"Not a storm... not a space rock..." Hayes's voice sounded like that of a man who had just lost his sanity. "Our navigation systems are picking up a massive gravitational anomaly. The Webb's lenses caught it from coordinates millions of light-years away, but the visual projection and the spatial distortion... it is as if it is piercing directly into our sector. We are aiming the station's main optical cameras at the anomaly. Sending the visuals now. God... what is that thing?"
The communication channel was filled with Hayes's heavy breathing and the panicked buzzing of the crew in the background of the Artemis station. In the Andes, the main observatory screen, which had previously displayed star charts, slowly went pitch black. The quantum server engines roared loudly, their processors working at maximum capacity to render the visual data packets just received. Lines of pixels began to form.
Visual spectrum filters were merged by the computer to provide a clear image. At first, Wilhelm thought it was merely a lens anomaly—perhaps a defect in the telescope's giant mirrors or light refraction from dark matter. However, as the rendering process continued, the image resolution became terrifyingly sharp.
Too sharp. In the middle of the sea of cosmic void, where there should have been nothing but stardust and gas, the screen displayed a formation that froze the blood of everyone in the room. Nine giant beings drifted silently in the silent vacuum of space.
"Aris... recalibrate the scale," Dr. Sarah whispered, stepping slowly toward the screen with her eyes wide open. Her hand trembled as she pointed to the row of measurement metrics in the corner of the monitor. "That scale must be wrong. The computer miscalculated the mass."
"The scale was auto-calibrated, Sarah," Aris replied in a hoarse voice, barely a whisper. "That is raw data without manipulation. There are no computational errors."
On the giant screen, five figures resembling reptiles were depicted, yet with an anatomical structure that never existed in any evolutionary record. They had elongated bodies covered in jet-black scales, sharp horns crowning their massive heads, and coarse claws bent stiffly. They were dragons. Five giant black dragons, each with a body length reaching hundreds of meters, far exceeding the size of the largest nuclear aircraft carriers built by humanity.
Alongside these dragons were four giant avian entities with extraordinary wingspans. Their feathers were coal-black, absorbing the surrounding starlight into absolute darkness. Phoenixes. Four giant birds stood beside the five dragons. However, what made the sight so horrifying was not merely their existence and size, but the physical condition of these creatures.
The nine ancient entities showed no signs of life. Their bodies were stiff, and their eyes were closed or staring blankly without light. Thermal analysis in the corner of the screen showed an impossible figure: zero biological heat. Their body temperatures were level with the temperature of the cosmic vacuum. They were all dead. Giant corpses floating frozen in absolute silence.
"This is insane," Wilhelm took a step back, bumping into the edge of the table behind him. "What kind of physics is this? How is it possible for biological structures to grow to the size of hundreds of meters and float in the depths of outer space? This violates the square-cube law. The gravity from their own body mass should be enough to crush their bones and internal organs into pulp!"
"They are clearly not affected by our legal boundaries, Wilhelm," Professor Arthur replied softly, his voice sounding dry and filled with primordial fear. His eyes were fixed on the rear of the formation of cosmic corpses. "Look at what is tied to them."
Satellite visuals clarified the rear section of the nine creatures. Around the necks and backs of the five dragons and four black phoenixes were wrapped thick iron chains. Each link was made of an unknown dark metal, its surface filled with intricate ancient carvings and patterns. These giant chains were stretched straight and taut, pulled by force. The ends of the chains were connected to a solid object that was no less absurd. A giant furnace.
The ancient furnace stood upright at a height equivalent to a two-story human house. It had three thick and sturdy support legs made of a material resembling rusted bronze that had passed through billions of years of cosmic decay. Its surface was carved with reliefs depicting the sun, the moon, shattered stars, and figures prostrating in agony. Compared to the hundreds of meters in length of the nine corpses pulling it, the furnace's size appeared very small.
The silence inside the Andes observatory was now suffocating. No one cared about the cold air or the hum of the quantum machines anymore. All eyes were fixed on the giant screen, as if their sanity had just been forcibly pulled from their bodies.
"A furnace..." Dr. Sarah whispered, her voice nearly lost in terror. "Nine giant creatures defying biological laws, dead and bound just to pull a bronze cauldron? This is madness. This cannot be real. Someone must have hacked both the Gateway and Webb systems simultaneously!"
"Check the encryption signatures!" Wilhelm snapped, his panic finally breaking. He gripped the edge of the table until his knuckles turned white. "Aris, make sure this isn't a joke from separatist hackers! This must be CGI injected into our optical data stream!"
But Aris could only shake his head slowly. His face was as pale as paper as his trembling hand pointed toward a line of code on the secondary monitor. "The encryption is intact, Dr. Wilhelm. This data comes directly from the primary scanning lenses, transmitted via a closed microwave signal. There are no network anomalies. And... look at the gravity metrics."
Aris typed several commands with great effort. On the main screen, a mass simulation graph appeared next to the image of the furnace. "That furnace... its size indeed looks trivial compared to those dragons. But the mass it pulls is warping the starlight around it!"
Professor Arthur took a step back, clutching his chest which suddenly felt tight. The Fermi Paradox was finally answered. Yet the answer was not in the form of an alien civilization with high-tech spacecraft. The answer was an ancient terror that transcended modern human logic.
"Commander Hayes," Arthur called through the still-open communication line, his voice hoarse. "What are the exact coordinates? In which direction is the anomaly moving?"
There was a moment of silence from the Artemis station, before Hayes's voice sounded more desperate than before. "The trajectory... it does not follow planetary orbits or the gravitational pull of the outer sun. The object is tearing through the vacuum in a straight line, Professor. And its path... is heading directly toward Earth."
Thousands of kilometers beneath the stratosphere, the mortal world still turned in its peaceful ignorance. In the Guangzhou district, night fell with a dazzling neon glow. The concrete jungle loomed high, while the streets were filled with a stream of electric vehicles and pedestrians busy with their own affairs. Giant holographic screens on the sides of buildings promoted the latest technological innovations, obscuring the polluted night sky.
On a crowded sidewalk, a young man walked with both hands tucked casually into the pockets of his black jacket. His stature loomed over the crowd, reaching one hundred and ninety centimeters with a solid and leanly muscled physical proportion. His face had a sharp jawline, with a pair of dark eyes that radiated calmness. The young man was Chu Xinghe.
"Seriously, Xinghe, you really don't want to join the graduation celebration tonight?" complained a slightly chubby youth next to him, Li Wei, who had to half-run to keep up with Xinghe's long strides. "This is our last day as high school kids! Zhao Lin even rented the entire VIP floor at the downtown nightclub. You just want to go back to your apartment and lock yourself up with your grandfather's worn-out books again?"
Chu Xinghe turned slightly, a thin, mischievous smile forming on his lips. "Heh, you're just saying that because you want to meet the school queen, right? Yun Hai is a girl who could choke you until you become thin, Li Wei."
Li Wei snorted, his face turning slightly red between annoyance and embarrassment. "Your mouth is so cheeky! I just want us to celebrate our freedom. Come on, Xinghe, ever since your grandfather... well, I mean, since you've been living alone, you've become more quiet. Your apartment is already like a dusty museum."
Chu Xinghe stopped his steps right in front of a red light intersection. The red light from the traffic signal reflected in his dark pupils. He looked up, through the gaps between the skyscrapers, trying to find constellations that were usually hidden by Guangzhou's light pollution.
"Those books aren't boring, Wei. History has a unique way of telling you that we actually know nothing at all," Chu Xinghe replied casually. "But fine, let's go to that Zhao kid's party."
Li Wei chuckled low and tapped Chu Xinghe's arm. "That's more like it. I heard your girl is also there—I mean your ex-girl who is currently close with Zhao Lin, that Xin Yan!"
Chu Xinghe furrowed his brow. That name was like a pebble that suddenly entered his shoe—small, but enough to make his steps uncomfortable. He wasn't jealous; it was just that his pride as an eighteen-year-old youth felt slightly bothered to hear his ex-lover's taste had dropped drastically to end up with someone like Zhao Lin.
"Xin Yan has the right to ruin her own standards, Wei. I don't care," Xinghe said as he resumed walking when the light turned green. His voice was flat, yet there was a hint of sarcasm tucked in there.
"Heh? You really dare to think so lowly of Zhao Lin," Li Wei quipped with a wide grin. "But true enough. Anyway, let's go see Yun Hai's beauty!"
Chu Xinghe only rolled his eyes at Li Wei's excessive enthusiasm. They walked along the sidewalk, which was damp from the afternoon rain, passing rows of electronics stores displaying wall-sized flat-screen televisions. On those screens, news about the 2026 Artemis Mission continued to play on loop, showing animations of rockets piercing the atmosphere.
"The world is going crazy, Xinghe," Li Wei muttered, occasionally glancing at the news screen. "Everyone is talking about living on the moon. My second uncle has even booked an orbital tour ticket for next year at a price that could buy me ten sports cars."
Chu Xinghe glanced briefly at the screen. "Humans always want to go far when they feel they have conquered the place they currently stand. The problem is, sometimes there are doors that are better left unopened."
"How philosophical. You're starting to sound like your grandfather," Li Wei joked.
Xinghe fell silent for a moment. The mention of 'grandfather' always brought a slight weight to his chest. Since his grandfather mysteriously disappeared two years ago, his inherited apartment had felt much larger and quieter. His aunt and uncle abroad only sent more than enough monthly allowance, but they never asked about the thousands of books in his grandfather's private library, which had now become Xinghe's primary escape.
"Come on, my car is in the parking lot over there," Chu Xinghe pointed toward a multi-story parking garage with his chin.
They took the elevator to the fourth floor. There, a black sedan with a still very well-maintained body line was parked in the corner. It was a car left behind by his parents before the fatal accident occurred. Chu Xinghe got into the driver's seat, his hand smoothly turning the ignition key. The engine roared softly, breaking the silence of the quiet parking floor.
"You know, Xinghe," Li Wei fastened his seatbelt while turning toward his friend. "This height of yours is really unfair. You rarely go to the gym but your body is like a decathlon athlete. If you wanted to join the university basketball team later, you'd definitely become a star instantly."
Chu Xinghe laughed softly while turning the steering wheel, taking his car down the spiral ramp of the parking building. "Too exhausting, Wei. I'd rather read about Ming dynasty war tactics than run after a ball on a court."
"How strange," Li Wei grumbled.
The car glided through the crowded streets of Guangzhou. Colorful city lights refracted on the windshield, creating shifting silhouettes on Chu Xinghe's face. Inside the cabin, only the sound of the radio playing trending pop songs could be heard, occasionally interspersed with Li Wei's laughter as he was busy replying to messages in their class group chat.
"Wow, Zhao Lin just sent a photo of a champagne bottle priced like a house! That bastard is truly arrogant," Li Wei exclaimed while showing his phone screen.
Chu Xinghe only glanced briefly without changing his expression. "Just let him be. His parents' money is meant for that, isn't it?"
Chu Xinghe turned his car toward the most luxurious entertainment district in the area. A nightclub building named 'The Nebula' was already visible from a distance, with purple laser beams shooting toward the sky, as if trying to touch the clouds of pollution. In front of the entrance, rows of luxury cars were neatly lined up, with youths and girls their age dressed glamorously waiting in line to enter.
"We're here," Chu Xinghe said quietly. He parked his car in the valet area, handed the key to the attendant, and stepped out with a relaxed movement. "Good grief... why are their clothes so unfit to be worn like that?"
Chu Xinghe shook his head slowly, seeing several girls wearing clothes that were far too revealing. "This is a graduation party, isn't it? Why are the girls from our year wearing clothes that could even fall off if blown by a fan?"
Li Wei only laughed while nudging Xinghe's shoulder. "That's called fashion, Xinghe! You're just too old-fashioned. Besides, who cares about the function of clothes in a place like this?"