"Get the star map! Retreat immediately!"
Lin Ye's order rang out with striking clarity in the deathly silent hemispherical chamber. Sasuke reacted first. His silvery-white Jōgan instantly locked onto the floating Holographic Star Map. Without drawing his Kusanagi Sword, he flicked its tip upward, sending a strand of silvery-white lightning, hair-thin yet intensely condensed, around the map's edge and pulling it toward him. The map seemed to have no physical substance. At the lightning's touch, its light rippled, then contracted and changed shape, finally becoming a fist-sized Silver Crystal with points of light flowing inside it, which fell into Sasuke's palm.
The entire process took barely two seconds. Over the communications channel, Ayami's cold countdown continued. "...100 seconds...95 seconds...enemy ships accelerating. Energy weapons charging!"
"Go!"
Without hesitation, the three turned and sprinted back the way they had come. Though weakened, Lin Ye kept up a surprisingly brisk pace, driven by survival instinct and the faint resonance between his Origin mark and the residual energy in this region. Naruto ran in front, his golden chakra acting as a vanguard, smashing or deflecting small, unstable energy crystals and spatial folds in the passage. Sasuke brought up the rear, his silvery-white Jōgan constantly scanning behind them for spatial collapses or pursuers.
The passage seemed even more twisted and unstable than when they had entered. Light and shadow shifted ever more violently across its walls. At times, they became transparent, revealing bizarre, distorted scenes beyond; at others, they grew solid and heavy, as though about to crush the passage. Ominous cracks came from the metal floor beneath their feet, as if it might shatter at any moment. The sorrowful echoes in the air also seemed to grow chaotic and piercing as the crystallized remains dissipated, pricking their souls like countless fine needles.
"80 seconds!