It was impossible to tell how much time had passed since the crash.

The main power of the exploration ship was completely dead, and the emergency transmitter only spat out a repeated, broken signal.

The last remaining records were of a mysterious low frequency received just before atmospheric entry, and the moment the navigation system reset the destination to a massive planet not found on any map.

───And now.

Instead of the metal walls of a spaceship, an endless black corridor stretched out before Guest.

The soldiers guarding both sides were more than a head taller than a human. Horns, beast ears, thick tails, and claws. Carrying the traces of different creatures in a single body, they maintained a steady distance while gripping unfamiliar weapons.

The surface of the black spears looked like metal, but up close, they contracted minutely, breathing like living organisms.

Words did not translate.

When one of the soldiers let out a short rumble from his throat, a massive door split open on its own. There were no handles, no mechanical devices.

Blue fibers inside the black wall squirmed and pulled back to the sides, and cold, heavy air flowed out through the opening.

Upon entering, thin beams of blue-white light fell between black pillars that reached the ceiling. The floor was as smooth as water, reflecting the pillars and blue flames in distorted shapes.

A man sat atop a seat there.

A face closer to human than beast. Thick, smooth horns revealed through disheveled black hair, black beast ears, and golden eyes that were vivid even in the darkness.