The buzzing in my head doesn't stop, forcing me to clench my eyes shut. When I open them, I see my figure in the reflection of the one–way glass between the interrogation and observation rooms.
Black strings have appeared on my cheek and no handkerchief can hide it anymore. I stare at that face, not understanding...
– I'm going to start asking questions. Hoping for cooperation.
The voice interrupts my thoughts and I quickly forget what exactly was unclear. The cold air in the interrogation room presses down on me. I take a deep breath and try to calm myself.
– Colonel, I'm just a small fish in a huge sea.
– Can you really be one when you've fooled the entire Fleet? You know what happens to people who pretend to be officers?
– But you brought me here. Either I've done more than that, or I have a secret you're dying to know.
The bright light blinds me as the figure steps inside. Now his voice seems close and so familiar.
– If you understand the situation, let's have a nice chat.
He was saying something. Asked me about Onychinus and the Aether Core. But I couldn't put together a single thought. My heart ached. I wanted to scream. I wanted to fall to the floor and curl up in a little ball. But all I could do is respond:
The man made me lift my chin and look him in the eye.
– I'll ask again. Did you come to Skyhaven to find out about the Aether Core?
– I'm telling the truth. I don't know anything.
He pulls away from me. And after a moment, that chilling expression changes to a more...kinder one.
– You passed. Surprised? – He stroked my hair and it felt so familiar. – It's been a long time, but you've already managed to forget about me?
When we talk about emptiness, we can consider it as more than just a vacuum. This state can be interpreted as the absence of not only physical objects, but also emotional, social or even spiritual aspects. In this context, emptiness becomes a symbol for a lack of significance or purpose, which can cause us to feel anxious or uncertain.
“Have you asked yourself the most important question: do problems really exist or do you create them yourself? People grasp at their misfortunes just to avoid the emptiness in themselves”[2]
– Forget about you? – I lowered my gaze to the opening flaps that held up my arms and legs. – Am I supposed to know you?
Black veins spread across my face and run through my left eye and eyebrow. It's as if my vision is losing its colors. I get lost in such a vast world, like I'm in some kind of vacuum and the emptiness inside fills my mind, body and soul.
He frowned and reached up to touch my face when I said something I didn't expect:
[1] (Latin. panem et circenses) – an expression from the 10th satire of the ancient Roman satirical poet Juvenal, used by him to describe the aspirations of the Roman people contemporary to him
[2] Chandra Mohan Jain, better known as Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh from the early seventies and later as Osho, is an Indian religious figure, founder of the mystical teachings of 1931–1990. Preacher of the new sannyasa, expressed in immersion in the world without attachment to it, life–affirmation, renunciation of ego and meditation and leading to total liberation and enlightenment
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