The anomaly

It took Ulysses three full minutes to understand that his friend—no, his brother—Icaro was gone. He had died with a smile on his face, staring at the stars while his body fought a hopeless wound.

But time doesn't stop. It's an unstoppable force, always moving forward, never looking back.

Ulysses left the body where it lay and wandered through the ship in silence. His "companion," the AI inside the armor, guided him through every corridor.

There was a personal room, a narrow hallway, a storage bay, and a disposal cell—meant to eject unnecessary items into space.

With that and the main cockpit, this ship was the definition of luxury. Something no ordinary man could ever afford, inside or outside the border.

After searching the storage room for a while, he found what he needed: a large container.

He picked up his friend—lifting him from his deathbed with a strength that didn't even feel like his own—and placed him inside the box. It was relocated to the disposal cell. The oddest funeral he'd ever attended.

It was just him, three mindless drones, and a voice echoing from the ship's speakers. He stared at his friend, crying for at least forty-five more minutes before finally sealing the box shut with a magnetic lock—forever.

Then, with one hand on the lever to open the cell to open space, he stood still, searching his memories for something... anything to say goodbye.

"Two teenagers breaking into an abandoned building. It took them three hours to explore just the first floor. It used to be a hospital—at least, that's what some mutual friend claimed. The tension, the fear of seeing something paranormal, was always there. But instead of a ghost, they found a group of drunk homeless people staring at them. They screamed and ran. They laughed about it for years. Antares was a small planet, but even there, some people had no home."

"To think... we laughed about that for years. It feels so far away now. And those poor people... they're all gone too... goddamn it…"

His voice broke as tears returned. He didn't hesitate any longer. He pulled the lever.

The cell door opened instantly, and the coffin was expelled into the void.

"Your friend will be surrounded by stars... forever."

"For a robot, you're pretty poetic," Ulysses whispered, watching the box fade into darkness, drifting eternally.

"My previous bearer loved reading. He was... passionate about it."

"Don't make me feel bad for the guy. He didn't even want me to wear his damn suit."

"That wasn't considered in our parameters. Your anomaly breaks all logic. All probability."

"Yeah, you keep saying that. But what the hell does being an 'anomaly' even mean?"

Ulysses wiped his eyes and stared at the dark.

"You need to understand the basics of the universe you live in. You see, Master, long ago, when humanity entered the Era of Space Conquest…"

"As you probably know, humans never discovered organic alien life. The galaxy—maybe the whole universe—is cold. Empty. No other civilizations, no matter how far they looked. But they did find something else: Hypernate beings. Still following?"

"I think I remember hearing about them… the ones from the Cloud?"

"Exactly. The Cloud is a soup of Hypernate entities. Humans call them space whales—beings that can travel between dimensions. The Cloud exists in the fifth dimension, but it manifests here, in the third. Millennia ago, humans learned to use their horns to travel thousands of light years in seconds. Even this ship has one. But back to the point…"

"When humans learned how to reach the fifth dimension, people like you began to be born—humans who defied natural laws. Wester, for example, can draw energy from planets to strengthen himself. You—"

"Wait. What the hell did you just say?"

"Would you like me to repeat it?"

"This… Wester. He drained Antares?"

Ulysses had been listening with interest, but now he stood frozen. His blood boiled. He knew the angels weren't strong enough to destroy a planet like that. And he knew Wester was anomalous. But he never imagined it had been a man who did it.

"Wester did what was best for the sector. An angel of that caliber had to be stopped."

"He… HE SACRIFICED MY PLANET? ANTARES?!"

He slammed his fist against the wall with all his strength. Nothing happened. Not even a scratch. He remembered ships were made with nanomaterials—resilient beyond comprehension—but still, he didn't expect them to be this strong.

"There were six other planets at risk of destruction. Yours was the safest target. If communications hadn't failed, we might've—"

"But you didn't. And you think I give a damn about the other colonies? I don't! My home is gone! Burned to ash, then shattered. Everything we built is now just a hot rock in a cold, dead void!"

He breathed in hard. The ship continued floating slowly, leaving Antares' system behind. He needed a destination before he lost his mind. Staring into the void too long was eating away at him.

He wanted revenge. He wanted to kill the man who used his planet like fuel. But realistically? He'd be crushed before even getting close.

"Set a course to the nearest colony. I want to get the hell out of here."

"Understood."

The AI responded flatly. Ulysses exhaled and added:

"Keep explaining, please."

"With pleasure. You'll need to understand the fundamental structure of the universe…

There are seven known dimensions:

The first dimension was actually the third to be discovered. It is pure nothingness—no direction, no space, no time. A conceptual singularity where nothing can exist or emerge.

The second dimension—discovered second—is a flat universe. No depth, no volume. Energy and information exist in planes and lines, unable to evolve or escape.

The third dimension is where we live. A space of freedom, growth, and travel. Evolution. Life.

The fourth dimension is where it gets complicated. And, to be honest sir, you're not exactly bright enough to understand it in one go—but no human is. In this dimension, time is not linear. It's a field where every moment coexists. One could "move" at will between milliseconds or eons as if they were access points."

"Yeah, that already sounds like too much…"

"Indeed, for a single brain, it is. But you must understand it, if you ever hope to grasp what's coming."

"And why's that?"

"Because, Master, you're not just the last survivor of Antares. Not just an Anomaly. You're a Hexar. The bearer of the most powerful weapon humanity has ever discovered."

The final jump ended.

Ulysses stood in the cockpit, shocked as a new planet filled the view—so massive he couldn't see its edges.

Then alarms began to scream.

"What's happening now?!"

"As we said before, sir… being a Hexar comes with certain responsibilities."

A ship appeared out of nowhere. Massive. It blanketed the planet beneath them with its sheer size.

It was clear: Ulysses wasn't welcome here.

"Sir, welcome to the planet Termina."