Cadence Fall pt. 2

We exit jump space after some time. Something about this system feels...off. In a way I cannot explain or quantify. As I look through the window of the ship, I notice there are no stars. It's almost as if all the life was drained out of this system. As I continue to scan the space around it, I quickly discover the truth. A black hole. It is so massive that even though we had to be hundreds of light years away, the space around it seems unrecognizable. Nearby sat a red star, slowly dying as its life is drain away, sending it back to the black hole and giving it a red hue.

"What is that?" I ask.

"Sercies X2156." Soul says. "A black hole discovered only recently and giving a name based on the princess called-."

"-Cadence Fall."

"-Correct."

I recognized the star off the glass mural back on Sulis. What was the king doing here? And what are we going to find here? Melena turns the ship, pointing toward a planet ahead. It's odd, finding a planet out here. It's dark, and quiet. Very eerie in a sort of way.

The heat shield deploys in the front of the ship, and we plow through the atmosphere. After a brief burn, we arrive at cloud level. The clouds themselves were dark and grey, spreading out for what looked like hundreds of miles in every direction. Lightning strikes across the sky every 10 to 30 seconds.

We dip below the clouds and down to the dark waters below.

"Anything yet?" Melena asks

"Nothing so far. I cannot pick up the signal with the black hole nearby."

"He was here." Dillon says, "I know it, but there was no way we could search this entire planet ourselves."

"Then we don't." I said. "Was there any place Cadence and you would go as kids to play?"

"What? Why?"

"The thought is, if he has been coming here multiple times, he must be going somewhere significant, maybe somewhere you all know well."

Dillon thinks for a moment. Stella watches him, messaging his back as he continues to think, then it hits him. He turns to me and smiles before calling out to Melena.

"I know one place. An old castle. There is no way it should still be standing but if I were dad, that's where I would go."

"Where is it?" Melena asks

"Sending coordinates now."

After receiving the location, Melena banks the ship and puts the ship to full power. The water on this planet seems to just go on forever. There are barely any islands around. Honestly, I don't know how anyone was able to live on this planet. After an hour of flying, we arrive at our destination. A single stone tower on an island rock. The cliffs surround the entire island and water crashes from all sides. A thick mist surrounds the base of the tower and covers most of the island.

The engine rotates downward, displacing all the fog and opening a visual of where to land. Melena spins the ship to open the space up and touches down.

"The air is not safe to breath here." Soul says, "Be sure to put on a mask."

The masks hung next to the exit. The front was made of a clear plastic material, with a filter for air in the front. Everyone but Soul removes a mask. I place mine on my face and press a button on the side, sealing it. A loud hissing noise exits the mask until it suddenly stops. The feeling of glue stuck to my face was ever so present.

The door finally opens. The prince, princess and I exit the ship first. As the engines shut down, the fog quickly returns to the void we left. There in front of us, stood the tower. It was old and spooky. Stella grabs onto Dillon arm for protection. Melena and Soul exit the ship last. She carries a small rifle in hand and Soul holds a machine gun.

"You two stand behind us. Demi, you have the rear." She says has Soul hands me the prototype rifle.

Shocked I glance at him. I waves his hand and places one finger across his mouth, motioning me to stay silent. Dillon and Stella nod. Soul heads out first, arriving at the old rusty door. He puts his ear to it and knocks. No answer. He turns to us nods.

"It's clear." he says.

"On your back." Melena says.

"Lets move."