Murphy and Elsa leaped off the Scarlet Dawn.
That was a figurative description. In truth, the moment they left the ship's interior, they went from a stable inner space to an unstable exterior. So by the time the hatch closed, the two of them had already left the Scarlet Dawn behind.
Less than a second later, Murphy glanced back and could only make out the Scarlet Dawn's hull flickering in the distance. They seemed to be thousands of miles apart already.
"Don't look back. We've entered the depths of the Lightless Sea."
Elsa picked a direction at random and strode forward.
"Keep up! Murphy, the Omega is just ahead. That 'guide' you picked really is something. I can sense that the life signal of the individual called 'Miredin' is already very close to the Omega.
"He might be heading there too.
"If we follow his direction, we'll reach that area faster. By the way, you and your three partners made quite a scene. I saw First Officer Solma on the bridge just now, and he looked furious.
"Damaging a starship's structure just for your own pleasure would earn you a formal reprimand in the Sentinel Legion."
"I didn't expect Shani's emotions to erupt so intensely either."
Murphy grimaced and sighed.
"I thought she'd keep being difficult forever. She's stubborn by nature, and she always has these strange feelings toward people who defeat her. Add the Blood Progenitor's irresistible charm to vampires, and it's understandable that she fell deeply for me in such a short time.
"Sorry, I'm not bragging.
"I'm just saying it really was an accident. If I could've chosen, I'd have wanted Shani's first time to be perfect, not in a damn elevator."
"You don't need to explain. We mechanical life-forms will never understand your strange obsession with