One Dream A Thousand Universes

Rust-red dust swirled in the air of planet CKD-142, the atmosphere thick with the smell of metal and a faint hint of ozone. A young man in a Solendel Corporation operational suit stepped down from a small transport vessel. His identification code was S-81.

Before him was the entrance to a colossal mining complex, and a group of miners in dust-proof suits who looked at him with eyes full of both hope and fear.

"You... you're the one Solendel sent, right?" the man who appeared to be the foreman asked.

He thought to himself,

"Yes. I'm here for the mission to retrieve the power box," S-81 replied, activating his HUD. "Can you give me the details of what happened?"

"We're not sure..." the foreman shook his head. "The last team that went down to level 45 said they heard a sound like metal being torn apart, then the connection was lost. We sent a scout drone down and only saw the wreckage of the drilling machine... No one has dared to go down there since."

Just as S-81 was about to ask another question, the near-silent whir of rotor blades sounded above their heads. A sleek, white drone descended and landed gently in front of the miners, before a clear female voice came from its speaker.

"Excuse me! Which company does this mine belong to, and have you discovered any 'Squash Ore'!?"

The foreman looked at the drone, bewildered. "This place belongs to Jadka Company. We mainly mine for energy ore, never heard of the ore you mentioned... but if you want to survey it yourself, you can try contacting them to purchase the rights." He pointed to S-81. "But right now, the level that might have the ore you're looking for has a problem... and that 'awakened' person is about to go down and take care of it."

The voice from the drone went silent for a moment, before speaking again, this time with obvious excitement. "A real, live awakened person! Then... you must be from Solendel Corporation!?"

Ava thought quickly.

The drone flew swiftly toward S-81. "Hello! I'm Ava, an independent explorer! I accepted a mission to find ore on level 45... If you don't mind, could I help you!?"

S-81 looked at the small drone, then at the dark mine entrance. He thought for a moment... having a drone fly in to scout ahead didn't seem like a bad idea.

"Sure," he replied. "But how will we communicate in there?"

"That's the easy part," S-81 said. "Since you've also installed the Bio-Sora system, we can create a temporary 'party' through the system. It will create a private telepathic communication channel, allowing us to talk just by thinking, without making any noise for 'whatever' is in there to hear."

Ava replied instantly through the drone's speaker. "Oh, there's a system like that? Awesome! Deal! What do I need to do?"

S-81 opened a system window in his HUD, created a party, and sent an invitation to Ava's ID. Instantly, Ava felt a "voice" in her head for the first time...

Ava thought back, her excitement clearly transmitted through the thought-wave.

Darkness and silence enveloped them the moment they entered level 45. Ava's Hummingbird Mk. IV drone flew ahead with absolute silence, its high-powered light beam cutting through the chilling tunnel, revealing traces of a struggle and scattered metal debris.

S-81 followed cautiously, the power in his body on high alert, ready for any situation.

Ava's voice sounded in his head.

The sight before them was the wreck of a massive drilling vehicle. It wasn't just broken... it looked like it had been "torn" to pieces. But the most terrifying thing was its massive drill head.

Ava's drone flew closer to scan and analyze the damage.

Ava thought, stunned.

She didn't stop there. Her investigator's curiosity made her command the drone to a deeper level.

A thin green laser shot out from under the drone, scanning the surface at a microscopic level... before the analysis result appeared in Ava's vision, making her hold her breath.

S-81, who was on guard, received a data packet that popped up in his HUD. It was a magnified image of the crack on the drill head, filled with... tiny crystalline fragments with a structure resembling living cells, embedded deep within the PDC material.

Seeing this unfamiliar foreign substance—unfamiliar even to him, who had worked in exploration and drilling on the Aurora's Path—he decided to contact Sora on the Solendel main planet directly.

he commanded with a thought.

Sora's gentle voice replied in his private channel... <...Comparing with all substance data in the Aetheryon System database... Result: No match found. This substance... is a 'Bio-metallic substance' that has never been recorded before... Where did you find it? Oh... wait a moment... you are on planet CKD-142. According to the data on this planet, there have been frequent reports of seismic vibrations from underground. Analyzing the newly discovered bio-metallic substance in conjunction with these reports... that thing might be a new or mutated species, evolved due to the subterranean minerals... Please be extremely careful.>

S-81 froze, a cold sweat breaking out on his temples. He wasn't facing an ordinary beast... but a creature that had evolved to be able to "devour" the strongest of materials... a creature that even Sora didn't know.

The thought echoed in his head... along with the terrifying truth that... this universe... still held secrets far more dangerous than they could ever imagine.